Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 18:14
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
14. a wounded spirit ] If the sustaining spirit be itself wounded or broken, the burden becomes intolerable. It is the pathetic thought of “the spirit which so long bore a man’s infirmity, and then at last broke because it could bear no more, and became itself intolerable,” Horton.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Infirmity – Bodily pain or trouble. Spirit in the Hebrew text is masculine in the first clause, feminine in the second, as though used in the latter as having lost its strength.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 18:14
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
Sustaining our infirmities
The sufferings of this life are not disproportioned to our strength to bear them. And the only evils that are intolerable and insupportable, are wholly owing to ourselves.
I. What is meant by sustaining infirmities? Infirmities here, being opposed to a wounded spirit, must signify only external sufferings, whatever is grievous by afflicting, excepting the disorders and troubles of our own minds. By sustaining infirmities is not meant that we must not feel them. It is to feel but not sink under the weight of them: as that man sustains his burden who can go upright, and not stagger, or at least not fall, though he feels the weight of it on his shoulders.
II. By what means can the spirit of a man sustain his infirmities?
1. By natural courage and strength of mind. There is an inbred greatness in human nature which does not care to confess its own weakness; an untaught courage which supports the rude and illiterate part of mankind, even without reason and discourse.
2. By the power of reason, which adds to our natural courage, and gives us a more confirmed sense of decency and honour. The mere power of natural reason and moral arguments cannot support us under all events; but reason is the strength of the mind, and it is the mind which must bear up under external sufferings. Nature furnishes us with a great many arguments to bear sufferings easily, without fainting.
3. By the arguments which religion furnishes us with. Refer to two: That whatever we suffer is not the effect of a blind chance or fatal necessity, but is ordered by a wise and good Providence. That if we bear our present sufferings with patience and submission to the will of God, and make a wise use of them to our improvement in grace and virtue, our very sufferings shall be greatly rewarded in the next world. If God sees pain and sickness, poverty and disgrace, necessary to cure or restrain our vicious and distempered passions, or to improve and exercise our graces, have we any reason to complain that God takes such severe measures to save our souls? This may be very grievous and afflicting at present, but then we have the hopes of immortal life to support us.
III. What is meant by a wounded spirit? This is a metaphorical expression, and signifies a spirit which suffers pain and trouble. A wound in the body is a division of one part from another, which is always painful; and though a spirit cannot be thus divided, yet because a wound causes pain, a spirit which is disordered and suffers pain is said to be wounded. Some mens spirits are wounded with the disorders and violence of their own passions. They love, or hope, or fear, or desire, or grieve immoderately; and all passions are very painful when they are in excess. Other mens spirits are wounded with a sense of guilt. Their own consciences reproach and shame them.
IV. How unsupportable a wounded spirit is! Anger, when it grows immoderate, worries the mind. An immoderate love of riches or honours or pleasures causes us infinite trouble, torments with an impatient thirst. All this is nothing to the agonies of a guilty mind. And moreover, a wounded spirit has no refuge or retreat, has nothing left to support itself with. The spirit of a man can bear his infirmities, but when the spirit itself is wounded, there is nothing to support that. This wounds our courage, our reason, makes all external comforts tasteless, and deprives us of all the comforts of religion. A wounded spirit cannot find any support from the considerations of religion unless it find its cure there. Useful thoughts:
1. This is a great vindication of the providence of God with respect to those evils and calamities that are in the world. God inflicts nothing on us but what the spirit of a man can sustain, but our greatest sufferings are owing to ourselves, and no more chargeable on the providence of God than our sins are.
2. This greatly recommends the Divine wisdom in that provision God has made for our support under sufferings.
3. It is better to suffer than to sin, even with respect to our present case, because sufferings may be borne by an innocent and virtuous mind.
4. The government of our own passions contributes more to our happiness than any external enjoyments. What a wrong course do the generality of mankind take to make themselves happy! They seek for happiness without, when the foundation of happiness must be laid within, in the temper and disposition of our minds. An easy, quiet mind will weather all the storms of fortune. But how calm and serene soever the heavens be, there is no peace to the wicked, who have nothing but noise and tumult and confusion within. (W. Sherlock, D. D.)
The burden of a wounded heart
This text presents a comparison between the grief that afflicts the outward man and that which preys upon the inward. What is meant in the text by spirit? In the soul of man is an upper and lower part; not, indeed, in respect of its substance, for that is indivisible, but in respect of its faculties. There is a higher and more noble portion of the soul, purely intellectual; and in operation, as well as in substance, perfectly spiritual, and this is expressed in the text by the term spirit. What is the import of the soul being wounded? This signifies nothing else but its being deeply and intimately possessed with a lively sense of Gods wrath for sin. The sense of the text lies full and clear in this one proposition, viz., that the trouble and anguish of a soul labouring under a sense of Gods displeasure for sin is inexpressibly greater than any other grief or trouble whatsoever.
I. What kind of persons are the proper subjects of this trouble? Both the righteous and the wicked; but with a very different issue in one and in the other.
II. Wherein does the strange, excessive, and sometimes supernatural greatness of it appear? We may gather this–
1. From the behaviour of our Saviour Himself in this condition.
2. From the most raised and passionate expressions that have been uttered from time to time, by persons eminent in the ways of God, while they were labouring under it.
3. From the uninterrupted, incessant continuance of it.
4. From the violent and more than ordinary manifestation of itself in outward signs and effects.
5. From those horrid effects it has had upon persons not upheld under it by Divine grace. Both history and experience testify what tragical ends men deserted by God, under the troubles of a wounded spirit, have been brought into.
III. By what ways and means this trouble is brought into the soul.
1. By reflections upon the Divine justice, as provoked.
2. By fearful apprehensions of the Divine mercy, as abused.
3. By Gods withdrawing His presence and the sense of His love.
4. These wounding perplexities are brought upon the soul by Gods giving commission to the tempter more than usually to trouble and disquiet it.
IV. What is Gods end and design in casting men into such a perplexed condition? God brings anguish upon the spirit of the pious and sincere for a twofold end.
1. To embitter sin to them.
2. To endear and enhance the value of returning mercy.
V. Draw some useful inferences from the whole.
1. Let no man presume to pronounce anything scoffingly of the present or severely of the final estate of such as he finds exercised with the distracting troubles of a wounded spirit.
2. Let no secure sinner applaud or soothe up himself in the presumed safety of his spiritual estate because he finds so much trouble or anguish upon his spirit for sin.
3. Let no person exclude himself from the number of such as are truly sincere and regenerate, only because he never yet felt any of these amazing pangs of conscience for sin. (R. South.)
On the wounds of the heart
There are two classes of good and evil belonging to man–those which respect his corporeal and those which respect his spiritual state. But it is not easy to convince men that the soul hath interests of its own, quite distinct from those of the body, and is liable to diseases and wounds as real as any which the body suffers, and often much more grievous. The natural vigour and courage of a mans mind may enable him to surmount the ordinary distresses of life; but if, within him, the disease rankles in mind and heart, to what quarter can he look for relief? The spirit or soul of man is wounded chiefly by three causes–by folly, by passion, by guilt.
I. By folly. That is, by vain, light, and improper pursuits; by a conduct which, though it should not be immediately criminal, yet is unsuitable to ones age, character, or condition in the world. Good sense is no less requisite in our religious and moral behaviour than it is in our worldly affairs. In this age of dissipation and luxury, how many avenues are open that lead to the Temple of Folly. If something happens to awaken persons of this description from their dreams of vanity, what mortifying and disquieting views of themselves will arise! Conscience now begins to exert its authority, and lift its scourge.
II. By passion. If by folly the spirit is wounded, it is exposed by passion to wounds still more severe. Passions are those strong emotions of the mind which impel it to desire, and to act, with vehemence. When directed towards proper objects, and kept within just bounds, they possess a useful place in our frame; but they always require the government and restraint of reason. When a mans passions have been so far indulged, and left to run to excess, a dangerous blow has been given to the heart. The balance of the soul is lost. The case becomes infinitely worse if the passion which has seized a man be of the vicious and malignant kind. Over his dark and scowling mind gloomy ideas continually brood. The wounds given to the heart by ill-governed passions are of an opprobrious nature, and must be stifled in secret.
III. By guilt. If beyond being misled by folly or overcome by passion a man be conscious of having committed deeds of injustice or cruelty, deep and lasting is the sting which is sent into the heart. The voice of nature, of conscience, and of God will make itself heard within him. He will become despicable in his own sight. Remorse will prey the deeper on the bad mans heart, if it should happen that there was a period in his life when he was a different man. Then let us learn–
1. To give the most serious and vigilant attention to the government of our hearts.
2. To join prayer to Almighty God, in addition to our own endeavours of guarding and governing our spirits.
3. That the great God hath already begun to punish bad men for their sins and vices. You see His hand in all that they are made to suffer by the wounded spirit. He has not delayed all retribution to another world. Let us hold fast by this truth, that every mans real happiness or misery is made by the appointment of the Creator, to depend more on Himself, and on the proper government of his mind and heart, than upon any external thing. (Hugh Blair, D. D.)
The misery, causes, and remedies of a dejected mind
Render the passage thus: The spirit of a man (of a brave man) will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded (dejected) spirit, who shall raise it up? A caution is intimated against yielding too far to any misfortunes or troubles; against letting our spirits sink or our courage fail us in our day of calamity. A vigorous mind, a manly spirit, will support us under bodily infirmities within, or cross accidents without. The subject here is a troubled and dejected mind.
I. The misery of it. Not a wounded conscience only, but generally a mind wounded by grief and troubles. All manner of trouble and misery, as felt by the patient, is resolvable into pain of body or pain of mind; into some uneasy sensations, which we commonly call anguish. What an advantage, in all kinds of uneasinesses, to have a mind well fortified and steeled against them. Strength of mind and fortitude are of admirable use to repel uneasiness and pain, and to prevent its making any deep and durable impressions. The spirit of a man, while firm and erect, becomes a kind of armour of proof against either inward pains or untoward disasters. When the spirit sinks, every calamity puts on the blacker face, and every pain and uneasiness stings to the quick, and is much increased with galling reflections The mind is haunted with dark images. The man sits down and indulges his sorrow, hugs his grief, abandons himself to impatience, bitter wailing, and despair, refusing to be comforted.
II. The causes which lead to this melancholy extremity. The occasional and immediate causes of this malady are either from without or from within. The outward calamities of life are many and various. A second cause is the sense of some grievous sin lying hard upon the conscience. The greatest calamity that can be is an ill-spent life. There is such a thing as religious melancholy–bodily indisposition, which is frequently the sole cause of a broken, dejected mind.
III. Prescribe some proper remedies or preservatives. Natural courage, inborn strength of mind, is one of the best preservatives. Rule
1. Trust in God and live a life conformable to the doctrine of Christ.
2. Sit as loose as possible to the world; weave and disentangle the affections from temporal things. If we can be content with a moderate share of temporal prosperity, we shall be the less concerned at disappointments, and of consequence the better prepared to meet afflictions and to bear up under them. Other inferior rules are, agreeable company; good books; employment in an honest calling; innocent diversions, and the like. Rely rather upon faith, a good life, and a good conscience consequent thereon; together with fixed and constant meditations upon the joys of a life to come. If ye do these things ye can never fail. (D. Waterland, D. D.)
A wounded spirit
I. What is meant by a wounded spirit? A guilty and self-condemning conscience arising both from a sense of sin and of the danger which a man by sinning has brought himself into.
II. Why is a wounded spirit so grievous and unsupportable?
1. It imports a sense of sin in offending against the light and conviction of our own minds.
2. In offending against the majesty of a gracious and good God.
3. A sense of danger in provoking the justice of an angry and avenging God. The spirits of men are often wounded, and their thoughts afflicted, at a sense of the present shame and sufferings which their evil courses bring upon them. The following are crimes which, in their own nature are attended with uneasy and stinging reflections:
(1) Public offences against government and the common interests and good of society.
(2) When the wrong-doer is under any obligations of love, fidelity, or obedience to those whom he injures.
III. Though the condition of such a person is so deplorable, it is not hopeless or desperate. By the grace of God means are left for his recovery. That faith which, according to the terms of the gospel, justifies a sinner, and is reckoned unto him for righteousness, imports a firm belief that Jesus was the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, and that His sufferings and death upon the Cross were a true and proper expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Let us apply the benefits of that general expiation Christ made for the sins of mankind to our particular persons. (R. Fiddes, D. D.)
Sustaining infirmity
I. A sound spirit is what will relieve under outward infirmities and troubles.
1. When may the spirit of a man be said to be sound? When it is renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of God. A holy soul is a healthful one. There is a natural soundness or stoutness of spirit which is not easily discouraged or broken by external trouble or pain. There is a moral soundness of spirit when enlightened conscience hath nothing gross to upbraid a man withal. A sound spirit is one pardoned through the blood of Jesus, and through Him restored to the favour of God. It is in some measure comforted with a sense of Gods love, and its own safety for eternity.
2. Show that every man has his infirmities. Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. Through much tribulation we must enter the kingdom. The term infirmity denotes what afflictions are, both in their nature and tendency, viz., weakening things. And man has no ability to prevent their coming, nor to free himself from them when they come.
3. How far will a sound spirit sustain under these? The man does not hereby become insensible. But a sound spirit will be a praying one; it will not let go its hope in God of a blessed issue, either in this world or a better; it will keep something of cheerfulness. This sound spirit is not alone; it has the Spirit of God with it. And this Spirit proves a comforter and helper, by leading the afflicted Christian into an aquaintance with what is written in the Word, and what has been wrought within himself.
II. A wounded spirit is itself a burden, under which there is no standing without relief given from heaven.
1. The spirit or soul in man may be wounded. There is such a thing as a grieved soul as well as a pained body. There is a bitterness peculiar to the heart which can only be understood by God and itself. A wounded spirit is one filled with anguish from a sense of sin.
2. When, and in whom, may the spirit be wounded. Either before conversion or after. The soul of the sinner is wounded that Christ may be rendered precious and amiable to it, and bring it to close with Him upon His own terms; that it might be filled with a greater hatred of sin; that, when it is healed, it may be the more enlarged in thankfulness towards its gracious God. The distress of a wounded spirit will for ever be an argument of love to God and Christ, and it will put others upon considering what they are liable to suffer on account of sin in this world, besides the death which is the wages of it in another. The spirit is wounded in such as God is about to recover to Himself, to make and keep them humble all their days. By the distress that goes before recovering grace God will encourage His peoples trust in Him in after-trials. What compassion is due to such as know by experience the insupportable burden of a wounded spirit! (D. Wilcox.)
A wounded spirit
Writing of General Grants last days, General Badeau says: The physicians constantly declared that although the cancer was making irresistible advance, it was not the cancer that produced the exhaustion and nervousness which, unless arrested, would bring about death very soon. It was only too plain that the mental, moral disease was killing Grant–it was the blow which had struck him to the dust, and humiliated him before the world, from which he could not recover. He who was thought so stolid, so strong, so undemonstrative, was dying for a sentiment–because of the injury to his fame, the aspersions on his honour. (J. F. B. Tinling.)
The torture of a wounded conscience
As long as Adam maintained a conscience pure towards God, he was happy; but having once taken the forbidden fruit, he tarried a while there, but took no contentment therein; the sun did shine as bright, the rivers ran as clear as ever they did, birds sang as sweetly, beasts played as pleasantly, flowers smelt as fragrant, herbs grew as fresh, fruits flourished as fair; no punctilio of pleasure was either altered or abated; the objects were the same, but Adams eyes were otherwise. Such is the torture of a wounded conscience, that it is able to unparadise paradise, and the burthen thereof so insupportable, that it is able to quell the courage and crush the shoulders of the hugest Hercules, of the mightiest man upon the face of the earth: who can bear it? (J. Spencer.)
Grievances of the spirit
These are of all others most heavy and grievous to be borne; these make sore the shoulders which should sustain the other infirmities. If the spirit be wounded by the disturbance of the reason, dejection under the trouble, whatever it is, and despair of relief; if the spirit be wounded by the amazing apprehensions of Gods wrath for sin, and the fearful expectations of judgment and fiery indignation, who can bear this? Wounded spirits cannot help themselves, nor do others know how to help them. It is therefore wisdom to keep conscience void of offence. (Matthew Henry.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 14. The spirit of a man will sustain] A man sustains the ills of his body, and the trials of life, by the strength and energy of his mind. But if the mind be wounded, if this be cast down, if slow-consuming care and grief have shot the dagger into the soul, what can then sustain the man? Nothing but the unseen God. Therefore, let the afflicted pray. A man’s own spirit has, in general, sufficient fortitude to bear up under the unavoidable trials of life; but when the conscience is wounded by sin, and the soul is dying by iniquity, who can lift him up? God alone; for salvation is of the Lord.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The spirit, i.e. the soul, to wit, which is unwounded, as appears by the opposite branch of the verse; which is vigorous and cheerful, supported by the sense of Gods love, and the conscience of its own integrity, and the prospect of its present peace and future happiness.
Will sustain his infirmity; will easily support him under any bodily or outward troubles, as Gods people have oft found by experience.
Wounded; dejected with the sense of its own guilt and misery.
Who can bear? it is most grievous and intolerable without Divine assistance.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
14. infirmitybodily sickness,or outward evil. The spirit, which sustains, being wounded,no support is left, except, as implied, in God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity,…. The spirit of a mighty man, as Jarchi; a man of spirit, that has a spirit of fortitude, even of natural fortitude, and especially of Christian fortitude; that has a spirit of might upon him, of power, and sound mind; a man of a Christian spirit, that is renewed in the spirit of his mind; who is a spiritual man, and has the Spirit of God in him, as well as a rational soul, an immaterial, immortal, and never dying substance. Such a man will bear up under many trials and exercises of life; will support under bodily infirmities; will take patiently the loss Of friends and of substance; endure reproach, and the loss of a good name, credit, and reputation, cheerfully, for righteousness’s sake; and suffer persecution for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel, with an undaunted and unbroken spirit: the peace of conscience he feels within; the presence of God with him; the love of God shed abroad in his heart; seeing all his afflictions flowing from love, and working for his good; and having in view the glories of another world; he bears up under and goes through all afflictions with ease and pleasure; his conscience is clear, his heart is whole, his mind is easy; his wounds being healed, his sins pardoned, and his soul saved in Chris;
but a wounded spirit who can bear? or a “smitten” w one, smitten by the Lord; by the word of the Lord, which he uses as a hammer to break rocky hearts in pieces; by the law of God, which produces wrath, and a looking for of fiery indignation; by the Spirit of God, awakening the conscience, and convicting it of sin, righteousness, and judgment; which smitings are very grievous, though they tend to bring to repentance; are in order to healing, and are in love. Or, “a broken spirit” x, as in Pr 17:22; broken with a sense of sin, and with an excess of sorrow for it; when a man becomes lifeless and hopeless, has no hope of life and salvation, and is in the utmost confusion; all his measures and purposes are broken, as well as his heart; he knows not what to do, nor what way to take; he is disconsolate, and refuses to be comforted; and which for the present is intolerable: though the Lord has a regard to such, is nigh unto them; has sent his son to bind up their broken hearts; yea, has himself been broken for them; and happy it is for them that they fall on him and are broken, and not he on them. Or, “a wounded spirit”; with a view of sin, as committed against the omniscient and omnipotent Being, a pure and holy God; a righteous one, whose nature is infinite; and so sin committed against him requires an infinite satisfaction, which a creature cannot give; and a God also, who is the author of their beings, and the Father of their mercies; all which makes sin against him the more cutting and wounding: likewise they are wounded with a view of the evil nature of sin, and the aggravated circumstances that attend it; and with the terrors of the law, that are set in array against them. And such a spirit “who can bear?” not without the sight of a wounded Saviour; or without a view of atonement by his sacrifice; or without the discoveries and applications of pardoning grace; or without a sense of peace and reconciliation made by the blood of Christ; or without some hope of salvation by him; and unless the good Samaritan pours in oil and wine into the wounds, and binds them up.
w “percussum”, Pagninus, Baynus, Mercerus, Gejerus; “perculsum”, Vatablus, Cocceius. x “Contritum”, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; “fractum”, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
Note, 1. Outward grievances are tolerable as long as the mind enjoys itself and is at ease. Many infirmities, many calamities, we are liable to in this world, in body, name, and estate, which a man may bear, and bear up under, if he have but good conduct and courage, and be able to act with reason and resolution, especially if he have a good conscience, and the testimony of that be for him; and, if the spirit of a man will sustain the infirmity, much more will the spirit of a Christian, or rather the Spirit of God witnessing and working with our spirits in a day of trouble. 2. The grievances of the spirit are of all others most heavy, and hardly to be borne; these make sore the shoulders which should sustain the other infirmities. If the spirit be wounded by the disturbance of the reason, dejection under the trouble, whatever it is, and despair of relief, if the spirit be wounded by the amazing apprehensions of God’s wrath for sin, and the fearful expectations of judgment and fiery indignation, who can bear this? Wounded spirits cannot help themselves, nor do others know how to help them. It is therefore wisdom to keep conscience void of offence.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Sustaining Grace
Verse 14 speaks first of the trusting spirit of the man who looks beyond the wrongs and injuries he has suffered to his faithful LORD and is sustained in his infirmity, as was the Apostle Paul, 2Co 4:8-18; 2Co 7:5-6; Php_4:11-13; 2Ti 4:6-8. The second line refers to the man whose spirit dwells upon and complains of the wrongs he has experienced, thereby neglecting the one source that would sustain him, Pro 18:10; Psa 27:5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 18:14. Infirmity, i.e., sickness, disease of body. As in similar verses, Miller translates a wounded spirit: a spirit of upbraiaing. Here again, as in Pro. 18:4, the Hebrew word ish is used for man.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 18:14
SICKNESS OF BODY AND WOUNDS OF SOUL
I. A man can rise above pain of body. Men who do not seek supernatural help sometimes do it. They are endowed with a natural courage which makes them scorn to be overcome by physical pain, or they are naturally very hopeful, and are enabled in some measure to look beyond the present suffering to a time of relief in the future. Or intense excitement of the mind renders them for a time at least oblivious of bodily sensations. How many illustrations of this last case we have in men who have been desperately wounded in battle, and yet have been so intensely absorbed in the terrible contest that they have seemed scarcely aware of it, and have kept their position until their strength has utterly failed. But it is pre-eminently the godly man who can sustain infirmity of body. It is a fact of history that godly men and women have been even joyful in spirit when suffering great bodily pain. Instances are common in which those who have been in agony of body from some terrible disease have been full of comfort in their spirits, and have borne witness that they were conscious of a sustaining power outside themselvesof supernatural help from above which enabled them to glory in tribulation. But this ability of human creatures to rise above bodily suffering has been most remarkably exemplified in those who have suffered because they were the servants of Godwho have been witnesses for the truth of the gospel of Christ. Even women have borne the most severe bodily sufferings not only with fortitude but with exultationlifted above their bodily pain by a vivid realisation of unseen and spiritual realities and an intense consciousness of the favour of God.
II. But a wounded spirit crushes the entire man. The spirit of the man is the man himself, his power to love, to hope, and to enjoy. When these have lost their energy, there is nothing to lift him up, and existence becomes an intolerable burden. The spirit can sustain the body under its trials, but sensual gratifications and physical comforts can do nothing towards alleviating spiritual distress. But observe:
1. That all sorrow of heart does not crush a man. Sanctified sorrow, although it wounds the spirit, yet it only wounds it to raise it to a higher levelto make it capable of a more refined enjoyment. Bereavement, the faithlessness of friends, disappointed hopes, often deeply wound the spirit, yet men bear these wounds and often are made better and stronger by them. A sense of the favour of God and a peaceful conscience will prevent men from being overwhelmed by even very keen mental sorrow.
2. An unbearable wound of spirit can be the portion of those only who have no sense of the favour of God. So long as a man has this no pain of body or sorrow of soul can cast him down entirely, but without it he has little power to bear manfully the burdens of life, and a sense of the absence of it would be enough to crush him utterly although he had no other burdens to bear.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Spiritual sickness varies (as some diseases do in the body according to the constitution of the sick) thereafter as the soul is that hath it, whether regenerate or reprobate. The malignancy is great in both, but with far less danger in the former.
1. In the elect, this spiritual sickness is an afflicted conscience, when God will suffer us to take a deep sense of our sins, and bring us to the life of grace by the valley of death, as it were by hell gates unto heaven. There is no anguish to that of the conscience: A wounded spirit who can bear? They that have been valiant in bearing wrongs, in forbearing delights, have yet had womanish and coward spirits in sustaining the terrors of a tumultuous conscience. If our strength were as an army, and our lands not limited save with east and west, if our meat were manna, and our garments as the ephod of Aaron; yet the afflicted conscience would refuse to be cheered with all these comforts. When God shall raise up our sins, like dust and smoke in the eyes of our souls when He either hides His countenance from us, or beholds us with an angry look; lo, then, if any sickness be like this sickness, any calamity like the fainting soul! Many offences touch the body which extend not to the soul; but if the soul be grieved, the sympathising flesh suffers deeply with it. The blood is dried up, the marrow wasted, the flesh pined, as if the powers and pores of the body opened themselves like so many windows to discover the passions of the distressed prisoner within. It was not the sense of outward sufferings (for mere men have borne the agonies of death undaunted) but the wrestling of Gods wrath with His spirit, that drew from Christ that complaint, able to make heaven and earth stand aghast: My soul is heavy unto death (Mat. 26:38). Neither is this sickness of conscience properly good in itself, nor any grace of God, but used by God as an instrument of good to His, as when by the spirit of bondage He brings us to adoption. So the needle that draws the thread through the cloth is some means to join it together.
2. Spiritual sickness for sin befalling a reprobate soul, is final and total desperation. This is that fearful consequent which treads upon the heels of presumption. Cains fratricide, Judass treachery, presumptious, aspiring, heaven-daring sins, find this final catastrophe, to despair of the mercy of God. As if the goodness of God, and the value of Christs ransom, were below his iniquity. As if the pardon of his sins would empty Gods storehouse of compassion, and leave His stock of mercy poor. This is that sin which not only offers injury and indignity to the Lord of heaven and earth, but even breaks that league of kindness which we owe to our own flesh. To commit sin is the killing of the soul; to refuse hope of mercy is to cast it down to hell. Therefore St. Jerome affirms that Judas sinned more in despairing of his Masters pardon than in betraying Him; since nothing can be more derogatory to the goodness of God, which He hath granted by promise and oathtwo immutable witnessesto penitent sinners than to credit the father of lies before Him.T. Adams.
The spirit of a man may control his sickness, but a spirit of upbraiding, who can carry that? To give all up, and simply lie back and murmur, is bad even for worldly disorders; but Solomon derives out of it a much more profound spiritual sense. The spirit of a man, at least among those to whom Solomon wrote, had truth enough to save him if he would only listen. Control. The original is contain, as wine in a bottle, sicknessliterally what is physical; but in this same book employed for the spiritual malady. If the soul, therefore, would lie quiet, and yield to its own light, it would be joined by what is higher, and would contain, or control its own malady; God helping, as He would, would check, and get the better of it; but a spirit of upbraidingand by this is meant precisely the quarrel (chap. Pro. 17:19) with God which has been so long discussedis what ruins all. It is upon them that are contentious, and will not obey the truth, (Rom. 2:8)that truth being in all of them through the invisible things which are seen by the things that are made (Rom. 1:20)that the apostle denounces tribulation and wrath, indignation and anguish. Not that men can save themselves, but that they would save themselves under Gods influences if they did not contend with Him; that it is rebellion that turns the scale (Psa. 68:6); that there is light enough in every man to draw him to saving light if he would only follow it; and that on this very account it is the great sorrow of the sinner that he has this spirit of upbraiding, which, in the spiritual world, no moral malady can carry.Miller.
St. Gregory saith by patience we possess our souls, because, while we learn to bear rule over ourselves, we begin to possess that which we are. And surely, if thou be courageously patient, whatsoever thou mayest lose yet thou enjoyest that which thou hast; or, if thou hast nothing, yet thou shalt enjoy thyself, thou shalt enjoy the comfort of thy own spirit. Whereas impatiency for anything that is lost taketh away the comfort of all that remaineth, yea, the comfort of thine own self.Jermin.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(14) The spirit of a man.That is, one properly so called, who draws his strength from God, will sustain his infirmity, help him to bear up against trouble; but a wounded spirit (not one crushed with the sense of sin, for that God will lift up, Isa. 66:2; Psa. 51:17), which retires into itself and nurses its griefs, who can bear the wear of it?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
14. Sustain his infirmity Literally, sustains his disease.
A wounded spirit Or, smitten or broken spirit, “spirit of upbraiding.” Miller.
Who can bear That is, no one can. A manly spirit may bear up courageously under severe bodily sickness and pain; but if the mind itself is smitten and discouraged, the body sinks under the weight. It may refer to an upbraiding conscience; who can stand that? The Septuagint has this singular version: “A wise servant calms a man’s anger; but a faint-hearted man who can endure?”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Tongue Affects Man In Many Ways, Making Him Strong And Wise, And Giving Him Life, Or Causing Him Great Grief, Finally Resulting In Death ( Pro 18:14-21 ).
In this subsection we have an emphasis on the different ways in which the tongue, both our own and the tongues of others, can affect our lives. They can make us strong (Pro 18:14; Pro 18:20-21) and produce harmony and abundant life, or they can bring us down, and finally destroy us. Thus the ear of the wise hears words which give him wisdom and spiritual knowledge (Pro 18:15); a man can speak through his wisely given gifts (Pro 18:16); the tongue can decide issues in court (Pro 18:17); God can speak through the lot (Pro 18:18); the tongue can cause offence and destroy close friendships (Pro 18:19); what a man says will have repercussions on him for good or bad (Pro 18:20); and the tongues of men can decide issues of living and dying (Pro 18:21).
The subsection is presented chiastically:
A A man’s spirit will endure his infirmity, but a broken spirit who can lift up? (Pro 18:14).
B The heart of the shrewd obtains knowledge, and the EAR of the wise seeks knowledge (Pro 18:15).
C A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men (Pro 18:16).
D He who PLEADS HIS CAUSE first, seems just (appears to be in the right), (until) his neighbour comes and thoroughly EXAMINES him (Pro 18:17).
D The lot causes CONTENTIONS to cease, and separates the mighty (Pro 18:18)
C A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and such CONTENTIONS are like the bars of a castle (Pro 18:19).
B A man’s belly will be filled with the fruit of his MOUTH, he will be satisfied with the increase (revenue) of his LIPS (Pro 18:20).
A Death and life are in the power of the TONGUE, and they who love it, each will eat its fruit (Pro 18:21).
Note that in A a man’s spirit (if not broken) enables him to rise above his infirmity (and live), whilst no one can lift up a man with a broken spirit (a living death awaits him), and in the parallel the fruit of the tongue, the power of which determines death or life, gives each man the option to ‘eat’ life or death. In B the ear of the wise seeks knowledge, and in the parallel the fruit and profitability of a man’s mouth will satisfy him. In C a man’s gift will find that it makes room for him before great men, but in the parallel nothing will make room for him before a man whom he has offended (compare Pro 6:34-35). Centrally in D we have described contention in court, and in the parallel that that contention can often be settled by casting lots.
Pro 18:14
‘A man’s spirit will endure his infirmity,
But a broken spirit who can lift up?’
The point here is that where a man’s spirit is whole it will enable him to endure any bodily weakness and sickness that he faces. It will enable him to ‘live’, even through his troubles. But a man whose spirit is broken will not be able to do endure bodily weakness and sickness, because no one can ‘lift up’ a broken spirit. Thus such a man will die. He can no longer cope with life. If only he had listened to the voice of Wisdom she would have put her spirit within him (Pro 1:23), and thus his spirit would not have been broken.
We can compare Pro 18:12 where, when ‘a man’s heart’ is proud and haughty it will (like the broken spirit) result in destruction, but where it is humble it will receive honour from both God and men. It will ‘live’.
In the parallel verse in the chiasmus death and life are in the hand of the tongue. What men hear and listen to will determine whether they find life (by following wisdom) or death (by rejecting wisdom). Each man will eat the fruit of what he hears and listens to, whether the voice of wisdom (Pro 1:20-23; Pro 8:1-10; Pro 9:4-6), which will maintain his spirit (Pro 1:23) and give him life (Pro 3:18; Pro 3:22; Pro 4:13; Pro 4:22-23; Pro 6:23; Pro 8:35), or the voice of the enticer (Pro 1:10-19; Pro 5:3; Pro 7:5-21; Pro 9:14-17), which will in the end break his spirit (Pro 5:9-13) and give him death (Pro 5:5; Pro 7:22-23; Pro 7:27; Pro 9:18).
Pro 18:15
‘The heart of the shrewd obtains knowledge,
And the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.’
The man whose spirit enables him to endure is the man whose heart has obtained knowledge (the knowledge of God and His ways). A man reveals himself as shrewd by obtaining such knowledge. Indeed, the ear of the wise man seeks knowledge. It listens to the voice of Wisdom (which give knowledge – Pro 8:8-12), and the voice of Solomon, and the voice of the wise. And it listens to the wise man’s own voice as he proclaims wisdom to himself, giving him a bellyful of fruit and riches that satisfy (Pro 18:20). In those days much reading would be reading aloud, and men recited the Torah to themselves, and experienced blessing as they went through the liturgy at feasts. Thus they could ‘listen to themselves’ as they read aloud
Pro 18:16
‘A man’s gift makes room for him,
And brings him before great men.’
We can see this as meaning that Solomon is here bringing out the deceitfulness of human nature. A man who offers bribes, and bribes disguised as gifts, will obtain access to great men, men of political influence. (The world has changed very little). They will give him a hearing. It should not be so, of course. Influential men should give equal access to all. But that is what life is like. It can mean in terms of Pro 18:17 that a man by his gifts obtains the first hearing. But it certainly puts him at an advantage over those who cannot afford gifts.
We know from what we have seen previously that Israel saw this practise as wrong (Pro 15:27; Pro 17:8; Pro 17:23; Pro 18:5; Pro 25:14; Pro 29:4). Bribes were condemned in Israel (Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; Deu 27:25; 1Sa 8:3; Job 15:34; Psa 15:5; Psa 26:10; Isa 1:23; Isa 5:23; Isa 33:15). Other nations were less stringent, for while they were frowned on if they affected justice, they were otherwise seen as acceptable and the only penalties were on those who failed to pay the promised bribe. That they did occur in Israel and were specifically seen as encouraging injustice is evidenced in Pro 17:23; Exo 23:8; Deu 16:19; Deu 27:25; 1Sa 8:3; Psa 15:5; Isa 1:23; Isa 5:23; Mic 3:11. As Isa 5:23 says, ‘they justify the unrighteous for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous’, words which parallel the idea in Pro 17:15 exactly. But they were specifically condemned.
YHWH, unlike the gods of other nations, is distinguished as being unbribeable. He is ‘the God of Gods and the Lord of Lords, the mighty and terrible God, Who is not partial and takes no bribes’ (Deu 10:17), indicating just how wrong bribes were seen to be. They are contrary to what God is.
On the other hand the word used here is not the usual one for a bribe, and there is no mention of court proceedings. Thus it may be that Solomon, in the world in which he lived, did not see a wisely given gift as wrong, as long as its purpose was not to pervert justice (he himself would have given many such gifts). He would not have approved of bribing the justices, but he may well have recognised that a wisely given gift could enable someone to present their case against injustice in the right and proper quarters, and here be giving his people advice on how to obtain a hearing. Indeed, the next two proverbs make clear that he expects men to have a fair hearing, and is not suggesting that the gift will influence a judicial decision.
There are times when gifts reveal our estimate of the recipient, or are an expression of gratitude (in this case in advance). And most men have shown their appreciation of a girl by giving her gifts, and vice versa. Consider Jacob’s gifts to Esau which were intended to reconcile him and thus save Jacob’s own followers from possible disaster (Gen 32:7-20). See also 1Sa 16:20. The provision of a large dowry would often ensure a satisfactory marriage for a girl (Gen 24:22; Gen 24:30; Gen 24:53). Thus in themselves gifts are not necessarily wrong. What matters is the motive.
Pro 18:17
‘He who pleads his cause first, seems just (seems to be in the right),
(Until) his neighbour comes and thoroughly examines him.’
These two proverbs (Pro 18:17-18), which are central in the chiasmus, relate to judicial proceedings. In this one we have the evidence that Solomon saw justice in Israel as mainly fair. The one who puts his case first makes the first impression, and may well give the impression that his case is cast iron. But once his adversary comes and cross-examines him the situation can easily change. His carefully prepared case may begin to look as if it has holes in it, and the court may begin to think differently. Indeed, sometimes it might be better to have the last word before the decision is reached.
As a general principle it gives the warning not to accept what people say too quickly. It is necessary not to jump to a quick conclusion, but to wait until you have heard both sides of the argument. Then you will be in a better position to judge.
Pro 18:18
‘The lot causes contentions to cease,
And separates the mighty.’
And yet, often when both sides of an argument have been put, and both lots of witnesses have been heard, it may be difficult to choose between the two. A position of stalemate might be reached. This is especially important when the two parties involved are powerful men, with the consequence that if one is seen to be favoured above the other it could have dire consequences. (The case is clearly once concerning property or possessions, and disagreement as to whom they belong to). Often in that case it is better to get each party to agree to the drawing of lots. Then if that is done fairly, both will hopefully accept the result with equanimity. Neither will have lost face by being declared the loser, and they will be kept apart (separated) from hostile activity. The use of the sacred lot was in those days seen as bringing God, Who clear knows the facts of the situation, into the controversy. The lot would reveal His final decision (thus the land of Canaan was mainly divided between the tribes on the basis of the lot – Jos 14:2).
As Christians we may resolve issues by praying together, which can have a similar effect, and in certain circumstances we may even combine that with an agreed prayerful use of ‘the lot’ by ‘tossing up’ a coin. When the referee tosses up a coin in order to decide which team enjoys a certain benefit (such as batting first or deciding which end to play from) it prevents dissension between the teams. Both sides agree that it was fair.
Pro 18:19
‘A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city,
And such contentions are like the bars of a castle.’
One grounds for using the lot (Pro 18:18) is emphasised here. The alternative might be to cause great offence because a person does not think that he has been justly treated. And once the situation is left like that the brother (someone once very close) may become irreconcilable, and a barrier built up that can never be broken down. The one time ‘brother’ might become as unapproachable as a powerful fortified city, and the causes of contention might become like the huge bolts on the gates of a city or fortress, effectively preventing entry.
Such a situation can, of course, occur outside litigation. This is thus a warning to beware of giving offence, and an indication that if we do so we should seek to deal with the offending matter immediately, either by means of an apology, or by making concessions, possibly accompanied by the giving of gifts (Pro 18:16).
Sometimes the offence caused may be so great that there is no hope of reconciliation. We have an example of this in Pro 6:32-35. A cuckolded husband may never forgive under any circumstances, and no matter what recompense is offered. In such cases the only way to avoid a permanent breach is not to commit the action in the first place.
Pro 18:20
‘A man’s belly will be filled with the fruit of his mouth,
With the increase (revenue, produce) of his lips will he be satisfied.’
Here an agricultural metaphor is used to describe how a man can benefit himself (or otherwise) by his own words. What he says with his mouth and lips can be to him like fruit which fills his belly (his inner man), or like the produce of his land (his ‘increase’) which satisfies him, first because of its quantity, and second because it feeds him and his family. In the same way a man can feed himself with his words, either because they directly affect him as he speaks them, or because they cause a reaction in others which then rebounds on him himself, whether for good or ill.
The general principle is that what we say affects not only others, but in the end, ourselves as well. If our words are sweet and reasonable, we will become sweet and reasonable. If our words are contentious it will arouse more contention within us. Thus what we say not only reveals what we are, but actually helps to shape us. But what is more, our words have an effect on others, and this will often come back on us. Thus the ‘fruit’ of which we partake, and the ‘produce’ that we enjoy will be the repercussions, for good or bad, of our own words. At some stage we will enjoy the fruit of our words.
But in the final analysis our words also have an effect on our relationship with God. They can either please Him, and make Him favourably disposed towards us, or they can anger Him, and bring His judgment upon us. And this will especially be so at the last Judgment, for, as Jesus said, ‘for every idle word that a man shall speak he will give account of it at the day of judgment, for by your words you will be accounted righteous, and by your words you will be condemned’ (Mat 12:36-37)
Especially in mind here may be the fact that in those days men, when reading, would read aloud and listen to their own words. Thus as they read the Torah of Moses, or recited it aloud, or as they went through the liturgy at their feasts (consider Exo 12:26-27), it would feed their inner man and give them deep spiritual satisfaction. By this means ‘the ear of the wise’ will seek knowledge, and the heart of the shrewd will obtain knowledge (Pro 18:15).
Pro 18:21
‘Death and life are in the power (literally ‘the hand’) of the tongue,
And those who love it, each will eat its fruit.’
In Proverbs the issues of ‘death and life’ have more in mind than just whether we die or live (see Pro 2:18-19; Pro 5:5-6; Pro 8:35-36; Pro 12:28; Pro 13:14). ‘Life’ is one of the aims of the book, and that means abundant life whilst living on this earth (Joh 10:10), as described for example in Pro 3:16-18, ‘length of days is in her (wisdom’s) right hand, and in her left hand riches (especially spiritual riches – Pro 3:14-15) and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness and in her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her, and happy is everyone who retains her’. And this is then seen as in some way continuing after physical death (see on Pro 15:24).
In contrast death is a way in which a man walks as well as an end to which he must come. He can be dead while he lives (Pro 5:9-11; Pro 7:22-23; Pro 9:18; 1Ti 5:6; Rev 3:1), although it is always emphasised that in the end he will finish up in the gloom and darkness of the grave world (Pro 2:18-19; Pro 5:11; Pro 7:27; Pro 9:18).
Thus Solomon is saying here that the whole of a man’s life, as well as his final destiny, is ‘in the hand of the tongue’. We have seen in the previous verse how our own tongues can affect us, but now the thought goes wider and includes the effects of other tongues. What we say, and what we listen to, affects our lives both now and in the hereafter. ‘Those who love the tongue will each one eat its fruit’. We become what we listen to most assiduously.
Those who seek God’s wisdom (and God’s word) will reap its fruits. It will be to them better than silver or gold, or precious jewels. It will sustain their spirits and make them strong against all adversity (Pro 18:14). Those who seek their own wisdom and the wisdom of the world will receive their due reward, in missing out on true life, and on God and all that He offers. For as the subsection has brought out, the effects of the tongue can be many (Pro 18:17-20).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
v. 14. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 18:14. Who can bear? Or, Who can raise it up?
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 797
A WOUNDED SPIRIT
Pro 18:14. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity: but a wounded spirit who can bear?
MAN being placed in a world where troubles of various kinds continually await him, he is endued with a firmness, of mind suited to the occasion, so that he is enabled to bear them with a considerable measure of composure and ease. Previously to the arrival of afflictions, they appear more formidable than they really are. We should suppose that poverty, and sickness, and pain, and losses of friends and relatives, would produce a permanent depressure of mind: but this is not found to be the case: time soon heals the wounds that are inflicted by them; and habit soon reconciles men to the burthens which they are called to sustain. Where piety is superadded to natural fortitude, and the grace of God is in full activity, a man can support any load, however heavy. What an accumulated weight of afflictions came on Job! yet he not only blessed God for them, but, when his wife urged him to renounce his allegiance to God on account of these visitations, he, with wonderful composure, answered, Shall we receive good at the Lords hands, and shall we not receive evil?
Yet there are bounds beyond which a man cannot go, without almost miraculous assistance. The spirit, like the body, may be borne down by a weight beyond its strength: and when the spirit, which ought to support a man under all his other trials, is itself broken, he must fall of course.
Now there are many things which inflict so deep a wound upon the spirit, as to destroy all its energy, and incapacitate it for its proper office: and that we may provide an antidote against them, and afford some consolation under them, we will,
I.
Consider the case of a wounded spirit
A spirit may be deeply wounded,
1.
By nervous disorders
[The mind may be disordered, as well as the body, and indeed through the medium of the body: and it is certain that there are disorders which so operate upon the nerves as to weaken and depress the animal spirits, and to sink a man into the very depths of despondency. This is often mistaken for religious melancholy: but it frequently has nothing to do with religion: it is found in persons who never turned their minds at all to the subject of religion: and, as it comes with, and by, a bodily disease, so it ceases with the removal of that disease. But in its effect it is inexpressibly painful, unfitting persons for every duty, indisposing them for all the proper means of relief, and leading them to put away from themselves all manner of consolation. They constrain their kindest friends to apply to themselves that proverb. As vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart [Note: Pro 25:20.].]
2.
By great and long-continued afflictions
[Job himself, who had so nobly sustained all his complicated afflictions, sank at last, and cursed the day of his birth. Nor is it at all uncommon for men of the greatest fortitude thus to sink. To produce this, is the tendency of calamities of any kind, personal, domestic, or public. See the Apostles caution to the Church of Corinth respecting their conduct towards a member whom they had excommunicated from among them. As they had been formerly too backward to punish his offence, so now they were too backward to restore him; on which occasion St. Paul says to them, Ye ought rather to forgive him, and to comfort him, lest perhaps such an one should be swallowed up with over-much sorrow [Note: 2Co 2:7.]. Here the grief was purely personal: but in Jacob it was of a domestic nature. He had, in his own apprehension, lost his favourite son, Joseph; and now he was afraid of losing Benjamin also: that, he said, would fill up the number of his sorrows, and bring down his grey hairs with sorrow to the grave [Note: Gen 42:38; Gen 44:31.]. How many at this day have ground to adopt this complaint, in reference to their children! Public calamities, it is true, do not so often press with an unsupportable weight upon the mind: yet have we several instances of their depressing, almost to the lowest ebb of sorrow, persons of the strongest and the holiest minds. How were Moses and Joshua discouraged, when unexpected circumstances arose to render doubtful the ultimate success of their mission [Note: Exo 5:22-23. Jos 7:7-8.]! Nor was it a love of life, or a fear of death, that made Hezekiah so extremely dejected at the prospect of his approaching dissolution, but an apprehension of the evils that would accrue to his country in the event of his removal; and that one consideration reduced him to such a state of grief as would in any other view have been utterly unworthy of him as a saint of God [Note: Isa 38:13-14.].]
3.
By guilt upon the conscience
[What terrible effects did this produce on the mind of the traitor Judas! He could not retain the wages of his iniquity, nor bear his own existence; but sought in suicide a termination of the sorrows he could no longer endure [Note: Mat 27:3-5.]. Nor is it at all uncommon for persons who once made a mock of sin, to feel so bitterly the torments of an accusing conscience, as to be driven by them to habits of intoxication, and even to death itself, as a refuge. Even good men, previous to their having received a renewed sense of Gods pardoning love upon their souls, have been brought to such terrors and despondency, as to find within their own souls a foretaste of hell itself. Davids experience in this particular is a just, but lamentable, exhibition of this painful truth [Note: Psa 31:9-10; Psa 38:1-8; Psa 40:12.] ]
4.
By violent temptations
[Satan, though he can no longer possess the bodies of men as formerly he did, has yet great power over their souls. His fiery darts can inflict the deadliest wound. Paul himself was not able to endure the buffetings of that malignant enemy, till, by repeated cries to his Divine Master, he had obtained from him augmented supplies of grace and strength [Note: 2Co 12:7; 2Co 12:9.]. As for Job, though he was a perfect man, yet he sank entirely under the assaults of this great adversary [Note: Job 6:2-4; Job 7:2-4; Job 7:13-16.] Even the Lord of Glory himself, when he had assumed our feeble nature, was so exhausted in his first conflicts with Satan, that he needed to have angels sent from heaven to strengthen him [Note: Mat 4:11.]. And in his last hours, when all the powers of darkness made their united assault upon him, he was constrained to say, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. What wonder then if Christians of ordinary stature be on some occasions unable to bear up under the wounds which he inflicts upon them?]
5.
By spiritual desertion
[This, after all, is the most overwhelming to a pious soul. With the presence of his God a man may bear any thing: but when God hides his face from him, he must of necessity be troubled [Note: Psa 30:6-7.]. In this respect also David shews us what an insupportable affliction this is, and how impossible it is for the strongest or most pious mind to endure it [Note: Psa 77:2-4; Psa 88:3-7; Psa 88:11-16.] But in our blessed Lord himself we see the most awful exemplification of this truth: for when all his other afflictions together had not been able to extort from him one complaint, this forced from him that heart-rending cry, My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me [Note: Mat 27:16.]?]
Seeing then that many may be fainting under the agonies of a wounded spirit, we will,
II.
Administer some balm for its relief
There is no wound that can be inflicted on the soul in this life, which may not, by an application of the proper remedies, be healed. Consider then,
1.
There is no affliction which is not sent by God for our good
[Afflictions, of whatever kind they be, spring not out of the ground: they are all appointed by God, in number, weight, and measure, and duration. If it be disease of body, it is he that inflicts the wound: if the trial come from any other quarter. it still is his chastening rod that strikes us, with a view to our spiritual good, that we may be made partakers of his holiness. Convictions of sin are the work of his Spirit, to prepare us for the final restoration of his favour: and Satan himself, as in the case of Job and of Peter, is restrained by God, so as ultimately to display the triumphs of divine grace, and to benefit the souls which he endeavours to destroy: and God himself, in the hidings of his face, seeks only so to humble and purify our souls as to prepare us for the fuller manifestations of his love and mercy [Note: Isa 54:7-8.]
Now it must be granted, that afflictions are not for the present joyous, but grievous: nevertheless, afterwards they work the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. If we be in heaviness through manifold temptations, God sees that there is a needs be for them [Note: 1Pe 1:6.]; and that by putting us into the furnace, we shall be purged from our dross, and come out of it as vessels better fitted for his service [Note: Mal 3:2-3.]. Well therefore may the consideration of the end for which they are sent, and of the benefit to be derived from them, reconcile us to the pressure of them, and dispose us patiently to wait for the removal of them. Could Job have foreseen the issue of his troubles, they would have been deprived of more than half their weight.]
2.
Our afflictions, of whatever kind they be, will endure but a little time
[The Apostle speaks of all, even the heaviest afflictions, as light and momentary [Note: 2Co 4:17.]. Even life itself is but as a shadow that declineth; or a weavers shuttle, which soon finishes the piece that is to be severed from the loom. And when once this frail life is ended, there is an everlasting termination of all our sorrows. If only we have believed in Christ, and sought an interest in him, we enter immediately into his presence, where is fulness of joy for evermore. Into that blissful world nothing that is afflictive can ever enter to disturb their peace: all tears are wiped away from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away [Note: Rev 21:4.]. And, as no created evil can then impair their bliss, so no created good can add to it: The city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to lighten it; for the glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof [Note: Rev 21:23.]. How little will the transient clouds that once occasioned a momentary gloom be remembered, when our dwelling is for ever fixed in the full splendour of the Sun of Righteousness. Surely we need not be much cast down at trials, however painful to flesh and blood, when we consider that their duration is but as the twinkling of an eye, and that they will so soon terminate in inconceivable and everlasting felicity.]
3.
There is in Christ a full sufficiency for every wound
[We need not go to the eternal world for consolation; for we may find it here. What says the Prophet Jeremiah? Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered [Note: Jer 8:22.]? Did we but cry to Jesus, as Paul did, we should find his grace abundantly sufficient for us. If we cast our burthen upon him, he would sustain us. See the experiment tried by David, and the account which he gives of the result: how soon was he taken out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and a new song was put into his mouth, even praise unto our God [Note: Psa 40:2-3.]! The very office which our blessed Lord undertook, was that, not of a Redeemer only, but of a Comforter: to comfort them that mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness [Note: Isa 61:2-3.]. Let all then look unto him, whatever their affliction now be: even though, like David, they were under the depths of dereliction, they shall soon, with him, have occasion to say, Thou hast turned my mourning into dancing; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness [Note: Psa 30:11.].
The Lord Jesus will not break a bruised reed, or quench the smoking flax, but will bring forth judgment unto victory; and, if we confide in him, our heaviness may indeed continue for a night, but joy shall come in the morning.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
Ver. 14. The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity. ] Some sorry shift a man may make to bustle with, and to rub through other ailments and aggrievances, disasters or diseases, sores or sicknesses of the body – as the word here properly importeth. Let a man be sound within, and, upon good terms, at peace with his own conscience, and he will bravely bear unspeakable pressures. 2Co 1:9 ; 2Co 1:12 Paul was merry under his load, because his heart was cheery in the Lord; as an old beaten porter to the cross, maluit tolerare quam deplorare, his “stroke was heavier than his groaning,” as Job. Job 23:2 Alexander Aphrodiseus a gives a reason why porters under their burdens go singing; because the mind, being delighted with the sweetness of the music, the body feels the weight so much the less. Their shoulders, while sound, will bear great luggage; but let a bone be broken, or but the skin rubbed up and raw, the lightest load will be grievous. A little water in a leaden vessel is heavy; so is a little trouble in an evil conscience.
But a wounded spirit who can bear?
a Problem i. Numb. 78.
b Act. and Mon., fol. 938.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
sustain, &c. Illustrations: Job (Job 1:20, Job 1:21; Job 2:8, Job 2:9, Job 2:10); Paul (2Co 12:9. Act 22:24. Rom 5:3-5); Paul and Silas (Act 16:23-25, Act 16:37).
who can bear? Illustrations: Cain (Gen 4:13, Gen 4:14); Eli’s daughter-inlaw (1Sa 4:19-22. Compare Pro 15:13); Saul (1Sa 28:20; 2Sa 1:9); Ahithophel (2Sa 17:23); Zimri (1Ki 16:18); Pashur (Jer 20:4); Judas (Mat 27:5).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 18:14
Pro 18:14
“The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a broken spirit who can bear?” “Spirit in this passage is the inner being of a man, the seat of his vigor and courage. Men with a strong spirit are able to overcome misfortunes and even serious illness; but without such inner determination, faith and courage, it is much more difficult, or even impossible.
Pro 18:14. One who maintains a cherry, hopeful, bright outlook will rebound from his sickness sooner, but one who has a dark, pessimistic outlook does not recover so well. In fact, when one loses the will to live, he often dies. Pulpit Commentary: The influence of the mind over the body, in a general sense, is here expressed.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
spirit: Job 1:20, Job 1:21, Job 2:7-10, Psa 147:3, Rom 5:3-5, Rom 8:35-37, 2Co 1:12, 2Co 12:9, 2Co 12:10, Jam 1:2, 1Pe 1:6
but: Pro 17:22, Job 6:4, Job 7:14, Job 7:15, Job 10:15-17, Psa 30:9, Psa 30:10, Psa 32:3, Psa 32:4, Psa 38:2-4, Psa 42:10, Psa 42:11, Psa 55:3, Psa 55:5, Psa 77:2, Psa 77:3, Psa 88:14-16, Psa 109:22, Mar 14:33, Mar 14:34, 2Co 2:7
Reciprocal: 2Ki 4:27 – vexed Psa 6:3 – My Pro 12:25 – Heaviness Pro 14:10 – heart Pro 15:4 – a breach Pro 15:13 – by 2Co 7:10 – the sorrow
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 18:14. The spirit of a man That is, his soul, namely, not wounded, as appears by the opposite branch of the verse, and which is vigorous and cheerful, supported by a sense of Gods love, the consciousness of its own integrity, and of its present peace with him, and by a bright prospect of future happiness; will sustain his infirmity Will easily support him under any bodily or outward troubles, as Gods people have often found by experience; but a wounded spirit Depressed and dejected with a sense of its own guilt, depravity, and misery; who can bear? It is most grievous and intolerable, if divine support and comfort be withheld.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but {h} a wounded spirit who can bear?
(h) The mind can well bear the infirmity of the body, but when the spirit is wounded, it is hard to sustain.