Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil [men].
14. The earnest warning of this and the following verses recalls the similar warnings of Pro 1:19 ff.; Pro 2:12 ff.; Pro 3:31 ff.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked] Never associate with those whose life is irregular and sinful; never accompany them in any of their acts of transgression.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Enter not into the path of the wicked; avoid their courses and company.
Go not; do not proceed further. If thou hast unadvisedly entered into it, do not persist in it, but get thee speedily out of it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. (Compare Ps1:1). Avoid all temptations to the beginning of evil.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Enter not into the path of the wicked,…. Which leads to eternal death; join not with them in their wicked ways and practices; have no fellowship, keep no company, with them; do not set one foot in the path they tread, lest thou shouldest be tempted to proceed to more ungodliness; you do not know where and when there will be a stop, when once you begin, therefore enter not. The Vulgate Latin version is, “do not delight in the paths of the ungodly”: but this supposes not only entrance, but progress and continuance in them, whereas the first is dehorted from in these words:
and go not in the way of evil [men]; if tempted and prevailed upon to take a step and make a trial, do not proceed; withdraw at once, do not go on. Some render it, seeing the word used has sometimes the signification of blessedness in it, “do not esteem the way of evil men blessed” y; nor reckon thyself or them happy that walk in such ways; they are far from it: hence the Targum, Septuagint, and Syriac versions are, “do not envy the ways of wicked men”; their seeming pleasure will end in bitterness: the Arabic version is, “do not imitate” them; do not follow their example, and do as they do.
y “in via malorum ne te beatum existimes”, Tiguriue version; “ne beatam praedices viam malorum”, Michaelis.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Cautions against Bad Company. | |
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Some make David’s instructions to Solomon, which began v. 4, to continue to the end of the chapter; nay, some continue them to the end of the ninth chapter; but it is more probable that Solomon begins here again, if not sooner. In these verses, having exhorted us to walk in the paths of wisdom, he cautions us against the path of the wicked. 1. We must take heed of the ways of sin and avoid them, every thing that looks like sin and leads to it. 2. In order to this we must keep out of the ways of sinners, and have no fellowship with them. For fear of falling into wicked courses, we must shun wicked company. Here is,
I. The caution itself, Pro 4:14; Pro 4:15. 1. We must take heed of falling in with sin and sinners: Enter not into the paths of the wicked. Our teacher, having like a faithful guide shown us the right paths (v. 11), here warns us of the by-paths into which we are in danger of being drawn aside. Those that have been well educated, and trained up in the way they should go, let them never turn aside into the way they should not go; let them not so much as enter into it, no, not to make trial of it, lest it prove a dangerous experiment and difficult to retreat with safety. “Venture not into the company of those that are infected with the plague, no, not though thou think thyself guarded with an antidote.” 2. If at any time we are inveigled into an evil way, we must hasten out of it. “If, ere thou wast aware, thou didst enter in at the gate, because it was wide, go not on in the way of evil men. As soon as thou art made sensible of thy mistake, retire immediately, take not a step more, stay not a minute longer, in the way that certainly leads to destruction.” 3. We must dread and detest the ways of sin and sinners, and decline them with the utmost care imaginable. “The way of evil men may seem a pleasant way and sociable, and the nearest way to the compassing of some secular end we may have in view; but it is an evil way, and will end ill, and therefore if thou love thy God and thy soul avoid it, pass not by it, that thou mayest not be tempted to enter into it; and, if thou find thyself near it, turn from it and pass away, and get as far off it as thou canst.” The manner of expression intimates the imminent danger we are in, the need we have of this caution, and the great importance of it, and that our watchmen are, or should be, in good earnest, in giving us warning. It intimates likewise at what a distance we should keep from sin and sinners; he does not say, Keep at a due distance, but at a great distance, the further the better; never think you can get far enough from it. Escape for thy life: look not behind thee.
II. The reasons to enforce this caution.
1. “Consider the character of the men whose way thou art warned to shun.” They are mischievous men (Pro 4:16; Pro 4:17); they not only care not what hurt they do to those that stand in their way, but it is their business to do mischief, and their delight, purely for mischief-sake. They are continually designing and endeavouring to cause some to fall, to ruin them body and soul. Wickedness and malice are in their nature, and violence is in all their actions. They are spiteful in the highest degree; for, (1.) Mischief is rest and sleep to them. As much satisfaction as a covetous man has when he has got money, an ambitious man when he has got preferment, and a good man when he has done good, so much have they when they have said or done that which is injurious and ill-natured; and they are extremely uneasy if they cannot get their envy and revenge gratified, as Haman, to whom every thing was unpleasant as long as Mordecai was unhanged. It intimates likewise how restless and unwearied they are in their mischievous pursuits; they will rather be deprived of sleep than of the pleasure of being vexatious. (2.) Mischief is meat and drink to them; they feed and feast upon it. They eat the bread of the wickedness (they eat up my people as they eat bread, Ps. xiv. 4) and drink the wine of violence (v. 17), drink iniquity like water, Job xv. 16. All they eat and drink is got by rapine and oppression. Do wicked men think the time lost in which they are not doing hurt? Let good men make it as much their business and delight to do good. Amici, diem perdidi–Friends, I have lost a day. And let all that are wise, and wish well to themselves, avoid the society of the wicked; for, [1.] It is very scandalous; for there is no disposition of mind that is a greater reproach to human nature, a greater enemy to human society, a bolder defiance to God and conscience, that has more of the devil’s image in it, or is more serviceable to his interests, than a delight to do mischief and to vex, and hurt, and ruin every body. [2.] It is very dangerous. “Shun those that delight to do mischief as thou tenderest thy own safety; for, whatever friendship they may pretend, one time or other they will do thee mischief; thou wilt ruin thyself if thou dost concur with them (ch. i. 18) and they will ruin thee if thou dost not.”
2. “Consider the character of the way itself which thou art warned to shun, compared with the right way which thou art invited to walk in.”
(1.) The way of righteousness is light (v. 18): The path of the just, which they have chosen, and in which they walk, is as light; the light shines on their ways (Job xxii. 28) and makes them both safe and pleasant. Christ is their way and he is the light. They are guided by the word of God and that is a light to their feet; they themselves are light in the Lord and they walk in the light as he is in the light. [1.] It is a shining light. Their way shines to themselves in the joy and comfort of it; it shines before others in the lustre and honour of it; it shines before men, who see their good works, Matt. v. 16. They go on in their way with a holy security and serenity of mind, as those that walk in the light. It is as the morning-light, which shines out of obscurity (Isa 58:8; Isa 58:10) and puts an end to the works of darkness. [2.] It is a growing light; it shines more and more, not like the light of a meteor, which soon disappears, or that of a candle, which burns dim and burns down, but like that of the rising sun, which goes forward shining, mounts upward shining. Grace, the guide of this way, is growing; he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. That joy which is the pleasure of this way, that honour which is the brightness of it, and all that happiness which is indeed its light, shall be still increasing. [3.] It will arrive, in the end, at the perfect day. The light of the dayspring will at length be noon-day light, and it is this that the enlightened soul is pressing towards. The saints will not be perfect till they come to heaven, but there they shall themselves shine as the sun when he goes forth in his strength, Matt. xiii. 43. Their graces and joys shall be all consummate. Therefore it is our wisdom to keep close to the path of the just.
(2.) The way of sin is as darkness, v. 19. The works he had cautioned us not to have fellowship with are works of darkness. What true pleasure and satisfaction can those have who know no pleasure and satisfaction but what they have in doing mischief? What sure guide have those that cast God’s word behind them? The way of the wicked is dark, and therefore dangerous; for they stumble and yet know not at what they stumble. They fall into sin, but are not aware which way the temptation came by which they were overthrown, and therefore know not how to avoid it the next time. They fall into trouble, but never enquire wherefore God contends with them; they consider not that they do evil, nor what will be in the end of it, Psa 82:5; Job 18:5; Job 18:6. This is the way we are directed to shun.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Avoid Path of Wicked
(Pro 4:14-17; Pro 4:19)
Verses 14-17, 19 warn against following the path of the wicked:
1) Verses 14-15 admonish do not begin the way of the wicked; do not take the first steps Avoid questionable places and practices, vs. 14, 15; Psa 1:1; Psa 26:4; Jer 15:17.
2) Verses 16-17 explain why such should be avoided. It is a way of mischief often leading to violence, disgrace, even death, Pro 10:6-7; Pro 10:28; Ecc 8:10; Ecc 8:13.
3) Verse 19 declares that the path of the wicked is also a way of spiritual darkness and destruction, Job 18:5-6; Job 21:30; Jer 23:10-12; Mat 8:12.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
A TIMELY WARNING
Pro 4:14-15
I COME to the young, and especially to the young men in this audience with the soundest possible advice. I bring to you the counsel of one whose advanced age and experience, whose superior wisdom and unquestioned inspiration leave no doubt as to the correctness of his counsel.
The words of our text are the words of Solomon, at the very mention of whose name we give respectful attention, knowing that the kings words are unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
In the chapter before us, Solomon addresses his auditors in the character of children and reviews for them the instruction which he received as a child. He simply relates what his father David taught him while yet a noisy boy. In doing so, he shows his reverence for the wisdom of gray hairs, and especially for that of his own father. It is at once a noble and a profitable thing for a son to treasure in his heart those jewels of instruction received at different times from a fathers lips. When this is not done, there is something radically wrong. Either the father or the son is unworthy the sacred relationship. May I never see the day in which I shall forget some precious lessons learned from my fathers lips and from his life!
But there is another thing that should be said in connection with the fact that our text contains the counsel given Solomon in his early life. That circumstance should clearly indicate that in the years which have passed since, Solomon has put to actual test all these maxims and has discovered no unsoundness in them. The merest acquaintance with the man Solomon induces the conviction that he not only received the best maxims, but that in youth at least, he followed them to his splendid profit.
It may be true that those who have made failures in life are prepared by their own experience to point out some dangers; they may warn against the breakers whereon they made shipwreck. But if one is to make a success in life, if he is to escape its dangers, it is not enough that he be simply warned; he needs sound counsel as well. It is not enough that he learn where some one else was wrecked; he needs to know where the currents and the channels are that he may sail to safe harbor. If I want to live a sober life, I dont want a reformed drunkard to tell me how to do it. If I want to lead a religious life, I dont wish the counsel of one who has spent a lifetime in sin and was saved therefrom but yesterday. In other words, I do not want to be told how not to do it, but rather how to do it. If I am going to merchandise, I want him who has made his millions at it to be my tutor. If I am going to plead law, I want the instruction of one who is a recognized lord of lawyers. If I am going to preach, I want the prince of preachers to teach me.
Young men, if you are ambitious to make the most of life, there will come times when you will doubt your own wisdom and feel the need of advice. Seek it always of those men who have themselves made something of life. Second only to that direction which Heaven will give, if you ask it, will be that received from the lips and hearts of noble men. The words of my text mean all the more to me because Solomon uttered them. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
THE CHOICE OF A WRONG COURSE IN LIFE
We appreciate the wisdom of this warning when once we begin to think about how much depends upon the choice of a right course in life. The words of Ruskin There is not an hour of youth but is trembling with destinies, are eminently true because for most men the years of their youth cast the horoscope of their future. The plans formed then, or, as is more often the case, the failure to decide upon any definite life plan, decides their course in life. The paths entered then, whether deliberately chosen or simply drifted into, will determine in most cases the trend of lifes journey. We do not believe that a very great number of young men sit down to a cool choice of a wicked course and rise up to follow such a course knowing where it will end. We apprehend that there is more mischief resulting from an utter failure to decide upon any plan whatsoever, to make choice of a definite course at all, than from almost any other source.
We fear that the number of noble souls that raise for self, and wrestle with the question, How can I make the most of life? is not so large as Heaven intended it should be. It is so much easier to sit down and hope, Micawber-like, that the good, will of itself, turn up. Such an action requires so much less thought, so much less conviction, so much less resolution, so much less courage, that we are all tempted to drift, rather than stem the current.
But before we yield to that temptation, we had best stir ourselves to the question, Whither are these currents tending? and learn in answer, that they terminate in the gulf of temporal and eternal ruin.
While I was in Louisville as a student, the police of the city made a raid one night upon some of the grog shops, gambling dens, bawdy houses, and arresting a score of men, marched them to the station house and locked them up till morning. When the day dawned, they were brought into court, fined considerable sums and dismissed with tarnished names. If you could have visited that court and learned the history of those men, I am persuaded that you would have found that a majority of them at least had simply drifted to evil rather than having taken this path from preference.
But, be that as it may, the ruinous results are the same. The man who does the one is just as inexcusable as he who does the other. The words of our text cover the whole ground for it. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men; that is, by no means at all be found in the path which leads to hell.
But our text contains another warning which every young man stands greatly in need of. That warning is against
THE CHOICE OF EVIL COMPANY
Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
If you enter into the path of the wicked, if you go into the way of evil men, you will of necessity have the company of those that tread such a pathway. My text makes it imperative that I should speak to you who have already made or are now making your choice of companions. The words of Goethe ought to contain a lesson for every young man. Tell me with whom thou dost company, and I will tell thee who thou art. And that grand statement of inspiration will bear repeating, He that walketh with wise men shall be wise, but the companion of fools shall be destroyed Oh, the power for evil that there is in godless association.
When we hear young fellows talking about how they spent last night, and above all with whom they spent it, it is little wonder that their hearts are inflamed to evil, that their feet are swift to destruction.
They seek places and company, the very character of which whispers of hell. If it were possible for an angel from Heaven to become corrupt and literally wallow in vice, he certainly would do so, if he visited the places, and met the people, that many of the young men of this city visit and meet.
There is little need we dwell on this point. No man knows ruinous effects of godless companionship better than he who is under its spell. Some may be asking the question already, How shall we escape the path of the wicked, and the way of the evil? And that after all is the important question.
Here again we have Solomons reply. He says you can escape it by avoiding it, passing not by it, turning from it, and passing away.
Oh, what wisdom in that direction. The reason that children are so often burned is that they will play with the fire; and the reason that young men are so often found in the path of iniquity is simply because they did not keep at a safe distance from its open gateway. That young man who, instead of avoiding, absolutely turning away from the alluring scenes of evil, draws near, and looks in, until his carnal appetite is inflamed, stands at the very threshold of his ruin.
The old Stoic philosophers taught the youth of their time that there was a peculiar virtue in looking upon sin and remaining unmoved by it, but Solomon, whose wisdom was as superior to theirs as the heavens are high above the earth, gave out this safer lesson: Pass not by it. Keep always a safe distance between you and its sight. Years ago I read an excellent little book, entitled, Advice to Young Men, and in teaching along this line, the author enforced the truth by this story. It was that of an eagle in the far west, which, soaring with steady wing and looking with eagle eyes, saw far below him the grand scenes of American nature, clothed with the first snow of early winter. As he rose higher and higher toward the blue heaven, his eye rested upon the distant river, whose shore was now fretted with ice. Upon its bosom he saw floating the carcass of a huge buffalo. He paused in his upward flight, he gazed hungrily upon the floating animal, he descended to settle and revel upon this feast of corruption. While he feasted he was calmly and smoothly floating down the river. Gorged with his foul meal, his energies became dormant, his wings drooped and ere he was aware, his feathers touched the oozing putrefaction and he slept upon the foetid mass.
The corruption stiffened around his feet, and the points of his wings, and feathers upon the breast, were being attached, while slowly but surely he was borne on until the roar of the cataract thundered on his ear. He roused himself, he looked wildly about, he struggled hard for liberty, but in vain. His powers had been enfeebled by his gluttony, his feet and wings were fast bound. He screamed until his wild cries resounded through the valley. He looked up toward the beautiful blue heaven that he had abandoned, and longed to throw off his horrid companion and rise to soar in its pure air again. But it was too late. Swiftly now he was nearing the rapids, where he was hurried over, sucked into the foaming cataract, and dashed to pieces on the rocks beneath.
Such an illustration finds its analogy in the human life. How often we see young men, who in the morning of life, soar in the air of pure morals to heights that are most honorable, but who at the sight of some floating mass of moral corruption, have descended to feast to their ruin. Truly did Shakespeare speak when he said, How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds makes deeds ill done. Young men, if you would escape the way of the wicked, take Solomons advice and avoid putting yourself in the way of temptation to sin. Probably there will never come a time when men will not defend their right to take a social drink, or to engage in the social game of cards. Be that as it may, our text leads us to say that if you would certainly escape drunkenness and gambling, you had best turn squarely away from these first beginnings. But you say, are these the first beginnings of drunkenness and gambling? If they are not, then what are the first ways? No man gambles at the first. No man is a drunkard at the beginning. All will admit that; but some man will say, are there not those who never carry these things to that excess? To be sure there are! But there is a large number who do come to excess, and float on until they awake over the cataract of their ruin. What right has any young man to think that he will surely be one of the favored number, who will stop this side that cataract?
Dr. Basil Marely of Louisville, preached a sermon on temperance, in which he said substantially this. Whether prohibition is the thing for this country, I do not propose to say. Just what we should do to reclaim those of our fellows who have fallen victims to the accursed drink habit, I do not know. But this I do know, that every young man is safe, who makes total abstinence the law of his life. In the day that you violate that, I recall my insurance. Your safety becomes then a question, which nothing but the end of life will certainly determine. At any moment, that which you took at first that it might gently warm you with its glow, may unite its strength with some of the undreamed combustibles of a latent appetite, and break into a blaze that will burn and consume. Truly has it been said that the social glass may grow into an appetite which it is a crime to gratify, an impossibility to satisfy, and an agony to deny.
Just as the eagle swoops down to take a weasel into his talons, with a view to a dainty meal, soon to find sharp teeth sunk into its breast and its life blood being sucked out, so many a habit which a man is sure that he can control, ere he is aware of it, has sucked the last drop of vitality from his soul.
But why insist upon the dangers of drunkenness and gambling? Are those who fall into these, sinners above the rest? By no means! There are a score of habits against which we would like to sound an equal warning. But there is no need that we name them. You know them, and some of them must be nameless if my lips are clean. But these to which I have referred illustrate the principle, and will serve to apply the precept of Solomon, and what he says to one of us, he says to all: avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
The inspired counselor gives
HIS REASONS FOR THAT WARNING
Because they sleep not except they have done some mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they can cause some to fall. What a graphic picture is this of those whose feet take hold on hell. Pass along the streets of this city tonight and you will see these words verified. You may admire some of these emissaries of the devil. They may have attractions for you, that of a sweet face, keen wit, or agreeable and affable manners. All the better reason why you should fear them, for their strength to evil is simply increased thereby.
It is a well known fact of natural history, that some of the most venomous serpents, wear brightest colors. You yourselves, if you would give the deadly poison, are apt to encase it in an appetizing morsel. So Satan does with the venom of sin. He has lodged it in the heart of some very agreeable men, some very fascinating women. But Solomon has against them the charge, they sleep not except they have done some mischief, and their sleep is taken away unless they can cause some to fall. And the law of self-protection, even if we care nothing for holiness, demands that we part company with them forever.
A writer in speaking of the Snares of the Devil, says, One of the wonders of nature is called the Opelet, about as large as the German aster, with many long petals of light color, glossy as satin, each tipped with a rose color. The lovely petals move about in the water, while the Opelet clings to a rock. How innocent and lovely it looks on its rocky bed! Who would suspect that it would eat anything grosser than dew or sunlight? But those beautiful waving arms have to provide for a large open mouth, hidden down deep among them. The instant a foolish little fish touches one of the rosy tips, he is struck with a poison as fatal to him as lightning. He immediately becomes numb and in a moment stops struggling, and then the other arms enfold him.
I need not apply this illustration. You cannot mistake its meaning. As you value your life, young men, Enter not, avoid; pass not by; turn from, and pass away.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 4:14. Go not. The Heb. is literally to go straightforward; also, to pronounce happy.
Pro. 4:15. Avoid, Let it go, reject it. Turn from it, i.e., even if thou hast entered, turn back.
Pro. 4:16. Miller here reads: For the mere reason that they sleep not, rest assured they do mischief; and that their sleep is stolen, rest assured they occasion stumbling: and understands it to mean that the more sleepless the industrious impenitent, the faster he is carrying everything to eternal ruin. But all other commentators of importance read as in the English version.
Pro. 4:18. Shining light, Lit. the light of dawn that grows and brightens even to the establishment of the day.
Pro. 4:19. Darkness, thick darkness, the gloom of midnight.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Pro. 4:14-19
CONTRASTED PATHS AND OPPOSITE CHARACTERS
I. The just mans path.
1. It is a pre-ordained one. The path which the sun takes through the heavens, the path in which our earth encircles the sun, are the paths which God has pre-ordained for them. They are the only paths which they could take and preserve the harmony of the system to which they belong. They are the orbits which are exactly adapted to the fulfilment of the end for which God created them. So the paththe manner of lifeof the godly man is the path in which God intended man to walk when He created him. He called him into being in order that he might walk before Him and be perfect (Gen. 17:1). The highway of holiness is the God-ordained path of man, the old way which was trodden by His creatures for ages before men had any existence.
2. It is a blessing-dispensing path. The sun, by keeping Gods pre-ordained path, is a blessing to the world. Its rays possess a quickening power which developes the hidden life of the plant, and so clothes the earth with beauty and fruitfulness. Without its heat and light our globe would be a great Saharaa vast wilderness of black barrenness. It likewise brings into operation a sense in man which would otherwise be dormant. The light of the body is the eye, but where would sight be without sun? Creatures who have lived for years in darkness appear to lose the power of sight, even if light shines upon their eye-balls. The constant contact of the eye with light keeps alive the power of vision. So with the just mans path. Without the godly this world would be a moral wilderness. All the beauty of goodness there is in it comes from the life of the children of wisdom. They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn and grow as the vine; the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon (Hos. 14:7). And He keeps alive the inner eye of manthe conscience. It, too, needs external light to play upon it to keep it alive. And the holy walk of the godly does this for the ungodly, it prevents the conscience from being utterly stifled by sin.
3. It is a progessive path. It shines more and more. The light of dawn has glories all its own, but it is not strong enough to do the work of the noon-day rays, its heat is not able to penetrate beneath the surface of the earth and wake up the life of the seed-corn hidden there; its brightness touches the mountain-tops, but does not scatter the shadows in the valleys. But when the sun reaches its meridian there is nothing hid from the heat thereof. So with the children of wisdom. When they first set out upon their journey their godliness is not so manifest to others, nor does it yield so much comfort to themselves as when they have trodden the path for years. But it must, from a necessity of nature, go on unto perfection. Just men will be made perfect (Heb. 12:3). They go from strength to strength (Psa. 84:7). They come to the perfect day.
II. The wicked mans way. It is in every point the converse of that which has just been sketched.
1. It is his own way (chap. Pro. 1:31): not Gods way, not the way in which he was destined to walk. It is an old way (Job. 22:15), but not the oldest way; it is a path cast up by the will of man and pre-Adamite sinners.
2. It is a way of darkness, because it is a way of blindness. Blindness puts a man in the dark, and, being in the dark, he has only the experience that springs from darkness. Wickedness puts out the eyes of the soul, and, like a blind Samson, it sits in darkness and the shadow of death. A state of blindness is a state of ignorance. A blind man cannot avoid objects that come in his way, and when he falls in consequence, he knows not the object that caused him to fall. So the wise man here describes the ungodly as one who knows not at what he stumbles (Pro. 4:19). He has no realisation of the real character of his tempters, no insight into the sinfulness of sin; the lack of a guiding principle turns his walk into a series of stumblings. It follows of necessity that such a path is one of danger. It is more dangerous to walk in the night than in the day. The footpad or the highwayman can hide himself from our view in the darkness, and come upon us unawares. We may fall over the precipice at night that we could easily avoid in the day. So is it in a course of sin. A man who shuts his eyes to the light within him, and rejects the light which is to lighten every man (Joh. 1:9), will, unawares, be overtaken by retribution, and fall into depths of remorse upon which he little counts.
3. Like the path of the just, it is a progressive path. No man stands still in it. The darkness thickens as the blindness increases, and the blindness grows the longer men refuse to come to the light (Joh. 3:20). Men do not all at once come to the height or descend to the depth of iniquity described in Pro. 4:16, when, unless they have done some iniquitous act, they feel that they have lost a day. The merchant may feel he has lost a day when he has failed to make a good bargain; the scholar feels it when he has not added to his stock of knowledge; the heathen emperor reckoned a day lost when he had not benefited some one; but for a man not to sleep except he has done a mischief, surely expresses as perfect a night as it is possible for human nature to attain to. Surely he then proves himself to be a child of him whose business it is to go about seeking whom he may devour (1Pe. 5:8).
4. It is a path which is destructive to others. As the good man, by walking in Gods path, blesses his fellow-creatures as well as himself, so the wicked man, in his path of darkness, is a curse to others as well as himself. The force of evil example alone is pernicious to all who surround him, but although he may begin in this negative way, he soon advances to positive acts of sin, until he lives upon the misery of others. It becomes his meat and drink to drag others to destruction with him, or, failing that, to do them as much injury as he can (Pro. 4:16-17).
III. The means of escape from this path of darkness and ruin. Enter it not, and, to make sure of not entering it, give it a wide berthpass not by it, turn away (Pro. 4:14-15). When we see those whom we love in danger, we multiply words of warning, and are not careful to avoid repeating words which may have little or no difference in their meaning. So Solomons anxiety shows itself here in the repetition of his exhortations. But there is some gradation observed in them.
1. We are not to enter the paths, not even to set one foot upon the forbidden way. Men may be tempted to venture a step or two just to take a glance, and intend to turn back as soon as they have done so, but it is enchanted ground, and it is more than likely if they are once upon the track they will go further than they at first intended. But if they do not enter it, they cannot walk in it.
2. If you have already entered, do not persevere another moment, turn from it at once. If the captain of a ship becomes all at once aware that he is steering his vessel upon the rocks, he puts about at once. The next best thing to not going wrong at all is to turn backin Bible language, to repent, to put the face in the opposite direction, to turn the whole man back to the opposite goal.
3. In order to escape the danger of entering at all, or of re-entrance after having once forsaken it, avoid its very neighbourhood, pass not by it, go not in the way of temptation. If a youth has been induced to gamble, and has resolved to give up the habit, let him not go near the gambling houselet him give up all intercourse with gamblers; if he has been once under the fatal influence of strong drink, he must taste it no morenot even look upon the wine when it is red (ch. Pro. 23:31). He must flee youthful lusts, and the most certain method of doing this is to strike out another courseto follow after righteousness (1Ti. 6:11-12), to get well into the way of wisdom, to know from experience the blessedness of the path of the just. Men must have a way in life, there is no neutral ground; or if some men seem for a time to be living in the border-land, a time will come when they must declare for one side or the other.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 4:14. We must all enter somewhere. We are all travelling. We all necessarily follow something. Dont take the path of the wicked for it. That is the doctrine.Miller.
Sin is like a whirlpool. He who once ventures within the circle of its eddying waters in the self-sufficient assurance that he may go a certain length, and then turn at his pleasure and stem the current back, may feel the fancied strength of the sinews of his moral resolution but weakness in the moment of need, and maynay, almost certainly willbe borne on further and further, till, all power of resistance failing, he is carried round and round with increasing celerity, and sucked into the central gulf of irrecoverable perdition.Wardlaw.
Jortin, in his remarks upon Ecclesiastical History, relates the story of a colloquy between a Father of the second century and an evil spirit in a Christian, whom he sought to expel. Upon inquiring how he dared be so impudent as to enter a Christian, the evil spirit replied, I went not to church after him, but he came to the playhouse after me, and, finding him upon my own ground, I sought to secure him for myself. Whatever becomes of the story, the moral of it deserves attention.Leifchild.
We pray to be kept from temptation, and our practice ought not to contradict our prayers; otherwise, it is evident that we mock God by asking from Him what we do not wish to have.Lawson.
Pro. 4:15. This triple gradation of Solomon showeth, with a great emphasis, how necessary it is to flee from all appearance of sin. Entireness (friendship) with wicked consorts is one of the strongest chains of hell, and binds me to a participation of both sin and punishment.Brooks.
Come not near.
1. Because our corruption is so great that, if we come near it, we will both smell it with delight and smell of it.
2. Because wicked men stand upon the edge of their way to draw others into it, as thieves watch for their prey.
3. We may stumble into that way ourselves, if we be not pulled into it by others. He that walks on the brink of a river may fall in. There is but a narrow bridge between lawful and unlawful. And that which is lawful to-day may, by a circumstance, be made unlawful to-morrow.Francis Taylor.
It would not be complaisance, but cowardiceit would be a sinful softness which allowed affinity in taste to imperil your faith or your virtue. It would be the same sort of courtesy which, in the equatorial forest, for the sake of its beautiful leaf, lets the liana, with its strangling arms, run up the plaintain or orange, and pays the forfeit in blasted boughs and total ruin. It would be the same sort of courtesy which, for fear of appearing rude or inhospitable, took into dock the infected vessel, or welcomed, not as a patient, but a guest, the plague-stricken stranger.Jas. Hamilton.
Pro. 4:16-17. The devil, their taskmaster, will not allow them time to sleep, which is very hard bondage.Trapp.
The character of the wicked is here drawn in their fathers imagefirst, sinners; then tempters. Judas with his midnight torches (Joh. 18:3); the early morning assembly of the Jewish rulers (Luk. 22:66); the frenzied vow of the enemies of Paul (Act. 23:12); and many a plot in after ages against the Churchall vividly pourtray this unwearied wickedness.Bridges.
The fearful stage of debasement when the tendency to sin is like the craving for stimulants, as a condition without which there can be no repose.Plumptre.
The trouble of others is the rest of the wicked.Jermin.
Just as bread forms the flesh, and makes it grow, according as it is eaten, so wickedness is the food of the spirit. My meat is, says Christ, to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work (Joh. 4:34). Thy words were found, and I did eat them (Jer. 15:16). So in chap. Pro. 1:31, Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own waythe meaning being, that a mans way, spiritually considered, is all that forms him. He feeds upon it. If it is righteous, it nourishes him in life. If it is wicked, it nourishes him in death. He feeds on food of wickedness, and grows exactly in proportion as he sins. His very life is in its very self a deadly self-banqueting.Miller.
They sin, not of frailty, but of malice; not by occasion, as it were, but by an insatiable desire of committing wickedness.Muffet.
Pro. 4:18. He sets forth betime in the morning and travels to meet the day.
The sun is an emblem, not of the just, but of the Justifier. Christ alone is the light of the world, Christians are the enlightened. The just are those whom the Sun of Righteousness shines upon. When any portion of the earths surface begins to experience a dawn diminishing its darkness, it is because that portion is gradually turning round towards the sun, the centre of light fixed in the heavens. When any part of the earth lies away from the sun, and in proportion to the measure of its aversion, it is dark and cold, in proportion as it turns to him again its atmosphere grows clearer, until in its gradual progress it comes in sight of the sun, and its day is perfect then. So is the path of the just. Day is not perfect here in the believers heart. but the machinery of the everlasting covenant is meantime going softly and silently as the motion of the spheres; and they that are Christs here, whatever clouds dim their present prospect, are wearing every moment farther from the night, and nearer to the day.Arnot.
There is a day to be which shall be a day indeed, without cloud, without night, without morning, without evening. Unto this day leadeth the path of the righteous, and which going on, shineth more and more, until at last, when it seemeth to go out, it shall be received into that light which never goeth out.Jermin.
Light is emblematical of knowledge, holiness, and joy. The three bear invariable proportion to each otherholiness springing from knowledge, and joy from both. The entrance of Gods word gives light. But the entrance of this light into the mind is often, like the early dawn, feeble, glimmering, uncertain. But it does not abide so. He who is enlightened from above is eager for more of the blessed light. He thirsts for knowledge, and is on the alert to obtain it. With growth in knowledge there is growth in holiness. At the first dawn of spiritual light some faint desires are felt after God and sanctity. These progressively increase, and they show their influence in the increase of practical godliness And joy is the natural attendant of spiritual illumination and inward sanctity. It, too, is progressive. Like the sun in every stage of his diurnal course, it may be overcast by occasional clouds. But as the sun appears the brighter on his emerging from the cloudy veil, so the trials of the just serve to give lustre to their virtues.Wardlaw.
Pro. 4:19. It is interesting to note the resemblance between these words and those of our Lord (Joh. 11:10; Joh. 12:35).Plumptre.
Strange enough! it is a confessed darkness. There is a sort of common light that tells a man that impenitence is darkness. And yet it does not teach him better. Like mere physical light at times, some chemical ray is absent. The darkness that remains is a darkness that may be felt. It constitutes our eternal chains (2Pe. 2:4); it binds a man on the car of ruin. And like a Christian, who, in his partial light, may fail to know what is blessing him, so the sinner in his absolute darkness, takes industry for virtue, and family love for a wholesome righteousness; and does not know the incidents of life that are stumbling blocks to eternal ruin.Miller.
Sinners are in such darkness that they are insensible to the objects that are leading them to ruin, thus they stumble
1. At the great deceiver.
2. At one another.
3. At Divine Providence.
4. At their common employments.
5. At the nature and tendency of their religious performances.
6. At the preaching they hear.
7. At the blindness of their hearts.Emmons, from Langes Commentary.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
14. Enter not wicked Here begins a dissuasive from evil association, that fruitful source of mischief to all classes, especially to the young, who are the more imitative, and their habits not yet fixed.
Evil men Primarily such as were noted in chap. 1 men of violence and blood.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Warning against Wickedness
v. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked, v. 15. Avoid it, pass not by it, v. 16. For they, v. 17. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, v. 18. But the path of the just is as the shining light, v. 19. The way of the wicked is as darkness, v. 20. My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings, v. 21. Let them not depart from thine eyes, v. 22. For they are life unto those that find them, v. 23. Keep thy heart with all diligence, v. 24. Put away from thee a froward mouth v. 25. Let thine eyes look right on, v. 26. Ponder the path of thy feet, v. 27. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 4:14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil [men].
Ver. 14. Enter not into the path of the wicked. ] Qui male vivunt, et peius credunt, saith one, which live ill, and believe worse. Qui aequo animo malis immiscetur, malus est, saith another. a He that is well content to keep company with those that are naught, is himself naught. The river Dee, in Merionethshire, running through Pimblemeer, remains entire, and mingles not her streams with the waters of the lake. See 1Co 5:9-11 .
And go not in the way.
a Fuller’s Holy State, 162.
b , incessit, felicitavit. Ita et Graecis. Il va bien, Gallicis.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Enter not. Note the Figure of speech Synonymia (App-6) in the verbs of verses: Pro 4:14, Pro 4:15. Illustrations: Lot (Gen 13:10-13); Solomon (2Ki 23:13. Compare with 1Ki 11:5); Jehoshaphat (2Ch 18:1; 2Ch 21:6. Compare with 2Ch 19:2; 2Ch 22:2, 2Ch 22:3, 2Ch 22:10, and Pro 6:27, Pro 6:28).
wicked = lawless. Hebrew. rasha. App-44.
evil. Hebrew. ra’a’. App-44.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 4:14-27
The Direction of the Wise (Pro 4:14-27):
“Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on. For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble” (Pro 4:14-19). The wise who listen to their father and gain understanding will have the ability to differentiate between the ways of the wicked and the ways of the wise. The wise will identify the directions of the wicked and will thereby in no way “walk” in their ways. So opposed to the ways of the wicked are we to be that we altogether “avoid” their hangouts. Those who do not go to the places where the wicked are will not be tempted to be involved in the ways of the wicked. The instructions are simple: Don’t go where they go (see 1Co 15:33). Why do the wise not want to go where the wicked go? Solomon says its because their every waking hour is spent “doing evil” and trying to get one who is good to “fall” into their lifestyle of wickedness. The more that do what they are doing the more they will feel comfortable. Don’t be taken by the wicked! The great contrast of light and darkness is used to differentiate between the wise and the wicked.
“My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh” (Pro 4:20-22). The wise king pleads with his audience to “attend, incline thine ear to know, never let instruction depart thine eyes, and keep divine instructions within thy heart.” The devil and wicked men are at work constantly. They will bring you down if you do not continuously contemplate the ways of wisdom and understanding. Life and spiritual health belong to those whose quest it is in life to find wisdom and understanding.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life” (Pro 4:23). With the heart we think (Pro 23:7), reason (Mar 2:8), understand things (Mat 13:15), plan or intend things (Heb 4:12), purpose to do things (2Co 9:7), desire (Rom 10:1), love (Mat 22:37), and trust (Pro 3:5). The wise should keep or possess their heart rather than permitting the wicked and the ways of the world to possess the heart. When we keep or possess things we hold on “with all diligence.” Our purpose should always be spiritual (see Col 3:1 ff). We live in a world where sin and the availability to sin is all around us. To walk in the paths of the wicked is to relinquish our hearts to folly. We cannot afford to slip. All issues of life are summed up in man’s ability to reason, understand, purpose to do things, plan to do things, and desires. All of the wise man’s interest and abilities ought to be kept within the bounds of wisdom. All issues of life will have wisdom applied to them and thereby the one who so lives will be blessed eternally.
“Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil” (Pro 4:24-27).
The wise will “put away” things like a filthy. The wise will keep their eyes looking straight ahead rather than being distracted by lust and wicked ways. The wise will “make level the path of thy feet” in relation to directions in life to go. While the wicked are quick to turn after evil deeds the wise do not permit themselves to be in such situations.
Study Questions – Pro 4:14-27
1. What was the practical value of the Horatio Alger, Jr. books for boys years ago (Pro 4:14)?
2. What 4 pointed instructions are given in Pro 4:15?
3. According to Pro 4:16 how perverse can some people get?
4. What is the diet of perverse people (Pro 4:17)?
5. Comment upon beautiful in Pro 4:18.
6. Living in sin is like walking in …………… (Pro 4:19).
7. Why does the father go over the same thought so often (Pro 4:20)?
8. What 2 parts of a person are spoken of in Pro 4:21?
9. Is Pro 4:22 speaking literally or figuratively?
10. Memorize Pro 4:23.
11. Find the parallels in Pro 4:24.
12. What is the meaning of Pro 4:25?
13. In life what should one be interested in as brought out in Pro 4:26?
14. How much deviation from the proper path is allowed (Pro 4:27)?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Pro 1:10, Pro 1:15, Pro 2:11, Pro 2:12, Pro 9:6, Pro 13:20, Psa 1:1, Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5, 1Co 15:33
Reciprocal: Exo 23:2 – follow Exo 23:7 – far from Jos 23:7 – That ye come Job 34:8 – General Pro 7:8 – General Pro 7:25 – thine Pro 12:11 – he that followeth Mat 26:41 – enter Eph 5:11 – no
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 4:14-19. Enter not into the path of the wicked Avoid their practices and company; and go not in the way of evil men Do not proceed further therein. If thou hast unadvisedly entered into it, do not persist in it, but get thee speedily out of it. Avoid it, pass not by it Keep at a great distance from it. Turn from it, &c. Shun all occasions of sin. For they sleep not They cannot compose themselves to sleep with quietness and satisfaction to their own minds; unless they cause some to fall Into their snares, either into sin or mischief. For they eat the bread of wickedness Wickedness is as necessary and as pleasant to them as their bread; or, they live wholly upon what they get by wicked courses. Which gives the reason why they could not sleep without prey. And drink the wine of violence That is, gotten by violence: see on the former clause. But the path of the just is as the shining light The common course of their lives, or actions, is pure and spotless, clear and certain, safe and comfortable as light is; and their presence enlightens, instructs, edifies, and rejoices others. They carry light into every place by their example, and by their instructions. That shineth more and more unto the perfect day Righteous men daily grow more and more in knowledge, and grace, and consolation, until all be perfected and swallowed up in glory. But the way of the wicked is as darkness Full of gross ignorance and error, of uncertainty and confusion, of iniquity, of danger, and of misery: all which come under the name of darkness in the Scriptures, and suit well with the context. They know not at what they stumble Hebrew, , at what they shall, or are about to, stumble. Though they are always in danger, yet they are always secure, and do not discern their danger, nor the cause, or manner, or time of their ruin, till they be surprised with it. Or, as some interpret the clause, They commit sin without scruple; they deliver themselves up to it without remorse; they fall without grief, and continue in it without repentance.