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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Proverbs XXVI].</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. XXVI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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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>Proper Treatment of Fools.</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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<A NAME="Pr26_1"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not
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seemly for a fool.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Note,
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1. It is too common a thing for honour to be given to fools, who are
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utterly unworthy of it and unfit for it. Bad men, who have neither wit
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nor grace, are sometimes preferred by princes, and applauded and cried
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up by the people. <I>Folly is set in great dignity,</I> as Solomon
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observed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+10:6">Eccl. x. 6</A>.
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2. It is very absurd and unbecoming when it is so. It is an incongruous
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<I>as snow in summer,</I> and as great a disorder in the commonwealth
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as that is in the course of nature and in the seasons of the year; nay,
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it is as injurious <I>as rain in harvest,</I> which hinders the
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labourers and spoils the fruits of the earth when they are ready to be
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gathered. When bad men are in power they commonly abuse their power, in
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discouraging virtue, and giving countenance to wickedness, for want of
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wisdom to discern it and grace to detest it.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_2"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>2 As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the
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curse causeless shall not come.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. The folly of passion. It makes men scatter <I>causeless curses,</I>
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wishing ill to others upon presumption that they are bad and have done
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ill, when either they mistake the person or misunderstand the fact, or
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they call evil good and good evil. Give honour to a fool, and he
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thunders out his anathemas against all that he is disgusted with, right
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or wrong. Great men, when wicked, think they have a privilege to keep
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those about them in awe, by cursing them, and swearing at them, which
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yet is an expression of the most impotent malice and shows their
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weakness as much as their wickedness.
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2. The safety of innocency. He that is cursed without cause, whether by
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furious imprecations or solemn anathemas, the curse shall do him no
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more harm than the bird that flies over his head, than Goliath's curses
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did to David,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+17:43">1 Sam. xvii. 43</A>.
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It will fly away like the sparrow or the wild dove, which go nobody
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knows where, till they return to their proper place, as the curse will
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at length return upon the head of him that uttered it.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_3"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the
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fool's back.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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1. Wicked men are compared to <I>the horse</I> and <I>the ass,</I> so
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brutish are they, so unreasonable, so unruly, and not to be governed
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but by force or fear, so low has sin sunk men, so much below
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themselves. Man indeed is <I>born like the wild ass's colt,</I> but as
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some by the grace of God are changed, and become rational, so others by
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custom in sin are hardened, and become more and more sottish, <I>as the
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horse and the mule,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+32:9">Ps. xxxii. 9</A>.
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2. Direction is given to use them accordingly. Princes, instead of
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giving <I>honour to a fool</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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must put disgrace upon him--instead of putting power into his hand,
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must exercise power over him. A <I>horse</I> unbroken needs <I>a
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whip</I> for correction, and an <I>ass a bridle</I> for direction and
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to check him when he would turn out of the way; so a vicious man, who
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will not be under the guidance and restraint of religion and reason,
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ought to be whipped and bridled, to be rebuked severely, and made to
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smart for what he has done amiss, and to be restrained from offending
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any more.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr26_5"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be
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like unto him.
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5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his
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own conceit.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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See here the noble security of the scripture-style, which seems to
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contradict itself, but really does not. Wise men have need to be
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directed how to deal with fools; and they have never more need of
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wisdom than in dealing with such, to know when to keep silence and when
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to speak, for there may be a time for both.
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1. In some cases a wise man will not set his wit to that of a fool so
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far as to <I>answer him according to his folly</I> "If he boast of
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himself, do not answer him by boasting of thyself. If he rail and talk
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passionately, do not thou rail and talk passionately too. If he tell
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one great lie, do not thou tell another to match it. If he calumniate
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thy friends, do not thou calumniate his. If he banter, do not answer
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him in his own language, <I>lest thou be like him,</I> even thou, who
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knowest better things, who hast more sense, and hast been better
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taught."
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2. Yet, in other cases, a wise man will use his wisdom for the
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conviction of a fool, when, by taking notice of what he says, there may
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be hopes of doing good, or at least preventing further, mischief,
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either to himself or others. "If thou have reason to think that thy
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silence will be deemed an evidence of the weakness of thy cause, or of
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thy own weakness, in such a case <I>answer him,</I> and let it be an
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answer <I>ad hominem--to the man,</I> beat him at his own weapons, and
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that will be an answer <I>ad rem--to the point,</I> or as good as one.
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If he offer any thing that looks like an argument, an answer that, and
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suit thy answer to his case. If he think, because thou dost not answer
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him, that what he says is unanswerable, then give him an answer,
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<I>lest he be wise in his own conceit</I> and boast of a victory." For
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+7:35">Luke vii. 35</A>)
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Wisdom's children must justify her.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr26_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr26_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr26_9"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off
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the feet, <I>and</I> drinketh damage.
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7 The legs of the lame are not equal: so <I>is</I> a parable in the
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mouth of fools.
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8 As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so <I>is</I> he that giveth
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honour to a fool.
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9 <I>As</I> a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so <I>is</I> a
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parable in the mouth of fools.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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To recommend wisdom to us, and to quicken us to the diligent use of all
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the means for the getting of wisdom, Solomon here shows that fools are
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fit for nothing; they are either sottish men, who will never think and
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design at all, or vicious men, who will never think and design well.
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1. They are not fit to be entrusted with any business, not fit to go
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on an errand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>):
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<I>He that</I> does but <I>send a message by the hand of a fool,</I> of
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a careless heedless person, one who is so full of his jests and so
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given to his pleasures that he cannot apply his mind to any thing that
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is serious, will find his message misunderstood, the one half of it
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forgotten, the rest awkwardly delivered, and so many blunders made
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about it that he might as well have <I>cut off his legs,</I> that is,
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never have sent him. Nay, he will <I>drink damage;</I> it will be very
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much to his prejudice to have employed such a one, who, instead of
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bringing him a good account of his affairs, will abuse him and put a
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trick upon him; for, in Solomon's language, a knave and a fool are of
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the same signification. It will turn much to a man's disgrace to make
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use of the service of a fool, for people will be apt to judge of the
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master by his messenger.
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2. They are not fit to have any honour put upon them. He had said
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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<I>Honour is not seemly for a fool;</I> here he shows that it is lost
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and thrown away upon him, as if a man should throw a precious stone, or
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a stone fit to be used in weighing, into a heap of common stones, where
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it would be buried and of no use; it is as absurd as if a man should
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<I>dress up a stone in purple</I> (so others); nay, it is dangerous, it
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is like <I>a stone bound in a sling,</I> with which a man will be
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likely to do hurt. To <I>give honour to a fool</I> is to put a sword in
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a madman's hand, with which we know not what mischief he may do, even
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to those that put it into his hand.
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3. They are not fit to deliver wise sayings, nor should they undertake
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to handle any matter of weight, though they should be instructed
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concerning it, and be able to say something to it. Wise sayings, as a
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foolish man delivers them and applies them (in such a manner that one
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may know he does not rightly understand them), lose their excellency
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and usefulness: <I>A parable in the mouth of fools</I> ceases to be a
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parable, and becomes a jest. If a man who lives a wicked life, yet
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speaks religiously and takes God's covenant into his mouth,
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(1.) He does but shame himself and his profession: As <I>the legs of
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the lame are not equal,</I> by reason of which their going is unseemly,
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so unseemly is it for a fool to pretend to speak apophthegms, and give
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advice, and for a man to talk devoutly whose conversation is a constant
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contradiction to his talk and gives him the lie. His good words raise
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him up, but then his bad life takes him down, and so his <I>legs are
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not equal.</I> "A wise saying," (says bishop Patrick) "doth as ill
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become a fool as dancing doth a cripple; for, as his lameness never so
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much appears as when he would seem nimble, so the other's folly is
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never so ridiculous as when he would seem wise." As therefore it is
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best for a lame man to keep his seat, so it is best for a silly man, or
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a bad man, to hold his tongue.
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(2.) He does but do mischief with it to himself and others, as a
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drunkard does with a thorn, or any other sharp thing which he takes in
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his hand, with which he tears himself and those about him, because he
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knows not how to manage it. Those that talk well and do not live well,
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their good words will aggravate their own condemnation and others will
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be hardened by their inconsistency with themselves. Some give this
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sense of it: The sharpest saying, by which a sinner, one would think,
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should be pricked to the heart, makes no more impression upon a fool,
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no, though it come out of his own mouth, than the scratch of a thorn
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does upon the hand of a man when he is drunk, who then feels it not nor
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complains of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+23:35"><I>ch.</I> xxiii. 35</A>.</P>
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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>The Conduct of Fools.</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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<A NAME="Pr26_10"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 The great <I>God</I> that formed all <I>things</I> both rewardeth the
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fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Our translation gives this verse a different reading in the text and in
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the margin; and accordingly it expresses either,
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1. The equity of a good God. The <I>Master,</I> or <I>Lord</I> (so
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<I>Rab</I> signifies), or, as we read it, <I>The great God that formed
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all things</I> at first, and still governs them in infinite wisdom,
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renders to every man according to his work. He <I>rewards the fool,</I>
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who sinned through ignorance, <I>who knew not his Lord's will, with few
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stripes;</I> and he <I>rewards the transgressor,</I> who sinned
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presumptuously and with a high hand, who <I>knew his Lord's will and
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would not do it, with many stripes.</I> Some understand it of the
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goodness of God's common providence even to fools and transgressors, on
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whom <I>he causes his sun to shine</I> and <I>his rain to fall.</I> Or,
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2. The iniquity of a bad prince (so the margin reads it): <I>A great
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man grieves all, and he hires the fool; he hires also the
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transgressors.</I> When a wicked man gets power in his hand, by
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himself, and by the fools and knaves whom he employs under him, whom he
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hires and chooses to make use of, he grieves all who are under him and
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is vexatious to them. We should therefore <I>pray for kings and all in
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authority,</I> that, under them, our lives may be quiet and
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peaceable.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_11"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>11 As a dog returneth to his vomit, <I>so</I> a fool returneth to
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his folly.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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See here,
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1. What an abominable thing sin is, and how hateful sometimes it is
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made to appear, even to the sinner himself. When his conscience is
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convinced, or he feels smart from his sin, he is sick of it, and vomits
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it up; he seems then to detest it and to be willing to part with it. It
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is in itself, and, first or last, will be to the sinner, more loathsome
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than the vomit of a dog,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+36:2">Ps. xxxvi. 2</A>.
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2. How apt sinners are to relapse into it notwithstanding. As the dog,
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after he has gained ease by vomiting that which burdened his stomach,
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yet goes and licks it up again, so sinners, who have been convinced
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only and not converted, return to sin again, forgetting how sick it
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made them. The apostle
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Pe+2:22">2 Pet. ii. 22</A>)
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applies this proverb to those that <I>have known the way of
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righteousness</I> but are <I>turned from it;</I> but God will <I>spue
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them out of his mouth,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:16">Rev. iii. 16</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_12"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? <I>there is</I> more
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hope of a fool than of him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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1. A spiritual disease supposed, and that is self-conceit: <I>Seest
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thou a man?</I> Yes, we see many a one, <I>wise in his own conceit,</I>
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who has some little sense, but is proud of it, thinks it much more than
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it is, more than any of his neighbours, have, and enough, so that he
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needs no more, has such a conceit of his own abilities as makes him
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opinionative, dogmatical, and censorious; and all the use he makes of
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his knowledge is that it puffs him up. Or, if by a wise man we
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understand a religious man, it describes the character of those who,
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making some show of religion, conclude their spiritual state to be good
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when really it is very bad, like Laodicea,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+3:17">Rev. iii. 17</A>.
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2. The danger of this disease. It is in a manner desperate: <I>There is
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more hope of a fool,</I> that knows and owns himself to be such,
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<I>than of</I> such a one. Solomon was not only a wise man himself, but
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a teacher of wisdom; and this observation he made upon his pupils, that
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he found his work most difficult and least successful with those that
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had a good opinion of themselves and were not sensible that they needed
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instruction. Therefore he that <I>seems</I> to himself <I>to be
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wise</I> must <I>become a fool, that he may be wise,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Co+3:18">1 Cor. iii. 18</A>.
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There is more hope of a publican than of a proud Pharisee,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+21:32">Matt. xxi. 32</A>.
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Many are hindered from being truly wise and religious by a false and
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groundless conceit that they are so,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+9:40,41">John ix. 40, 41</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Disgrace of Slothfulness.</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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<A NAME="Pr26_13"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>13 The slothful <I>man</I> saith, <I>There is</I> a lion in the way; a
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lion <I>is</I> in the streets.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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When a man talks foolishly we say, He talks idly; for none betray their
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folly more than those who are idle and go about to excuse themselves in
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their idleness. As men's folly makes them slothful, so their
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slothfulness makes them foolish. Observe,
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1. What <I>the slothful man</I> really dreads. He dreads <I>the way,
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the streets,</I> the place where work is to be done and a journey to be
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gone; he hates business, hates every thing that requires care and
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labour.
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2. What he dreams of, and pretends to dread--<I>a lion in the way.</I>
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When he is pressed to be diligent, either in his worldly affairs or in
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the business of religion, this is his excuse (and a sorry excuse it is,
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as bad as none), <I>There is a lion in the way,</I> some insuperable
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difficulty or danger which he cannot pretend to grapple with. Lions
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frequent woods and deserts; and, in the day-time, when man has business
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to do, they are in their dens,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+104:22,23">Ps. civ. 22, 23</A>.
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But the sluggard fancies, or rather pretends to fancy, <I>a lion in the
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streets,</I> whereas the lion is only in his own fancy, nor is he so
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fierce as he is painted. Note, It is a foolish thing to frighten
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ourselves from real duties by fancied difficulties,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+11:4">Eccl. xi. 4</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_14"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>14 <I>As</I> the door turneth upon his hinges, so <I>doth</I> the
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slothful upon his bed.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Having seen the slothful man in fear of his work, here we find him in
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love with his ease; he lies in his bed on one side till he is weary of
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that, and then turns to the other, but still in his bed, when it is far
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in the day and work is to be done, as the door is moved, but not
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removed; and so his business is neglected and his opportunities are let
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slip. See the sluggard's character.
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1. He is one that does not care to get out of his bed, but seems to be
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hung upon it, <I>as the door upon the hinges.</I> Bodily ease, too much
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consulted, is the sad occasion of many a spiritual disease. Those that
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love sleep will prove in the end to have loved death.
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2. He does not care to get forward with his business; in that he stirs
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to and fro a little, but to no purpose; he is where he was. Slothful
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professors turn, in profession, like <I>the door upon the hinges.</I>
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The world and the flesh are the two hinges on which they are hung, and
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though they move in a course of external services, have got into road
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of duties, and tread around in them like the horse in the mill, yet
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they get no good, they get no ground, they are never the nearer
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heaven--sinners unchanged, saints unimproved.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_15"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>15 The slothful hideth his hand in <I>his</I> bosom; it grieveth him
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to bring it again to his mouth.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The sluggard has now, with much ado, got out of his bed, but he might
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as well have lain there still for any thing he is likely to bring to
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pass in his work, so awkwardly does he go about it. Observe,
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1. The pretence he makes for his slothfulness: He <I>hides his hand in
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his bosom</I> for fear of cold; next to his warm bed in his warm bosom.
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Or he pretends that he is lame, as some do that make a trade of
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begging; something ails his hand; he would have it thought that it is
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blistered with yesterday's hard work. Or it intimates, in general, his
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aversion to business; he has tried, and his hands are not used to
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labour, and therefore he hugs himself in his own ease and cares for
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nobody. Note, It is common for those that will not do their duty to
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pretend they cannot. <I>I cannot dig,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:3">Luke xvi. 3</A>.
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2. The prejudice he sustains by his slothfulness. He himself is the
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loser by it, for he starves himself: <I>It grieves him to bring his
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hand to his mouth,</I> that is, he cannot find in his heart to feed
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himself, but dreads, as if it were a mighty toil, to lift his hand to
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|
his head. It is an elegant hyperbole, aggravating his sin, that he
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|
cannot endure to take the least pains, no, not for the greatest profit,
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and showing how his sin is his punishment. Those that are slothful in
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the business of religion will not be at the pains to feed their own
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souls with the word of God, the bread of life, nor to fetch in promised
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blessings by prayer, though they might have them for the fetching.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_16"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>16 The sluggard <I>is</I> wiser in his own conceit than seven men
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that can render a reason.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Observe,
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1. The high opinion which the sluggard has of himself, notwithstanding
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the gross absurdity and folly of his slothfulness: He thinks himself
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<I>wiser than seven men,</I> than seven wise men, for they are such as
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<I>can render a reason.</I> It is the wisdom of a man to be able to
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<I>render a reason,</I> of a good man to be able to give <I>a reason of
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the hope that is in him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Pe+3:15">1 Pet. iii. 15</A>.
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What we do we should be able to <I>render a reason</I> for, though
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|
perhaps we may not have wit enough to show the fallacy of every
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|
objection against it. He that takes pains in religion can render a good
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|
reason for it; he knows that he is working for a good Master and that
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<I>his labour shall not be in vain.</I> But <I>the sluggard</I> thinks
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|
himself <I>wiser than seven</I> such; for let seven such persuade him
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|
to be diligent, with all the reasons they can render for it, it is to
|
|
no purpose; his own determination, he thinks, answer enough to them and
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|
all their reasons.
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2. The reference that this has to his slothfulness. It is <I>the
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sluggard,</I> above all men, that is thus self-conceited; for,
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(1.) His good opinion of himself is the cause of his slothfulness; he
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will not take pains to get wisdom because he thinks he is wise enough
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|
already. A conceit of the sufficiency of our attainments is a great
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|
enemy to our improvement.
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(2.) His slothfulness is the cause of his good opinion of himself. If
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|
he would but take pains to examine himself, and compare himself with
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|
the laws of wisdom, he would have other thoughts of himself. Indulged
|
|
slothfulness is at the bottom of prevailing self-conceitedness. Nay,
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(3.) So wretchedly besotted is he that he takes his slothfulness to be
|
|
his wisdom; he thinks it is his wisdom to make much of himself, and
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|
take all the ease he can get, and do no more in religion than he needs
|
|
must, to avoid suffering, to sit still and see what other people do,
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|
that he may have the pleasure of finding fault with them. Of such
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sluggards, who are proud of that which is their shame, their is little
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hope,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Hatred and Strife.</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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<A NAME="Pr26_17"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>17 He that passeth by, <I>and</I> meddleth with strife <I>belonging</I>
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not to him, <I>is like</I> one that taketh a dog by the ears.
|
|
</FONT></P>
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<P>
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1. That which is here condemned is <I>meddling with strife that belongs
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not to us.</I> If we must not be hasty to strive in our own cause
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+25:8"><I>ch.</I> xxv. 8</A>),
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much less in other people's, especially theirs that we are no way
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related to or concerned in, but light on accidentally as we pass by. If
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we can be instrumental to make peace between those that are at variance
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|
we must do it, though we should thereby get the ill-will of both sides,
|
|
at least while they are in their heat; but to make ourselves busy in
|
|
other men's matters, and parties in other men's quarrels, is not only
|
|
to court our own trouble, but to thrust ourselves into temptation.
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|
<I>Who made</I> me <I>a judge?</I> Let them end it, as they began it,
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between themselves.
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2. We are cautioned against it because of the danger it exposes us to;
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it is like taking a snarling cur <I>by the ears,</I> that will snap at
|
|
you and bite you; you had better have let him alone, for you cannot get
|
|
clear of him when you would, and must thank yourselves if you come off
|
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with a wound and dishonour. He that has got <I>a dog by the ears,</I>
|
|
if he lets him go he flies at him, if he keeps his hold, he has his
|
|
hands full, and can do nothing else. Let every one <I>with quietness
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|
work and mind his own business,</I> and not with unquietness quarrel
|
|
and meddle with other people's business.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Pr26_19"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>18 As a mad <I>man</I> who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
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19 So <I>is</I> the man <I>that</I> deceiveth his neighbour, and saith,
|
|
Am not I in sport?
|
|
</FONT></P>
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<P>
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See here,
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1. How mischievous those are that make no scruple of <I>deceiving their
|
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neighbours;</I> they are <I>as madmen that cast firebrands, arrows, and
|
|
death,</I> so much hurt may they do by their deceits. They value
|
|
themselves upon it as polite cunning men, but really they are <I>as
|
|
madmen.</I> There is not a greater madness in the world than a wilful
|
|
sin. It is not only the passionate furious man, but the malicious
|
|
deceitful man, that is <I>a madman;</I> he does in effect <I>cast
|
|
fire-brands, arrows, and death;</I> he does more mischief than he can
|
|
imagine. Fraud and falsehood burn like fire-brands, kill, even at a
|
|
distance, like arrows.
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|
|
2. See how frivolous the excuse is which men commonly make for the
|
|
mischief they do, that they did it in a jest; with this they think to
|
|
turn it off when they are reproved for it, <I>Am not I in sport?</I>
|
|
But it will prove dangerous playing with fire and jesting with
|
|
edge-tools. Not that those are to be commended who are captious, and
|
|
can take no jest (those that themselves are <I>wise must suffer
|
|
fools,</I>
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:19,20">2 Cor. xi. 19, 20</A>),
|
|
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|
but those are certainly to be condemned who are any way abusive to
|
|
their neighbours, impose upon their credulity, cheat them in their
|
|
bargains with them, tell lies to them or tell lies of them, give them
|
|
ill language, or sully their reputation, and then think to excuse it by
|
|
saying that they did but jest. <I>Am not I in sport?</I> He that sins
|
|
in just must repent in earnest, or his sin will be his ruin. Truth is
|
|
too valuable a thing to be sold for a jest, and so is the reputation of
|
|
our neighbour. By lying and slandering in jest men learn themselves,
|
|
and teach others, to lie and slander in earnest; and a false report,
|
|
raised in mirth, may be spread in malice; besides, if a man may tell a
|
|
lie to make himself merry, why not to make himself rich, and so
|
|
<I>truth quite perishes,</I> and men <I>teach their tongues to tell
|
|
lies,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+9:5">Jer. ix. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
If men would consider that a lie comes from the devil, and brings to
|
|
hell-fire, surely that would spoil the sport of it; it is <I>casting
|
|
arrows and death</I> to themselves.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_22"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 Where no wood is, <I>there</I> the fire goeth out: so where
|
|
<I>there is</I> no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
|
|
21 <I>As</I> coals <I>are</I> to burning coals, and wood to fire; so <I>is</I>
|
|
a contentious man to kindle strife.
|
|
22 The words of a talebearer <I>are</I> as wounds, and they go down
|
|
into the innermost parts of the belly.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Contention is as a fire; it heats the spirit, burns up all that is
|
|
good, and puts families and societies into a flame. Now here we are
|
|
told how that fire is commonly kindled and kept burning, that we may
|
|
avoid the occasions of strife and so prevent the mischievous
|
|
consequences of it. If then we would keep the peace,
|
|
|
|
1. We must not give ear to <I>talebearers,</I> for they feed the fire
|
|
of contention with fuel; nay, they spread it with combustible matter;
|
|
the tales they carry are fireballs. Those who by insinuating base
|
|
characters, revealing secrets, and misrepresenting words and actions,
|
|
do what they can to make relations, friends, and neighbours, jealous
|
|
one of another, to alienate them one from another, and sow discord
|
|
among them, are to be banished out of families and all societies, and
|
|
then strife will as surely cease as the fire will go out when it has no
|
|
fuel; the contenders will better understand one another and come to a
|
|
better temper; old stories will soon be forgotten when there are no new
|
|
ones told to keep up the remembrance of them, and both sides will see
|
|
how they have been imposed upon by a common enemy. Whisperers and
|
|
backbiters are incendiaries not to be suffered. To illustrate this, he
|
|
repeats
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>)
|
|
|
|
what he had said before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+18:8"><I>ch.</I> xviii. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
that <I>the words of a tale-bearer are as wounds,</I> deep and
|
|
dangerous wounds, wounds in the vitals. They wound the reputation of
|
|
him who is belied, and perhaps the wound proves incurable, and even the
|
|
plaster of a recantation (which yet can seldom be obtained) may not
|
|
prove wide enough for it. They wound the love and charity which he to
|
|
whom they are spoken ought to have for his neighbour and give a fatal
|
|
stab to friendship and Christian fellowship. We must therefore not only
|
|
not be tale-bearers ourselves at any time, nor ever do any ill offices,
|
|
but we should not give the least countenance to those that are.
|
|
|
|
2. We must not associate with peevish passionate people, that are
|
|
exceptions, and apt to put the worst constructions upon everything,
|
|
that pick quarrels upon the least occasion, and are quick, and high,
|
|
and hot, in resenting affronts. These are <I>contentious men,</I> that
|
|
<I>kindle strife,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
The less we have to do with such the better, for it will be very
|
|
difficult to avoid quarrelling with those that are quarrelsome.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>23 Burning lips and a wicked heart <I>are like</I> a potsherd
|
|
covered with silver dross.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
This may be meant either,
|
|
|
|
1. Of <I>a wicked heart</I> showing itself in <I>burning lips,</I>
|
|
furious, passionate, outrageous words, burning in malice, and
|
|
persecuting those to whom, or of whom, they are spoken; ill words and
|
|
ill-will agree as well together as <I>a potsherd</I> and the <I>dross
|
|
of silver,</I> which, now that the pot is broken and the dross
|
|
separated from the silver, are fit to be thrown together to the
|
|
dunghill.
|
|
|
|
2. Or of <I>a wicked heart</I> disguising itself with <I>burning
|
|
lips,</I> burning with the professions of love and friendship, and even
|
|
persecuting a man with flatteries; this is <I>like a potsherd covered
|
|
with</I> the scum or <I>dross of silver,</I> with which one that is
|
|
weak may be imposed upon, as if it were of some value, but a wise man
|
|
is soon aware of the cheat. This sense agrees with the following
|
|
verses.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_26"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>24 He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up
|
|
deceit within him;
|
|
25 When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for <I>there are</I>
|
|
seven abominations in his heart.
|
|
26 <I>Whose</I> hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be
|
|
shewed before the <I>whole</I> congregation.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
There is cause to complain, not only of the want of sincerity in men's
|
|
profession of friendship, and that they do not love so well as they
|
|
pretend nor will serve their friends so much as they promise, but,
|
|
which is much worse, of wicked designs in the profession of friendship,
|
|
and the making of it subservient to the most malicious intentions. This
|
|
is here spoken of as a common thing
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>He that hates</I> his neighbour, and is contriving to do him a
|
|
mischief, yet <I>dissembles with his lips,</I> professes to have a
|
|
respect for him and to be ready to serve him, talks kindly with him, as
|
|
Cain with Abel, asks, <I>Art thou in health, my brother?</I> as Joab to
|
|
Amasa, that his malice may not be suspected and guarded against, and so
|
|
he may have the fairer opportunity to execute the purposes of it, this
|
|
man <I>lays up deceit within him,</I> that is, he keeps in his mind the
|
|
mischief he intends to do his neighbour till he catches him at an
|
|
advantage. This is malice which has no less of the subtlety than it has
|
|
of the venom of the old serpent in it. Now, as to this matter, we are
|
|
here cautioned,
|
|
|
|
1. Not to be so foolish as to suffer ourselves to be imposed upon by
|
|
the pretensions of friendship. Remember to distrust when a man
|
|
<I>speaks fair;</I> be not too forward to <I>believe him</I> unless you
|
|
know him well, for it is possible there may be <I>seven abominations in
|
|
his heart,</I> a great many projects of mischief against you, which he
|
|
is labouring so industriously to conceal with his fair speech. Satan is
|
|
an enemy that hates us, and yet in his temptations speaks fair, as he
|
|
did to Eve, but it is madness to give credit to him, <I>for there are
|
|
seven abominations in his heart; seven other spirits</I> does one
|
|
unclean spirit bring <I>more wicked than himself.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. Not to be so wicked as to impose upon any with a profession of
|
|
friendship; for, though the fraud may be carried on plausibly awhile,
|
|
it will be brought to light,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+26:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
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|
He <I>whose hatred is covered by deceit</I> will one time or other be
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discovered, and <I>his wickedness shown,</I> to his shame and
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confusion, <I>before the whole congregation;</I> and nothing will do
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|
more to make a man odious to all companies. Love (says one) is the best
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armour, but the worst cloak, and will serve dissemblers as the disguise
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which Ahab put on and perished in.</P>
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<A NAME="Pr26_27"> </A>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>27 Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth
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a stone, it will return upon him.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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See here,
|
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1. What pains men take to do mischief to others. As they put a force
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|
upon themselves by concealing their design with a profession of
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|
friendship, so they put themselves to a great deal of labour to bring
|
|
it about; it is <I>digging a pit,</I> it is <I>rolling a stone,</I>
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|
hard work, and yet men will not stick at it to gratify their passion
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|
and revenge.
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|
|
|
2. What preparation they hereby make of mischief to themselves. Their
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|
violent dealing will return upon their own heads; they shall themselves
|
|
<I>fall into the pit they digged,</I> and the stone they rolled <I>will
|
|
return upon them,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+7:15,16,9:15,16">Ps. vii. 15, 16; ix. 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
The righteous God will take the wise, not only <I>in their own
|
|
craftiness,</I> but in their own cruelty. It is the plotter's doom.
|
|
Haman is hanged on a gallows of his own preparing.</P>
|
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<CENTER>
|
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<TABLE BORDER=0>
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<TR>
|
|
<TD>----------nec lex est justior ulla
|
|
<BR>Quam necis artifices arte perire sua--
|
|
<BR>
|
|
<BR>Nor is there any law more just than that the contrivers
|
|
<BR>of destruction should perish by their own arts.
|
|
</TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
</CENTER>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Pr26_28"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>28 A lying tongue hateth <I>those that are</I> afflicted by it; and
|
|
a flattering mouth worketh ruin.
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|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
There are two sorts of lies equally detestable:--
|
|
|
|
1. A slandering lie, which avowedly hates those it is spoken of: <I>A
|
|
lying tongue hates those that are afflicted by it;</I> it afflicts them
|
|
by calumnies and reproaches because it hates them, and can thus smite
|
|
them secretly where they are without defence; and it hates them because
|
|
it has afflicted them and made them its enemies. The mischief of this
|
|
is open and obvious; it afflicts, it hates, and owns it, and every body
|
|
sees it.
|
|
|
|
2. A flattering lie, which secretly works the ruin of those it is
|
|
spoken to. In the former the mischief is plain, and men guard against
|
|
it as well as they can, but in this it is little suspected, and men
|
|
betray themselves by being credulous of their own praises and the
|
|
compliments that are passed upon them. A wise man therefore will be
|
|
more afraid of a flatterer that kisses and kills than of a slanderer
|
|
that proclaims war.</P>
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|
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