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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Proverbs X].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P R O V E R B S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. X.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Hitherto we have been in the porch or preface to the proverbs, here
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they begin. They are short but weighty sentences; most of them are
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distichs, two sentences in one verse, illustrating each other; but it
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is seldom that there is any coherence between the verses, much less any
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thread of discourse, and therefore in these chapters we need not
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attempt to reduce the contents to their proper heads, the several
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sentences will appear best in their own places. The scope of them all
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is to set before us good and evil, the blessing and the curse. Many of
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the proverbs in this chapter relate to the good government of the
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tongue, without which men's religion is vain.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Pr10_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Weighty Sayings.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but
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a foolish son <I>is</I> the heaviness of his mother.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Solomon, speaking to us as unto children, observes here how much the
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comfort of parents, natural, political, and ecclesiastical, depends
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upon the good behaviour of those under their charge, as a reason,
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1. Why parents should be careful to give their children a good
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education, and to train them up in the ways of religion, which, if it
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obtain the desired effect, they themselves will have the comfort of it,
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or, if not, they will have for their support under their heaviness that
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they have done their duty, have done their endeavour.
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2. Why children should conduct themselves wisely and well, and live up
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to their good education, that they may gladden the hearts of their
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parents, and not sadden them. Observe,
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(1.) It adds to the comfort of young people that are pious and discreet
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that thereby they do something towards recompensing their parents for
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all the care and pains they have taken with them, and occasion pleasure
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to them in the evil days of old age, when they most need it; and it is
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the duty of parents to rejoice in their children's wisdom and
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well-doing, yea, though it arrive at such an eminency as to eclipse
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them.
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(2.) It adds to the guilt of those that conduct themselves ill that
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thereby they grieve those whom they ought to be a joy to, and are a
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heaviness particularly to their poor mothers who bore them with sorrow,
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but with greater sorrow see them wicked and vile.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr10_3"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>2 Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness
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delivereth from death.
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3 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish:
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but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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These two verses speak to the same purport, and the latter may be the
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reason of the former.
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1. That wealth which men get unjustly will do them no good, because God
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will blast it: <I>Treasures of wickedness profit nothing,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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The treasures of wicked people, much more the treasure which they have
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made themselves masters of by any wicked people, by oppression of
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fraud, though it be ever so much, as a treasure, and laid up ever so
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safely, though it be hidden treasure, yet it <I>profits nothing;</I>
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when profit and loss come to be balanced the profit gained by the
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treasures will by no means countervail the loss sustained by the
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wickedness,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+16:26">Matt. xvi. 26</A>.
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They do not profit the soul; they will not purchase any true comfort or
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happiness. They will stand a man in no stead at death, or in the
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judgment of the great day; and the reason is because God <I>casts away
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the substance of the wicked</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>);
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he takes that from them which they have unjustly gotten; he rejects the
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consideration of it, not regarding the rich more than the poor. We
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often see that scattered by the justice of God which has been gathered
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together by the injustice of men. How can the treasures of wickedness
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profit, when, though it be counted substance, God casts it away and it
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vanishes as a shadow?
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2. That which is honestly got will turn to a good account, for God
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will bless it. <I>Righteousness delivers from death,</I> that is,
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wealth gained, and kept, and used, in a right manner (righteousness
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signifies both honesty and charity); it answers the end of wealth,
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which is to keep us alive and be a defence to us. It will deliver from
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those judgments which men bring upon themselves by their wickedness. It
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will profit to such a degree as to deliver, though not from the stroke
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of death, yet from the sting of it, and consequently from the terror of
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it. For <I>the Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to
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famish</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and so their <I>righteousness delivers from death,</I> purely by the
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favour of God to them, which is their life and livelihood, and which
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will keep them alive in famine. The soul of the righteous shall be kept
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alive by the word of God, and faith in his promise, when <I>young lions
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shall lack and suffer hunger.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_4"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 He becometh poor that dealeth <I>with</I> a slack hand: but the
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hand of the diligent maketh rich.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are here told,
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1. Who those are who, though rich, are in a fair way to <I>become
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poor</I>--those <I>who deal with a slack hand,</I> who are careless and
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remiss in their business, and never mind which end goes foremost, nor
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ever set their hands vigorously to their work or stick to it; those
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<I>who deal with a deceitful hand</I> (so it may be read); those who
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think to enrich themselves by fraud and tricking will, in the end,
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impoverish themselves, not only by bringing the curse of God on what
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they have, but by forfeiting their reputation with men; none will care
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to deal with those who deal with sleight of hand and are honest only
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with good looking to.
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2. Who those are who, though poor, are in a fair way to become
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rich--those who are diligent and honest, who are careful about their
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affairs, and, what their hands find to do, do it with all their might,
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in a fair and honourable way, those are likely to increase what they
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have. <I>The hand of the acute</I> (so some), of those who are sharp,
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but not sharpers; <I>the hand of the active</I> (so others); the
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stirring hand gets a penny. This is true in the affairs of our souls as
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well as in our worldly affairs; slothfulness and hypocrisy lead to
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spiritual poverty, but those who are <I>fervent in spirit, serving the
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Lord,</I> are likely to be <I>rich in faith</I> and <I>rich in good
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works.</I></P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_5"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 He that gathereth in summer <I>is</I> a wise son: <I>but</I> he that
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sleepeth in harvest <I>is</I> a son that causeth shame.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. The just praise of those who improve their opportunities, who take
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pains to gather and increase what they have, both for soul and body,
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who provide for hereafter while provision is to be made, who <I>gather
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in summer,</I> which is gathering time. He who does so <I>is a wise
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son,</I> and it is his honour; he acts wisely for his parents, whom, if
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there be occasion, he ought to maintain, and he gives reputation to
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himself, his family, and his education.
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2. The just reproach and blame of those who trifle away these
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opportunities: <I>He who sleeps,</I> loves his ease, idles away his
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time, and neglects his work, especially <I>who sleeps in harvest,</I>
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when he should be laying in for winter, who lets slip the season of
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furnishing himself with that which he will have occasion for, <I>is a
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son that causes shame;</I> for he is a foolish son; he prepares shame
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for himself when winter comes, and reflects shame upon all his friends.
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He who gets knowledge and wisdom in the days of his youth <I>gathers in
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summer,</I> and he will have the comfort and credit of his industry;
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but he who idles away the days of his youth will bear the shame of his
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indolence when he is old.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_6"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Blessings <I>are</I> upon the head of the just: but violence
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covereth the mouth of the wicked.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. <I>The head of the just</I> crowned with <I>blessings,</I> with the
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blessings both of God and man. Variety of blessings, abundance of
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blessings, shall descend from above, and visibly abide on the head of
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good men, real blessings; they shall not only be spoken well of, but
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done well to. Blessings shall be on their head as a coronet to adorn
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and dignify them and as a helmet to protect and secure them.
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2. <I>The mouth of the wicked covered</I> with <I>violence.</I> Their
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mouths shall be stopped with shame for the violence which they have
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done; they shall not have a word to say in excuse for themselves
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:16">Job v. 16</A>);
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their breath shall be stopped with the violence that shall be done to
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them, when their violent dealings shall return on their heads, shall be
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returned to their teeth.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_7"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>7 The memory of the just <I>is</I> blessed: but the name of the
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wicked shall rot.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Both the just and the wicked, when their days are fulfilled, must die.
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Between their bodies in the grave thee is no visible difference;
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between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits,
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thee is a vast difference, and so there is, or ought to be, between
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their memories, which survive them.</P>
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<P>
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I. Good men are and ought to be well spoken of when they are gone; it
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is one of the blessings that <I>comes upon the head of the just,</I>
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even when their head is laid. Blessed men leave behind them blessed
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memories.
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1. It is part of the dignity of the saints, especially those who excel
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in virtue and are eminently useful, that they are remembered with
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respect when they are dead. Their good name, their name with good men,
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for good things, is then in a special manner as <I>precious
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ointment,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+7:1">Eccl. vii. 1</A>.
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Those that honour God he will thus honour,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+112:3,6,9">Ps. cxii. 3, 6, 9</A>.
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<I>The elders</I> by faith <I>obtained a good report</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+11:2">Heb. xi. 2</A>),
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and, being dead, are yet spoken of.
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2. It is part of the duty of the survivors: <I>Let the memory of the
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just be blessed,</I> so the Jews read it, and observe it as a precept,
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not naming an eminently just man that is dead without adding, <I>Let
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his memory be blessed.</I> We must delight in making an honourable
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mention of good men that are gone, bless God for them, and for his
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gifts and graces that appeared in them, and especially be followers of
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them in <I>that which is good.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. Bad men are and shall be forgotten, or spoken of with contempt.
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When their bodies are putrefying in the grave their <I>names</I> also
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<I>shall rot.</I> Either they shall not be preserved at all, but buried
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in oblivion (no good can be said of them, and therefore the greatest
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kindness that can be done them will be to say nothing of them), or they
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shall be loathsome, and mentioned with detestation, and that rule of
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honour, <I>De mortuis nil nisi bonum</I>--<I>Say nothing to the
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disadvantage of the dead,</I> will not protect them. Where the
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wickedness has been notorious, and cannot but be mentioned, it ought to
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be mentioned with abhorrence.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Marks of Wisdom and of Folly.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating
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fool shall fall.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. The honour and happiness of the obedient. They <I>will receive
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commandments;</I> they will take it as a privilege, and really an ease
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to them, to be under government, which saves them the labour of
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deliberating and choosing for themselves; and they will take it as a
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favour to be told their duty and admonished concerning it. And this is
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their wisdom; those are <I>wise in heart</I> who are tractable, and
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those who thus bend, thus stoop, shall stand and be established, shall
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prosper, being well advised.
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2. The shame and ruin of the disobedient, that will not be governed,
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nor endure any yoke, that will not be taught, nor take any advice. They
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are fools, for they act against themselves and their own interest; they
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are commonly <I>prating fools,</I> fools of lips, full of talk, but
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full of nonsense, boasting of themselves, prating spitefully against
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those that admonish them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=3Jo+1:10">3 John 10</A>),
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and pretending to give counsel and law to others. Of all fools, none
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more troublesome than the <I>prating fools,</I> nor that more expose
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themselves; but they <I>shall fall</I> into sin, into hell, because
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they received not commandments. Those that are full of tongue seldom
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look well to their feet, and therefore stumble and fall.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_9"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>9 He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that
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perverteth his ways shall be known.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are here told, and we may depend upon it,
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1. That men's integrity will be their security: <I>He that walks
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uprightly</I> towards God and man, that is faithful to both, that
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designs as he ought and means as he says, <I>walks surely;</I> he is
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safe under a divine protection and easy in a holy security. He goes on
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his way with a humble boldness, being well armed against the
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temptations of Satan, the troubles of the world, and the reproaches of
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men. He knows what ground he stands on, what guide he follows, what
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guard he is surrounded with, and what glory he is going to, and
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therefore proceeds with assurance and <I>great peace,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+32:17,33:15,16">Isa. xxxii. 17; xxxiii. 15, 16</A>.
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Some understand it as part of the character of an upright man, that he
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<I>walks surely,</I> in opposition to walking at all adventures. He
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will not dare to do that which he is not fully satisfied in his own
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conscience concerning the lawfulness of, but will see his way clear in
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every thing.
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2. That men's dishonesty will be their shame: <I>He that perverts his
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way,</I> that turns aside into crooked paths, that dissembles with God
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and man, looks one way and rows another, though he may for a time
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disguise himself, and pass current, <I>shall be known</I> to be what he
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is. It is a thousand to one but some time or other he betrays himself;
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at least, God will discover him in the great day. <I>He that perverts
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his ways documento erit</I>--<I>shall be made an example of,</I> for
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warning to others; so some.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr10_10"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating
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fool shall fall.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Mischief is here said to attend,
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1. Politic, designing, self-disguising sinners: <I>He that winks with
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the eye,</I> as if he took no notice of you, when at the same time he
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is watching an opportunity to do you an ill turn, that makes signs to
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his accomplices when to come into assist him in executing his wicked
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projects, which are all carried on by trick and artifice, <I>causes
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sorrow</I> both to others and to himself. Ingenuity will be no excuse
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for iniquity, but the sinner must either repent or do worse, either rue
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it or be ruined by it.
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2. Public, silly, self-exposing sinners: A <I>prating fool,</I> whose
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sins go before unto judgment, <I>shall fall,</I> as was said before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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But his case is less dangerous of the two, and, though he destroys
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himself, he does not create so much sorrow to others as <I>he that
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winks with his eyes.</I> The dog that bites is not always the dog that
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|
barks.</P>
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|
<A NAME="Pr10_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>11 The mouth of a righteous <I>man is</I> a well of life: but
|
|
violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
1. How industrious a good man is, by communicating his goodness, to do
|
|
good with it: <I>His mouth,</I> the outlet of his mind, <I>is a well of
|
|
life;</I> it is a constant spring, whence issues good discourse for the
|
|
edification of others, like streams that water the ground and make it
|
|
fruitful, and for their consolation, like streams that quench the
|
|
thirst of the weary traveller. It is like <I>a well of life,</I> that
|
|
is pure and clean, not only not poisoned, but not muddled, with any
|
|
corrupt communication.
|
|
|
|
2. How industrious a bad man is, by concealing his badness, to do hurt
|
|
with it: <I>The mouth of the wicked covers violence,</I> disguises the
|
|
designed mischief with professions of friendship, that it may be
|
|
carried on the more securely and effectually, as Joab kissed and
|
|
killed, Judas kissed and betrayed; this is his sin, to which the
|
|
punishment answers
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Violence covers the mouth of the wicked;</I> what he got by violence
|
|
shall by violence be taken from him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+5:4,5">Job v. 4, 5</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_12"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. The great mischief-maker, and that is malice. Even where there is no
|
|
manifest occasion of strife, yet <I>hatred</I> seeks occasion and so
|
|
<I>stirs it up</I> and does the devil's work. Those are the most
|
|
spiteful ill-natured people that can be who take a pleasure in setting
|
|
their neighbours together by the ears, by tale-bearing, evil surmises,
|
|
and misrepresentations, blowing up the sparks of contention, which had
|
|
lain buried, into a flame, at which, with an unaccountable pleasure,
|
|
they warm their hands.
|
|
|
|
2. The great peace-maker, and that is <I>love,</I> which <I>covers all
|
|
sins,</I> that is, the offences among relations which occasion discord.
|
|
Love, instead of proclaiming and aggravating the offence, conceals and
|
|
extenuates it as far as it is capable of being concealed and
|
|
extenuated. Love will excuse the offence which we give through mistake
|
|
and unadvisedly; when we are able to say that there was no ill
|
|
intended, but it was an oversight, and we love our friend
|
|
notwithstanding, this covers it. It will also overlook the offence that
|
|
is given us, and so cover it, and make the best of it: by this means
|
|
strife is prevented, or, if begun, peace is recovered and restored
|
|
quickly. The apostle quotes this,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+4:8">1 Pet. iv. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Love will cover a multitude of sins.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_13"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>13 In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found:
|
|
but a rod <I>is</I> for the back of him that is void of understanding.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Wisdom and grace are the honour of good men: He <I>that has
|
|
understanding,</I> that good understanding which those have that do the
|
|
commandments, <I>wisdom is found in his lips,</I> that is, it is
|
|
discovered to be there, and consequently that he has within a good
|
|
treasure of it, and it is derived thence for the benefit of others. It
|
|
is a man's honour to have wisdom, but much more to be instrumental to
|
|
make others wise.
|
|
|
|
2. Folly and sin are the shame of bad men: <I>A rod is for the back of
|
|
him that is void of understanding--of him that wants a heart;</I> he
|
|
exposes himself to the lashes of his own conscience, to the scourges of
|
|
the tongue, to the censures of the magistrate, and to the righteous
|
|
judgments of God. Those that foolishly and wilfully go on in wicked
|
|
ways are preparing rods for themselves, the marks of which will be
|
|
their perpetual disgrace.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_14"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>14 Wise <I>men</I> lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish
|
|
<I>is</I> near destruction.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. It is the wisdom of the wise that they treasure up a stock of useful
|
|
knowledge, which will be their preservation: <I>Wisdom is</I> therefore
|
|
<I>found in their lips</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
because it is laid up in their hearts, out of which store, like the
|
|
good householder, they bring things new and old. Whatever knowledge may
|
|
be at any time useful to us we must <I>lay it up,</I> because we know
|
|
not but some time or other we may have occasion for it. We must
|
|
continue laying up as long as we live; and be sure to lay it up safely,
|
|
that it may not be to seek when we want it.
|
|
|
|
2. It is the folly of fools that they lay up mischief in their hearts,
|
|
which is ready to them in all they say, and works terror and
|
|
destruction both to others and to themselves. They <I>love devouring
|
|
words</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+52:4">Ps. lii. 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
and these come uppermost. Their <I>mouth is near destruction,</I>
|
|
having the <I>sharp arrows of bitter words</I> always at hand to throw
|
|
about.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_15"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 The rich man's wealth <I>is</I> his strong city: the destruction
|
|
of the poor <I>is</I> their poverty.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This may be taken two ways:--
|
|
|
|
1. As a reason why we should be diligent in our business, that we may
|
|
avoid that sinking dispiriting uneasiness which attends poverty, and
|
|
may enjoy the benefit and comfort which those have that are beforehand
|
|
in the world. Taking pains is really the way to make ourselves and our
|
|
families easy. Or, rather,
|
|
|
|
2. As a representation of the common mistakes both of rich and poor,
|
|
concerning their outward condition.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Rich people think themselves happy because they are rich; but it
|
|
is their mistake: <I>The rich man's wealth is,</I> in his own conceit,
|
|
<I>his strong city,</I> whereas the worst of evils it is too weak and
|
|
utterly insufficient to protect them from. It will prove that they are
|
|
not so safe as they imagine; nay, their wealth may perhaps expose them.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Poor people think themselves undone because they are poor; but it
|
|
is their mistake: <I>The destruction of the poor is their poverty;</I>
|
|
it sinks their spirits, and ruins all their comforts; whereas a man may
|
|
live very comfortably, though he has but a little to live on, if he be
|
|
but content, and keep a good conscience, and live by faith.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_16"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 The labour of the righteous <I>tendeth</I> to life: the fruit of
|
|
the wicked to sin.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Solomon here confirms what his father had said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:16">Ps. xxxvii. 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many
|
|
wicked.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. Perhaps a righteous man has no more than what he works hard for; he
|
|
eats only <I>the labour of his hands,</I> but that <I>labour tends to
|
|
life;</I> he aims at nothing but to get an honest livelihood, covets
|
|
not to be rich and great, but is willing to live and maintain his
|
|
family. Nor does it tend only to his own life, but he would enable
|
|
himself to do good to others; he labours <I>that he may have to
|
|
give</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+4:28">Eph. iv. 28</A>);
|
|
|
|
all his business turns to some good account or other. Or it may be
|
|
meant of his labour in religion; he takes most pains in that which has
|
|
a tendency to eternal life; he <I>sows to the Spirit,</I> that he may
|
|
<I>reap life everlasting.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. Perhaps a wicked man's wealth is fruit which he did not labour for,
|
|
but came easily by, but it tends <I>to sin.</I> He makes it the food
|
|
and fuel of his lusts, his pride and luxury; he gets hurt with it and
|
|
not good; he gets hurt by it and is hardened by it in his wicked ways.
|
|
The things of this world are good or evil, life or death, as they are
|
|
used, and as those are that have them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_17"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>17 He <I>is in</I> the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he
|
|
that refuseth reproof erreth.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
1. That those are in the right that do not only receive instruction,
|
|
but retain it, that do not let it slip through carelessness, as most
|
|
do, nor let it go to those that would rob them of it, that <I>keep
|
|
instruction</I> safely, keep it pure and entire, keep it for their own
|
|
use, that they may govern themselves by it, keep it for the benefit of
|
|
others, that they may instruct them; those that do so are <I>in the way
|
|
of life,</I> the way that has true comfort in it and eternal life at
|
|
the end of it.
|
|
|
|
2. That those are in the wrong that do not only not receive
|
|
instruction, but wilfully and obstinately refuse it when it is offered
|
|
them. They will not be taught their duty because it discovers their
|
|
faults to them; that instruction which carries reproof in it they have
|
|
a particular aversion to, and certainly they err; it is a sign that
|
|
they err in judgment, and have false notions of good and evil; it is a
|
|
cause of their erring in conversation. The traveller that has missed
|
|
his way, and cannot bear to be told of it and shown the right way, must
|
|
needs err still, err endlessly; he certainly misses <I>the way of
|
|
life.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_18"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Proper of the Use of the Tongue.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>18 He that hideth hatred <I>with</I> lying lips, and he that
|
|
uttereth a slander, <I>is</I> a fool.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe here, Malice is folly and wickedness.
|
|
|
|
1. It is so when it is concealed by flattery and dissimulation: He
|
|
<I>is a fool,</I> though he may think himself a politician, <I>that
|
|
hides hatred with lying lips,</I> lest, if it break out, he should be
|
|
ashamed before men and should lose the opportunity of gratifying his
|
|
malice. <I>Lying lips</I> are bad enough of themselves, but have a
|
|
peculiar malignity in them when they are made <I>a cloak of
|
|
maliciousness.</I> But he <I>is a fool</I> who thinks to hide any thing
|
|
from God.
|
|
|
|
2. It is no better when it is vented in spiteful and mischievous
|
|
language: <I>He that utters slander is a fool</I> too, for God will
|
|
sooner or later bring forth that righteousness as the light which he
|
|
endeavours to cloud, and will find an expedient to roll the reproach
|
|
away.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_19"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>19 In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that
|
|
refraineth his lips <I>is</I> wise.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We are here admonished concerning the government of the tongue, that
|
|
necessary duty of a Christian.
|
|
|
|
1. It is good to say little, because <I>in the multitude of words there
|
|
wanteth not sin,</I> or <I>sin doth not cease.</I> Usually, those that
|
|
speak much speak much amiss, and among many words there cannot but be
|
|
many idle words, which they must shortly give an account of. Those that
|
|
love to hear themselves talk do not consider what work they are making
|
|
for repentance; for that will be wanted, and first or last will be had,
|
|
where <I>there wanteth not sin.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. It is therefore good to <I>keep our mouth as with a bridle: He that
|
|
refrains his lips,</I> that often checks himself, suppresses what he
|
|
has thought, and holds in that which would transpire, is a wise man; it
|
|
is an evidence of his wisdom, and he therein consults his own peace.
|
|
Little said is soon amended,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Am+5:13,Jam+1:19">Amos v. 13; Jam. i. 19</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_21"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 The tongue of the just <I>is as</I> choice silver: the heart of
|
|
the wicked <I>is</I> little worth.
|
|
21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want
|
|
of wisdom.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and preferment
|
|
in the world, but by their virtue.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Good men are good for something. Though they may be poor and low in
|
|
the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as
|
|
long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make them valuable and
|
|
useful, and upon that account we must honour those that fear the Lord,
|
|
because <I>out of the good treasure of their heart they bring forth
|
|
good things.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. This makes them valuable: <I>The tongue of the just is as choice
|
|
silver;</I> they are sincere, freed from the dross of guile and evil
|
|
design. God's words are compared to <I>silver purified</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+12:6">Ps. xii. 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
for they may be relied on; and such are the words of just men. They are
|
|
of weight and worth, and will enrich those that hear them with wisdom,
|
|
which is better than <I>choice silver.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. It makes them useful: <I>The lips of the righteous feed many;</I>
|
|
for they are full of the word of God, which is the bread of life, and
|
|
that sound doctrine wherewith souls are nourished up. Pious discourse
|
|
is spiritual food to the needy, to the hungry.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Bad men are good for nothing.
|
|
|
|
1. One can get no good by them: <I>The heart of the wicked is little
|
|
worth,</I> and therefore that which comes out of the abundance of his
|
|
heart cannot be worth much. His principles, his notions, his thoughts,
|
|
his purposes, and all the things that fill him, and affect him, are
|
|
worldly and carnal, and therefore of no value. <I>He that is of the
|
|
earth speaks of the earth,</I> and neither understands nor relishes the
|
|
things of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+3:31,1Co+2:14">John iii. 31; 1 Cor. ii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
The wicked man pretends that, though he does not talk of religion as
|
|
the just do, yet he has it within him, and thanks God that his heart is
|
|
good; but he that searches the heart here says the contrary: <I>It is
|
|
nothing worth.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. One can do no good to them. While many are fed by <I>the lips of the
|
|
righteous, fools die for want of wisdom;</I> and fools indeed they are
|
|
to die for want of that which they might so easily come by. <I>Fools
|
|
die for want of a heart</I> (so the word is); they perish for want of
|
|
consideration and resolution; they have no heart to do any thing for
|
|
their own good. While the righteous feed others fools starve
|
|
themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Advantages of the Righteous.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 The blessing of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, it maketh rich, and he addeth no
|
|
sorrow with it.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Worldly wealth is that which most men have their hearts very much upon,
|
|
but they generally mistake both in the nature of the thing they desire
|
|
and in the way by which they hope to obtain it; we are therefore told
|
|
here,
|
|
|
|
1. What that wealth is which is indeed desirable, not having abundance
|
|
only, but having it and <I>no sorrow with it,</I> no disquieting care
|
|
to get and keep it, no vexation of spirit in the enjoyment of it, no
|
|
tormenting grief for the loss of it, no guilt contracted by the abuse
|
|
of it--to have it and to have a heart to take the comfort of it, to do
|
|
good with it and to serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart in
|
|
the use of it.
|
|
|
|
2. Whence this desirable wealth is to be expected, not by making
|
|
ourselves drudges to the world
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+127:2">Ps. cxxvii. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
but by <I>the blessing of God.</I> It is this that <I>makes rich and
|
|
adds no sorrow;</I> what comes from the love of God has the grace of
|
|
God for its companion, to preserve the soul from those turbulent lusts
|
|
and passions of which, otherwise, the increase of riches if commonly
|
|
the incentive. He had said
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>The hand of the diligent makes rich,</I> as a means; but here he
|
|
ascribes it to <I>the blessing of the Lord;</I> but that blessing is
|
|
upon <I>the hand of the diligent.</I> It is thus in spiritual riches.
|
|
Diligence in getting them is our duty, but God's blessing and grace
|
|
must have all the glory of that which is acquired,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:17,18">Deut. viii. 17, 18</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 <I>It is</I> as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of
|
|
understanding hath wisdom.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
1. Sin exceedingly sinful: <I>It is as laughter to a fool to do
|
|
mischief;</I> it is as natural to him, and as pleasant, as it is to a
|
|
man to laugh. <I>Wickedness is his Isaac</I> (that is the word here);
|
|
it is his delight, his darling, and that in which he pleases himself.
|
|
He makes a laughing matter of sin. When he is warned not to sin, from
|
|
the consideration of the law of God and the revelation of his wrath
|
|
against sin, he makes a jest of the admonition, and laughs at the
|
|
shaking of the spear; when he has sinned, instead of sorrowing for it,
|
|
he boasts of it, ridicules reproofs, and laughs away the convictions of
|
|
his own conscience,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+14:9"><I>ch.</I> xiv. 9</A>.
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2. Wisdom exceedingly wise, for it carries along with it the evidence
|
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of its own excellency; it may be predicated of itself, and this is
|
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encomium enough; you need say no more in praise of <I>a man of
|
|
understanding</I> than this, "He is an <I>understanding man;</I> he
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<I>has wisdom;</I> he is so wise as not to do mischief, or if he has,
|
|
through oversight, offended, he is so wise as not to make a jest of
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it." Or, to pronounce wisdom wise indeed, read it thus: <I>As it is a
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|
sport to a fool to do mischief, so it is to a man of understanding to
|
|
have wisdom and to show it.</I> Besides the future recompence, a good
|
|
man has as much present pleasure in the restraints and exercises of
|
|
religion as sinners can pretend to in the liberties and enjoyments of
|
|
sin, and much more, and much better.</P>
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|
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<A NAME="Pr10_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr10_25"> </A>
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|
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the
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desire of the righteous shall be granted.
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25 As the whirlwind passeth, so <I>is</I> the wicked no <I>more:</I> but
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the righteous <I>is</I> an everlasting foundation.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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It is here said, and said again, to the righteous, that <I>it shall be
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well with them,</I> and to the wicked, <I>Woe to them;</I> and these
|
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are set the one over against the other, for their mutual
|
|
illustration.</P>
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<P>
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I. It shall be as ill with the wicked as they can fear, and as well
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with the righteous as they can desire.
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1. The wicked, it is true, buoy themselves up sometimes in their
|
|
wickedness with vain hopes which will deceive them, but at other times
|
|
they cannot but be haunted with just fears, and those <I>fears shall
|
|
come upon them;</I> the God they provoke will be every whit as terrible
|
|
as they, when they are under their greatest damps, apprehend him to be.
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<I>As is thy fear, so is thy wrath,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+90:11">Ps. xc. 11</A>.
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Wicked men fear the punishment of sin, but they have not wisdom to
|
|
improve their fears by making their escape, and so the thing they
|
|
feared comes upon them, and their present terrors are earnests of their
|
|
future torments.
|
|
|
|
2. The righteous, it is true, sometimes have their fears, but their
|
|
desire is towards the favour of God and a happiness in him, and that
|
|
<I>desire shall be granted.</I> According to their faith, not according
|
|
to their fear, it shall be <I>unto them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:4">Ps. xxxvii. 4</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The prosperity of the wicked shall quickly end, but the happiness
|
|
of the righteous shall never end,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
The wicked make a great noise, hurry themselves and others, like a
|
|
<I>whirlwind,</I> which threatens to bear down all before it; but, like
|
|
a <I>whirlwind,</I> they are presently gone, and they pass
|
|
irrecoverably; they are <I>no more;</I> all about them are quiet and
|
|
glad when the storm is over,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:10,36,Job+20:5">Ps. xxxvii. 10, 36; Job xx. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The righteous,</I> on the contrary, make no show; they lie hid, like
|
|
a <I>foundation,</I> which is low and out of sight, but they are fixed
|
|
in their resolution to cleave to God, established in virtue, and they
|
|
shall be an <I>everlasting foundation,</I> immovably good. He that is
|
|
holy shall be holy still and immovably happy; his hope is built on a
|
|
rock, and therefore not shocked by the storm,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+7:24">Matt. vii. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>The righteous is the pillar of the world</I> (so some read it); the
|
|
world stands for their sakes; the holy seed is the substance
|
|
thereof.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec5"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Righteous Exclusively Happy.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so <I>is</I>
|
|
the sluggard to them that send him.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Those that are of a slothful disposition, that love their ease and
|
|
cannot apply their minds to any business, are not fit to be employed,
|
|
no, not so much as to be sent on an errand, for they will neither
|
|
deliver a message with any care nor make any haste back. Such therefore
|
|
are very unmeet to be ministers, Christ's messengers; he will not own
|
|
the sending forth of sluggards into his harvest.
|
|
|
|
2. Those that are guilty of so great an oversight as to entrust such
|
|
with any affair, and put confidence in them, will certainly have
|
|
vexation with them. A slothful servant is to his master as uneasy and
|
|
troublesome as <I>vinegar to the teeth</I> and <I>smoke to the
|
|
eyes;</I> he provokes his passion, as vinegar sets the teeth on edge,
|
|
and occasions him grief to see his business neglected and undone, as
|
|
smoke sets the eyes a weeping.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_27"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_28"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>27 The fear of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> prolongeth days: but the years of the
|
|
wicked shall be shortened.
|
|
28 The hope of the righteous <I>shall be</I> gladness: but the
|
|
expectation of the wicked shall perish.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Observe,
|
|
|
|
1. Religion lengthens men's lives and crowns their hopes. <I>What man
|
|
is he that loves life?</I> Let him <I>fear God,</I> and that will
|
|
secure him from many things that would prejudice his life, and secure
|
|
to him life enough in this world and eternal life in the other; <I>the
|
|
fear of the Lord</I> will add days more than was expected, will add
|
|
them endlessly, will prolong them to the days of eternity. <I>What man
|
|
is he that would see good days?</I> Let him be religious, and then his
|
|
days shall not only be many, but happy, very happy as well as very
|
|
many, for <I>the hope of the righteous shall be gladness;</I> they
|
|
shall have what they hope for, to their unspeakable satisfaction. It is
|
|
something future and unseen that they place their happiness in
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+8:24,25">Rom. viii. 24, 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
not what they have in hand, but what they have in hope, and their hope
|
|
will shortly be swallowed up in fruition, and it will be their
|
|
everlasting <I>gladness. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. Wickedness shortens men's lives, and frustrates their hopes: <I>The
|
|
years of the wicked,</I> that are spent in the pleasures of sin and the
|
|
drudgery of the world, <I>shall be shortened.</I> Cut down the trees
|
|
that cumber the ground. And whatever comfort or happiness a wicked man
|
|
promises himself, in this world or the other, he will be frustrated;
|
|
for <I>the expectation of the wicked shall perish;</I> his hope shall
|
|
be turned into endless despair.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_29"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_30"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>29 The way of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> strength to the upright: but
|
|
destruction <I>shall be</I> to the workers of iniquity.
|
|
30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall
|
|
not inhabit the earth.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
These two verses are to the same purport with those next before,
|
|
intimating the happiness of the godly and the misery of the wicked; it
|
|
is necessary that this be inculcated upon us, so loth are we to believe
|
|
and consider it.
|
|
|
|
1. Strength and stability are entailed upon integrity: <I>The way of
|
|
the Lord</I> (the providence of God, the way in which he walks towards
|
|
us) <I>is strength to the upright,</I> confirms him in his uprightness.
|
|
All God's dealings with him, merciful and afflictive, serve to quicken
|
|
him to his duty and animate him against his discouragements. Or <I>the
|
|
way of the Lord</I> (the way of godliness, in which he appoints us to
|
|
walk) is <I>strength to the upright;</I> the closer we keep to that
|
|
way, the more our hearts are enlarged to proceed in it, the better
|
|
fitted we are both for services and sufferings. A good conscience, kept
|
|
pure from sin, gives a man boldness in a dangerous time, and constant
|
|
diligence in duty makes a man's work easy in a busy time. The more we
|
|
do for God the more we may do,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+17:9">Job xvii. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
That <I>joy of the Lord</I> which is to be found only in the <I>way of
|
|
the Lord</I> will be our strength
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ne+8:10">Neh. viii. 10</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore <I>the righteous shall never be removed.</I> Those that
|
|
have an established virtue have an established peace and happiness
|
|
which nothing can rob them of; they <I>have an everlasting
|
|
foundation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+10:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. Ruin and destruction are the certain consequences of wickedness.
|
|
<I>The wicked shall not</I> only not inherit the earth, though they lay
|
|
up their treasure in it, but they shall not so much as <I>inhabit the
|
|
earth;</I> God's judgments will root them out. <I>Destruction,</I>
|
|
swift and sure destruction, <I>shall be to the workers of iniquity,</I>
|
|
destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.
|
|
Nay, that way of the Lord which is the strength of the upright is
|
|
consumption and terror <I>to the workers of iniquity;</I> the same
|
|
gospel which to the one is a <I>savour of life unto life</I> to the
|
|
other is a <I>savour of death unto death;</I> the same providence, like
|
|
the same sun, softens the one and hardens the other,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ho+14:9">Hos. xiv. 9</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_31"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr10_32"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward
|
|
tongue shall be cut out.
|
|
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the
|
|
mouth of the wicked <I>speaketh</I> frowardness.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here, as before, men are judged of, and, accordingly, are justified or
|
|
condemned, by their words,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+12:37">Matt. xii. 37</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. It is both the proof and the praise of a man's wisdom and goodness
|
|
that he speaks wisely and well. A good man, in his discourse, <I>brings
|
|
forth wisdom</I> for the benefit of others. God gives him wisdom as a
|
|
reward of his righteousness
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+2:26">Eccl. ii. 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
and he, in gratitude for that gift and justice to the giver, does good
|
|
with it, and with his wise and pious discourses edifies many. He
|
|
<I>knows what is acceptable,</I> what discourse will be pleasing to God
|
|
(for that is it that he studies more than to oblige the company), and
|
|
what will be agreeable both to the speaker and to the hearers, what
|
|
will become him and benefit them, and that he will speak.
|
|
|
|
2. It is the sin, and will be the ruin, of a wicked man, that he speaks
|
|
wickedly like himself. <I>The mouth of the wicked speaks
|
|
frowardness,</I> that which is displeasing to God and provoking to
|
|
those he converses with; and what is the issue of it? Why, <I>the
|
|
froward tongue shall be cut out,</I> as surely as the <I>flattering
|
|
one,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+12:3">Ps. xii. 3</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
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