Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 11:18
The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward.
18. deceitful wages ] Lit. wages of falsehood, i.e. transitory and disappointing, in contrast to a sure reward of the second clause, lit. a reward of truth, i.e. real and lasting.
shall be] he that soweth hath R.V. But there is no need to supply anything. The word worketh [ earneth R.V.), governs both clauses.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Deceitful work – Work which deceives and disappoints the worker; in contrast with the sure reward of the second clause.
Omit shall be and render, but he that soweth righteousness worketh a sure reward.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 11:18
The wicked worketh a deceitful work.
The wicked and the just
There is here a startling contrast between them, in their work and in their reward.
I. Their work.
1. There is intentionally set before us a good specimen of a bad man. He is a man who works, and works hard in his own way. Some evil-doers are idle, profligate, sensual, devilish. Such seldom deceive themselves, and but rarely deceive others. But here is described a man who is very likely to deceive both himself and others. Wicked men are often shrewd men of the world and clever. They are zealous and laborious men, though the objects they aim at may be unworthy and bad. Their mistake is not in the way they work, but in the thing they work for. If all Christians were as eager in their pursuit of truth and charity and all good works as worldly men are in their search after riches and pleasures, what a difference it would make! Whilst the wicked man works in earnest fashion for time, does he attempt any like efforts for eternity? It is a mistake to think the bad man does not care for eternity at all. Multitudes attempt to serve two masters. A man who works with all his strength for worldly success often persuades himself that he will be able to work for eternity too. Does he then labour for the meat that endureth unto eternal life? Nay, at this point his wisdom is at fault, the deceitfulness of his work begins to appear. He is no better than a spiritual impostor and spendthrift. He knows nothing of the faith which awakens the generous and noble impulses of humanity, which touches the heart and makes the life holy. He is altogether ignorant of the quickening and sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost.
2. Not such is the work of the righteous. He soweth righteousness. The sowing of the seed is the crowning act of the husbandmans preparation for a crop. All his other work goes for nothing unless it be consummated by this work. The wicked is said to work, but the just sows righteousness. The text describes a work of faith. He who sows righteousness does it in order that he may hereafter gather in the harvest. What is the seed he sows? (compare Hos 10:12). To sow righteousness, to sow in righteousness, and to sow to the Spirit, all means the same thing. It is to live righteously, to do righteous actions, to perform acts of devotion and piety to God, and to do works of truth and justice and charity towards our neighbour. It is to learn to do the will of God, looking forward to a future harvest, having respect unto the recompense of the reward. Righteousness in Scripture is a universal virtue, containing in itself all other virtues. A man must gather his seed before he can sow it. He who is to sow righteousness must first obtain a supply of the precious fruit of righteousness. Whence can this supply be fetched?
II. Their reward.
1. Working a deceitful work means working so as to deceive others. There is no real truth in a bad man. He is sure to deceive, whenever deceit will serve his ends. He will cast truth to the winds whenever truth calls upon him to suffer, either in his own person, or in his purse, or in the good opinion of others. Another rendering is, the wicked winneth deceitful wages. His work will betray him to his ruin, and will in the end utterly disappoint his own hopes. His work will break down just where it ought to stand, and fail altogether when his need is the greatest.
2. Mark well the bright and refreshing contrast. To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. The seed which has been sown in hope may lie for a long time beneath the clods, and may seem to be dead as well as buried. But as surely as Gods Word is true, it will spring up and grow, and ripen for a harvest of unspeakable joy. The reward of the righteous is a reward of grace and mercy. He that has sown righteousness most plentifully will look for his sure reward only from the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ. We live in difficult times, no doubt, but every age has its own trials, and the men of every age are ready to believe that no trials are as bad as theirs. The only safe way is the same in every age. It is to sow righteousness. (W. Bonner Hopkins, B.D.)
To him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.—
The spiritual tillage
The husbandry and harvest of the righteous:–This is a counter-plea to that profane principle of the atheists, who say, It is in vain to serve God.
I. What it is to sow righteousness. It is the same as to sow to the Spirit. The gracious course of consecrating a mans self unto God in the practice of godliness. There is likeness betwixt the practice of godliness and the sowing of seed.
1. In some things which go before sowing–the preparation and fitting of the ground, and the choice of seed to put in the ground. In like manner there must be in the practice of godliness the preparation of the heart and the choice of particulars belonging to a Christian course.
2. In the act of sowing, which may include the time of sowing and the plenty of sowing. In the spiritual business the seed-time for righteousness is in this life; the opportunity must be taken when it comes. And to sow righteousness is to be rich in good works.
3. In the things that follow after sowing. The fields must be hedged, the cattle shut out, the birds driven away, the stones picked out, and the field watched to see how it goes on. In spiritual matters it is vain to have entered into a good course if it be not continued. The signs of the practice of godliness are–
(1) The submitting a mans self to have his heart broken up by the power of Gods Word;
(2) a diligent inquiry into the best way of pleasing God;
(3) a pressing forward amid many encumbrances;
(4) a striving and caring to be fruitful in good works;
(5) a watching over a mans course with a continued diligence.
II. What is the sure reward? This is either in the life present or in that which is to come. Rewards in this life are both outward and inward: outward so far forth as the wisdom of God shall see it fitting. The inward is peace of conscience, arising out of the comfortable assurance of Gods favour. This is a joy working even in afflictions. The reward in the life to come cannot be expressed. Scripture reasoneth concerning the certainty of this reward by a proverbial speech, Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. Holiness in the seed, happiness in the harvest. And by the truth of Gods promise. There is a double reward–a reward of favour and a reward of debt. The doctrines to be collected are–
1. That the practice of godliness is a matter which requireth great industry.
2. That the full reward of religion is not to be looked for immediately on the practice of religion. Sowing and reaping come not at once.
3. That the Lord will surely reward those which faithfully labour in His service. Though there be many a storm after our sowing, the harvest will come, and we shall be comforted. Farmers pay their workmen straight after their labour, before the corn be ripe, but the payments are of far less value than the corn. God bestoweth upon His all that they have sown, and the hire shall far exceed the travail. (S. Hieron.)
The two pursuits with their respective ends
Denunciations of wrath against the wicked are no less common in Scripture than declarations of mercy to the penitent. The promises of almighty love are often repeated; no less frequent are the proclamations of almighty justice. The doom of the impenitent is no less certain than the rewards of the righteous. Solomon seems to place before us in these words the life of the righteous and the life of the ungodly contrasted with the respective objects which they have in view and the different ends to which they lead.
I. The wicked worketh a deceitful work. The object which he pursues seems to promise him great things, but it generally fills him with disappointment and chagrin. The characters of the wicked are various, but in one point they all agree–they forget God. They practically forget Him. They salve over their own consciences by thoughts of impunity. They have no love to Gods name, no inclination to obey His laws; they are by consequence without the strongest bond of duty in man, which is love. The law of God is hateful to them, because it puts constraint upon their appetites and evil designs. And they are without the bond of fear. As Gods judgments are out of sight, so they are out of mind. The pursuit of evil cannot minister to happiness even here below. It is attended with manifold woes, even upon earth. Sin, in most cases, is connected with punishment. He that pursueth evil pursueth it to his death. It is the death of hope, peace, reputation, and a good conscience. It is often the cause of a premature temporal death. The pursuit of evil is the necessary school and preparation for eternal death.
II. The different ends to which the life of the righteous and the life of the ungodly lead. What is righteousness? Other terms are godliness, holiness, the new man. What is meant is not the righteousness of forms, but an inward disposition manifested by corresponding conduct, the new heart and the new life. It is the godliness which is opposed to the bodily exercise that profiteth little. Such righteousness tendeth to life. It has a natural and necessary tendency to promote present peace and eternal glory. In Scripture the words life and death are used for happiness and misery. The righteous are necessarily training themselves for eternal happiness, independently of that promise which secures to them the crown of glory that fadeth not away. There must be a fitness for heaven, a character acquired upon earth which is suitable to the abode of the just. The righteousness of which we speak is conformity of heart and life to Jesus Christ; it is union of soul with Him, a likeness to His example; it has a measure of His holiness and perfection. Righteousness disposes and fits a man for the enjoyment of God, for it cultivates those faculties of the soul which are called into exercise in heaven. Righteousness rests upon the basis of love. The acquiring of this righteousness is the preparation for the enjoyment of God. Already the righteous have communion with the Father of their spirits and with the spirits of the just made perfect. This being so, the passage for them is easy from this world to eternity. But righteousness also has a tendency to promote present happiness. The righteous live in the favour of God. They have peace of conscience. They fear no evil. They can look on death without alarm. Righteousness has a natural tendency to promote our welfare by conciliating the favour of the good and the respect of all And the reward laid up in heaven is sure. In conclusion, address two classes: Those who are seeking after righteousness–a word of cheer. Those who are working a deceitful work–a word of warning. (H. J. Hastings, M.A.)
The deceitfulness of sin
Opposites illustrate each other. Of this principle considerable use is made in the sacred Scriptures.
I. Opposite characters. The idea of righteousness is equality, as the equilibrium of a pair of scales. Applied to moral or religious natures it means a correspondence between our obligations on the one hand and our performance on the other. So it becomes obedience or conformity to the law. The radical meaning of the word wicked is inequality, unfairness. In a moral sense a want of correspondence between duty and performance, or nonconformity to righteous laws. Wickedness is disorder, incongruity, deception, an unsound principle, naturally producing a deceitful work.
II. Opposite practices. Righteousness renders to all their due. Where wrong sentiments are indulged wrong dispositions and practices naturally follow. Hence result–
1. Treachery towards friends.
2. Fraud and falsehood in business.
3. Extortion and oppression.
4. Maladministration; a never-ceasing theme of complaint.
In all such cases the work is a deceitful work–deceitful in its nature, operation, and results.
III. Opposite results.
1. God convinces the sinner of his unrighteousness.
2. Enlightens, transforms, and renews the soul.
The renewed begins to sow righteousness. To him there is a sure reward. Pause and inquire whether such a change has been effected in you. Pray for convincing and converting grace. Persevere through evil and through good report. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)
The reward of lowing righteousness
In the Bible a righteous person is one who loves and serves God, i.e., one who is a true Christian. When people become true Christians themselves they want to do all they can to try to make other people Christians. All the good things that such people do in this way the Bible calls righteousness. Sowing, in the text, means doing. Righteousness, in the text, means kind acts, good works of any kind, that Christian people do out of love to Jesus and from a desire to make others love Him. And thus we find out that sowing righteousness means doing good. Righteousness is the best seed in the world to sow.
1. Because of the size of the field in which this sowing may be carried on.
2. Because of the number and kind of sowers. Farmers are only one class of men. All classes of persons may be sowers of righteousness.
3. Because of the certainty of the reward. Farmers hope for harvest, but cannot be quite sure. The reward of sowing righteousness is made up of pleasure and profit. Sometimes the profit is found in this life. But the best part of the reward is in heaven. (R. Newton, D.D.)
The evil and the good
Men separate morally into two great divisions. See them–
I. As they appear at work.
1. Evil works deceitfully. It deceives the individual possessor; it makes his very life fiction. It deceives others. It fabricates and propagates falsehood.
2. The good works righteously. Being righteous in heart, he is charged with righteous principles, which he sows as seed in the social circle to which he belongs.
II. As they appear in retribution. All works, the bad as well as the good, bring results to the worker. These results are the retribution; they are Gods return for labour.
1. The righteous reap life. Life of the highest kind–spiritual. Life of the highest degree–immortal blessedness.
2. The wicked reap death–the death of all usefulness, nobility, and enjoyment.
III. As they appear before God.
1. God observes moral distinctions.
2. God is affected by moral distinctions. What He sees He feels. (D. Thomas, D.D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. Worketh a deceitful work] An unstable work; nothing is durable that he does, except his crimes.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A deceitful work; a work which will deceive his expectation of that good for which he worketh.
That soweth; that worketh it with constancy, and diligence, and hope of recompence, as they do who sow in seed-time.
Righteousness; good works, acts of piety towards God, and charity to men.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
18. a deceitful workor,”wages,” which fail to satisfy, or flee away (Pro 10:2;Pro 23:5).
sure rewardor, “gain,”as from trading (Hos 10:12;Gal 6:8; Gal 6:9).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The wicked worketh a deceitful work,…. Such a wicked man as before described; that neither enjoys the good things of life he has, nor suffers others to enjoy them; and all to accumulate riches, which are deceitful and perishing; and who abstains from meats, which God has created for use, under a pretence of religion, and so deceives his own soul; and indeed every sin which a wicked man commits is a deceitful work; it promises him that pleasure, or profit, or liberty, which it does not give him, and in the issue is the ruin of him; and so all false doctrines, propagated by deceitful workers, are deceitful works, by which they deceive the simple, and at last themselves; they “obtain a deceitful reward of [their] work”, as Gussetius w renders it;
but to him that soweth righteousness; does acts of beneficence and liberality; see 2Co 9:9; and all other good works, or works of righteousness,
[shall be] a sure reward; according to what a man sows, and the manner in which he sows, so shall he reap, 2Co 9:6; or, “a reward of truth”; instead of being given up to believe a lie, he shall receive the love of the truth, and abide in it, which will bring him to eternal glory and happiness; he being chosen to it through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, 2Th 2:10; and, instead of a deceitful reward, shall have a true, real, solid, and substantial one.
w Ebr. Comment. p. 692.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Man consists of body and soul. In regard to both, benevolence brings its reward, and hatred its punishment.
The godless acquires deceptive gain;
But he that soweth righteousness, a true reward.
Jerome makes 18b an independent clause, for he translates it as if the word were written ; the Syr. and Targ. also, as if (his fidelity is his reward). But according to the text as it stands, extends its regimen to both parts of the verse; to make is here equivalent to, to work out, to acquire, , as Gen 31:1; Jer 17:1, etc. The labour of the godless has selfishness as its motive, and what he acquires by his labour is therefore “delusive gain,” – it is no blessing, it profits him not (Pro 10:2), and it brings him no advantage (Pro 10:16). He, on the contrary, acquires truth, i.e., a truly profitable and enduring reward, who sows right-doing, or better: good-doing, by which we also, as the biblical moral in , think principally of well-doing, unselfish activity and self-sacrificing love. Hos 10:12 speaks of sowing which has only as the norm; and how is understood is seen from the parallel use of [piety]. The “true reward” is just the harvest by which the sowing of the good seed of noble benevolent actions is rewarded.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Note, 1. Sinners put a most fatal cheat upon themselves: The wicked works a deceitful work, builds himself a house upon the sand, which will deceive him when the storm comes, promises himself that by his sin which he will never gain; nay, it is cutting his throat when it smiles upon him. Sin deceived me, and by it slew me. 2. Saints lay up the best securities for themselves: He that sows righteousness, that is good, and makes it his business to do good, with an eye to a future recompence, he shall have a sure reward; it is made as sure to him as eternal truth can make it. If the seedness fail not, the harvest shall not, Gal. vi. 8.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Pro. 11:18. The wicked gaineth a deceptive result, but he that soweth righteousness a sure reward (Zckler).
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPHPro. 11:18-20
SOWING AND REAPING
I. The life-work of the wicked contains within itself the germs of a threefold bane, A deception, a death, and an abomination.
1. A deception. The wicked man expects from his life-work that which it cannot possibly yield. It is against the moral constitution of the universe that a life of wickedness, or an evil undertaking in that life should yield satisfaction or any degree of real comfort to the worker. If a man sowed darnel in his field and expected to get a crop of wheat, he would be working a deceitful work, that is, he would be a victim of self-deception. Nature cannot go out of her way to gratify his desires, to prevent his disappointment. The ungodly man lives a life of ungodlinesshe pursues evil, (Pro. 11:19), he perversely chooses his own course, in other words, he is of a froward heart, (Pro. 11:20), and he promises himself some kind of advantage. But it cannot be, he is doomed to disappointment. However much he lies to work his work, the issue of his work will not lie. The earth will not lie concerning what kind of seed is placed in her furrows. If wheat is hidden there she will not disappoint the husbandman by returning him taresif tares are sown she will render back of what has been entrusted to her care. She will speak the truth about the sowing by giving according to that which she has received. The sinner wants to make God a liar. In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die, is the Divine sentence. Ye shall not surely die, is the assurance of the great deceiver. But the end will ever be what it was when man first suffered himself to entertain a doubt upon the matter. The man who builds himself a house upon the side of a volcano may promise himself, or may be promised by others, safety and peace, but unless he can quench the internal fires, that promise cannot be kept. The elements of destruction are ever at work under his very feet, the day will come when the devouring flame will burst forth and consume the work and the worker together.
2. Death. There are three kinds of death which are all the fruit of sin and which are developed out of one another as the blade, the corn in the ear, and the fall corn are successive developments of one seed. There is that preseut paralysis of all the spiritual capabilities of the man which the Bible calls carnal mindedness. (Rom. 8:6). Into this condition Adam came at once as soon as he worked his wicked work, and every son of his who lives a life of opposition to the Divine will is even now dead in this sense. The death of the body is but the outcome of this spiritual death, and although it is the portion of those who have been made spiritually alive, its character is changed from a curse into a blessing. But the consummation of both these deaths, is that irrecoverable paralysis of spirit, and that correspondent condition of body known as the second death. This is what the man pursues who pursues evil.
3. An abomination. A musical soul hates discord, a honest man hates dishonesty, the pure-minded turn with loathing from all impurity. Although God loves His creatures, He holds in abomination all that is unholy; a persistent frowardnessa constant refusal to fall in with the Divine plan of separating sin from the human soul willit is here and elsewhere declaredresult in the very creature whom He has made becoming an offence to his Divine Creator.
II. The life-work of the righteous will meet the certain reward of a Divine character and Divine delight.
1. A Divine character. He is now a partaker of spiritual life. A mans present healthy life is in itself a reward for any self-denial he may practise in observing the laws of health. There is a joy in living which a diseased man knows nothing of. So there is a present joy in being in a state of spiritual health, in the exercise of all the graces which are the fruit of the spirit, (Gal. 5:22), to which a man who is morally diseased and dead is an entire stranger. The spiritual life which is the harvest of sowing righteousness or uprightness, is a present reward. But the present spiritual life and health is a prophecy and an earnest of a completed and perfected life in the city of God. Righteousness is the very life of God, and in proportion as His children attain perfection of character they attain a more perfect life. (See Homiletics on chap. Pro. 7:1; Pro. 7:4).
2. Divine delight. God is the Author and Fountain of all the righteousness in the universe, and He can but take pleasure in the work of His own hands. He delights in men of uprightness because He sees in them a reproduction of His own character. His soul delighted, (Isa. 42:1), in the work and character of His elected servant, His only-begotten Son, because He was, pre-eminently the Righteous. (1 Isa. 2:1). He delights also in His created sons in proportion as their character comes up to that perfect standard.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro. 11:18.
1. Opposite characters, The radical idea of the word righteousness seems to be that of equality, as the equilibrium of a pair of scales, etc. Hence, applied to moral or religious matters, it means a correspondence between our obligations on the one hand, and our performance on the other. But as the rightful claims of God and man are embodied in the Divine law, righteousness is considered as obedience and conformity to that law (Deu. 6:25). And as this rule rather declares what it enjoins to be fit and proper, than makes it so, righteousness, in relation to the arrangement and constitution of things, is order, fitness, reality, truth. The radical meaning of the word here employed to denote the wicked man appears to be that of inequality, unfairness. Hence wicked, that is, unequal, balances (Mic. 6:11). Agreeably to this idea, the word, when used in a moral sense, means a want of correspondence between duty and performancenonconformity to the law of God. As righteousness is order, etc., so that which is the essence of wickedness, is disorder, incongruity, deception, a lie, an unsound principle.
2. Opposite practices. As is the tree, so is the fruit. Righteousness renders to God and to man their due. The unrighteous man robs God (Mal. 3:8-9) of time and talents which should have been devoted to His service. His work isDeceitful (often) in its intention. Deception is the very object proposed. Deceitful (always) in its nature. Weighed in the balances, it is found wanting.
3. Opposite results. The deceiver himself often becomes the dupe of his own delusions. By abuse the moral sense becomes blunted, etc., then follows what is described Isa. 44:18; Isa. 44:20; 2Ti. 3:13. Deceitful in its resultsgenerally in this world. A tradesman who makes a point of telling profitable lies, is detected and disbelieved even when he speaks the truth, and, being deserted, comes to ruin.Certainly in the world to come. Every man loves happiness; but sin will leave the sinner to weeping and wailing, etc. On the contrary, the righteous has a sure reward. His reward is
1. Certain. The perfections and word of God assure this.
2. Suitable; a reward of truth, a reward in kind, an increase of correct and pious feeling (Mat. 5:6; Mat. 5:8). Hence,
3. Satisfying (Psa. 17:15).
4. Abiding (Psa. 19:9).Adapted from Sketches of Sermons.
Although the ungodly person labour much, yet he doth a work which neither shall continue, nor bring any fruit unto him. The hypocrite giveth alms oftentimes to be seen by men, but he shall never be rewarded for his liberality by the Lord. The transgressor of Gods law buildeth himself upon the show of an outward profession: such a house will fall. The vain teacher delivereth the straw and the stubble of error and vanity for true doctrine and sound divinity. This work cannot abide; the day will reveal it, and the fire will consume it.Muffet.
None would be so rich and happy as the servants of Satan, were his promises all performed; but the misery is, that he will promise kingdoms, though he cannot, like Chaldean robbers, have a single sheep without the Divine permission; and what is worst of all, those that trust his promises are paid with fire and brimstone. The devil was a liar from the beginning, yet so infatuated are men, that they will trust him more than a God that cannot lie. The devil places pleasure and profit before them; God, by the threatenings of His word, sets an everlasting hell before them. But they will venture through it, in order to enjoy the vanities with which the great tempter allures them.Lawson.
By necessity of his condition, every mans life, and every moment of it, is a sowing. The machine is continually moving over the field and shaking; it cannot, even for a moment, be made to stand still, so as not to sow. It is not an open question at all whether I shall sow or not to-day; the only question to be decided is, Shall I sow good seed or bad?Arnot.
If righteousness be our main end, God will make it our best friend; nor will He, as the world has done, reward us with ciphers instead of gold.Bridges.
Nothing is durable that a wicked man does except his crimes.A Clarke.
Our wage is better than ordinary, the whole crop that we sow is given us for our labour, and therefore let us not be too hasty to reap it before it be ready. Good farmers indeed pay the ploughman sooner than the corn is ripe, but cheaper than the corn is worth: Whereas God bestoweth freely upon his labourers all that they have sown, it is their own, and therefore let them tarry till harvest, and they shall find their hire will far surmount their travail.Dod.
Let us inquire why this gracious course of consecrating a mans self to God in the practice of godliness is called a sowing of righteousness. It is because of the likeness which is betwixt the practice of godliness, and the sowing of the seed
(1) in some things which do go before the sowing. Two things, then, have to be looked after, viz., the preparation of the ground and the choice of seed. In the sowing of righteousness the like to these two are of great behoof. The preparation of the heart and the choice of particulars belonging to a Christian course.
(2) In some things which do accompany the sowing, viz., the time of souring and the plenty of sowing. When the season comes, the husbandman falls to his work, though, perhaps, it be not so seasonable as he could desire. So in spiritual businessthe seed time for righteousness is this life: the opportunity must be taken when it comes. If I meet with many encumbrances, shall I cease sowing and tarry for a calmer season? God forbid. Through with it I must, in season, and out of season. If I look for a better time, upon a sudden, there will be no time at all. Then the seedsman casts not in one seed alone, but a handful at once, one handful after another. To sow righteousness is to be rich in good works, to do good once and again, to join with faith virtue; with virtue knowledge, etc. Some do now and then drop out a good work, some little devotion to God, some petty office of mercy to men, but it is to no purpose in the world; no plenty in sowing, no fulness in reaping.
(3) In things which follow after sowing. Great is the care that the seed put into the ground may thrive and prosper; the fields be hedged, the cattle be shut out, etc. It is ever and anon looked to, to see how it be going on. So it is in vain to have entered upon a good course if it be not continued. (Php. 4:1; Thess. Pro. 4:1; 2Pe. 3:18; Heb. 6:1). Thus we see that to sow righteousness is
1. The submitting a mans self to have his heart broken up by the power of Gods word.
2. A diligent inquiry into the best way of pleasing God.
3. A pressing forward amid many encumbrances.
4. A striving to be fruitful in good works.
5. A watching with continued diligence.Hieron.
Pro. 11:19. The course of rivers is to return to the sea, from whence they issue, and so righteousness, coming from the ocean of life, thither tendeth again, and evil, coming from the black sea of darkness, bendeth thither also. The difference which the passengers find is this: that in the waters of righteousness all the tempests and rough waves are in the river, but going on with it to the sea, there is nothing but calmness, security, and pleasantness, in which they bathe themselves for evermore. In the waters of wickedness the passengers find the river to be easy often, and smoothly to carry them along, but following the course of it, when they come to the sea, there are nothing but horrid storms, raging winds, and gaping gulfs of death, wherein they are for ever swallowed up.Jermin.
Our principal pay will be in life, whereof we have part in hand by grace in our souls in this world, and the rest is behind until the pay day in the world to come. So that a sinner cannot discern the happiness of a Christian, nor conceive how God dealeth with him. For the comfort of a heart is a thing unknown to him, and the glorious life is hid with Christ in God, and shall not fully be seen before we appear with Him in glory.Dod.
If righteousness is a seed, and is sown, and has a certain crop, then, in this way, righteousness is unto life, but he that pursues evil does so to his death; that is, he grows in spiritual corruption, and that eternally. He grows in spiritual corruption, not because creatures are self-subsistent, and advance by laws implanted in themselves; but because sin is the punishment of sin, and advance by laws implanted in the Almighty. Eternal justice declares that sin must be given up to an advance in sin.Miller.
It is frequently possible for men to screen themselves from the penalty of human laws, but no man can be ungrateful or unjust without suffering for his crime; hence I conclude that these laws must have proceeded from a more excellent legislator than man.Socrates.
Pro. 11:20. Uprightness is a noble quality, for the Lord greatly delights in it. He boasted, if we may speak so, to the devil of Jobs invincible integrity. Christ speaks of an upright Nathaniel as a wonder in the world. How wonderful is the grace of God, that takes such kind notice of grace so imperfect as that which may be found on earth.Lawson.
An abomination to Jehovah, as taught in this book, is a thing so radically full of mischief that it must be forced out of the way some day, by the very necessities of the universe.Miller.
Not only those that pursue and practise wickedness, but they also that harbour it in their hearts, are hated of God. (Luk. 16:15). A man may die of inward bleeding; a man may be damned for contemplative wickedness. The antithesis requires that he should say, such as are upright in heart. But He chooseth rather to say, in their way, not only because a good heart ever makes a good life, but to meet with such as brag of the goodness of their hearts when their lives are altogether loose and licentious. Whereas holiness in the heart, as the candle in the lantern, well appears in the body.Trapp.
A pearl upon a dunghill is worth stooping for, and a gracious man or woman is worth looking after. Sure it is that God looks on them as His jewels, as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, His delight, His dear children, and what not. It much concerns us then, to set a true value upon them, make a true estimate of them, and (as much as lieth in us) to be mindful of them, comfortable to them, and willing on all occasions to do them good.Spencers Things New and Old.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(18) Worketh a deceitful worki.e., which ends in nothing, deceiving his hopes. (Comp. Pro. 11:7.)
But to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.Rather, he that soweth righteousness (worketh) a sure reward for himself. (For righteousness, see above on Pro. 10:2.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. A deceitful work The wicked man makes fallacious work, and gains “a deceptive result.” Zockler. , ( pe’hullath,) means labour, or the wages of labour.
To him that soweth righteousness Is upright in all his dealings.
Shall be reward In accordance with that well known rule, “What a man soweth that shall he also reap.” The truth taught is, that the wicked man fails to realize what he expects from his labour; the good man makes “a sure thing.” Compare Pro 10:16; Jas 3:18; Gal 6:8; Job 4:8; Hos 10:12.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
Pro 11:18
Although a wicked man may think that he had secured his reward through deceit, it is, in fact, not his ultimate reward. As described in Jas 5:1-5, the very gold and silver that he has acquired through deceit will itself become a testimony against him. For he will soon lose his wealth gained by vanity and receive his judgment from God, which is sure.
Pro 10:2, “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.”
In contrast, the man who sows righteousness knows the surety of his reward. For he has not deceived others, neither is he deceived about his reward. He knows the certainty of his reward. His rewards are permanent, while the wicked man’s rewards are temporal.
Pro 11:18 Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Hos 10:12, “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Gal 6:7-9, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Jas 3:18, “And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”
Pro 11:19 As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
Pro 11:19
[88] F. W. Gesenius, Gesenius’ Hebrew Grammar, 2nd English ed., eds. E. Kautzsch and S. A. E. Cowley (2003), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 396 (section 124.1.d).
Pro 11:19 “so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death” Comments – The phrase “he that pursueth evil” describes a person who is given over to wickedness, compared to a person who may fall into sin, but does not become ensnared with its grip. The more aggressively a man pursues evil, the faster is his end.
Pro 11:19 Comments – As Pro 11:17 has told us that sowing either righteousness or evil brings physical rewards, and Pro 11:18 says that these rewards are certain, thus Pro 11:19 tells us that outcome is either life or death. There are no verbs in the Hebrew of Pro 11:19, thus, the verse reads literally, “As righteousness to life, and he that pursues evil to his death.”
From the plural use of “life,” we see the emphasis upon the abundant life that righteousness brings contrasted with the certainty of one’s own death if evil is pursued. This verse tells us that godliness promotes a long physical life.
Psa 55:23, “But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.”
Pro 11:19 also applies to eternal life.
Rom 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Illustrations – There are many examples of the divine truths found in the proverbs. King David was a man that pursued righteousness and he found abundant and eternal life. King Saul is a man that pursued evil and his life was cut off before its time.
The story of Abimelech found in Jdg 9:1-57 teaches us how wickedness eventually catches up with us. He killed his brothers to gain the throne and was eventually killed by a millstone, having died a shameful death at the hands of a woman. Thus, divine providence rendered upon him all of the evil that he had sown in the lives of others.
Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Pro 8:35-36, “For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
Pro 10:16, “The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.”
Pro 12:28, “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death.”
Pro 19:16, “He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.”
Pro 19:23, “The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.”
Jas 1:14-15, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
v. 18. The wicked worketh a deceitful work,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
DISCOURSE: 776
PORTION OF THE WICKED AND THE RIGHTEOUS CONTRASTED
Pro 11:18. The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward.
TO a superficial observer the wicked appear to have a far better portion than the righteous: for it is certain, that, in respect of earthly things, the wicked have the larger share; whilst the righteous, whether poor or not in this worlds goods, are objects of general hatred and contempt. But, if we examine more attentively, we shall find that the advantage is decidedly and universally on the side of the righteous: for the wicked man, how prosperous soever he may be, worketh a deceitful work, but to the righteous, however depressed he may be for a season, shall be a sure reward.
Let us notice the contrast which is here formed between the righteous and the wicked;
I.
In their characters
Though the wicked are not distinguished in this place by any appropriate description, yet they are sufficiently marked by standing in contrast with the righteous, whose characters are accurately defined. The one sow righteousness, which the other neglect to sow.
1.
Let us consider this distinction
[The sowing of righteousness imports, that the person so engaged deliberately and with diligence endeavours to fulfil the will of God; and that he does so with a view to a future harvest. The great commandment under the Gospel being, that we believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God [Note: 1Jn 3:23.], he makes that his first concern. He comes to Christ daily as a self-ruined sinner, and looks to him as the appointed Saviour of the world. He seeks to be washed in his blood from all his sins, and to be renewed by his Spirit after the Divine image. In a word, his daily consolation is, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength [Note: Isa 45:24.]. The aim of his soul is also to walk in all things as Christ walked; to cultivate altogether the mind that was in him: and so to approve himself to God in the whole of his conduct, that in the last day that testimony may be given him from the lips of his applauding Judge, Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.
The wicked, on the Contrary, has no such thoughts, no such desires. An interest in the Saviour is not of any great importance in his eyes, because he feels no need of it, and concludes of course that he possesses all that is requisite for his acceptance with God. As for mortifying his earthly members, and crucifying the flesh with the affections and lusts, that is a work to which he is utterly averse. He rather studies to gratify himself, and to follow the bent of his own carnal inclinations. He may not indulge in gross sins: but he is altogether earthly: and whatever he may have of religion, it is a mere form, that engages not his heart, not is in any respect the delight of his soul.
In a word, the one looks forward to a future harvest, and sows with a view to that; the other looks no further than to this present world, and has all his desires bounded by the things of time and sense.]
2.
Let us see how far this distinction is confirmed by the word of God
[This is the very distinction which St. Paul himself makes between the carnal and the spiritual man; They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; and they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit [Note: Rom 8:5.]. The one seeks his own things, and not the things that are Jesus Christs [Note: Php 2:21.]: the other lives not unto himself, but unto Him who died for him and rose again [Note: Rom 14:7-8.].
It is here particularly to be noticed, that the Scriptures do not make the distinction to consist in outward acts, but in the inward habit of the mind: the wicked is not necessarily distinguished by open irregularities; but he makes self the end, and aim, and object of his life; whilst the righteous liveth altogether for, and to, his God.]
A similar difference will be found between them,
II.
In their end
The wicked follows a mere shadow, which eludes his grasp
[He seeks for happiness, and hopes to find it in the path which he has marked out for himself. But he worketh a deceitful work, which invariably disappoints his hopes. Whatever be the gratification afforded him, it is transient, and brings no solid satisfaction with it. Whether his pursuit be more sensual, or more refined, it still leaves in the bosom an aching void, which the world can never fill. Solomon tried every thing that was within the reach of mortal man, intellectual as well as sensual; and, after a full experience of it all, declared it all to be vanity and vexation of spirit. And, if there be a man in the universe who is able from experience to give any other testimony respecting it, we will be content that that man shall walk in his own ways, and not in the ways of God. But we have no fear that this concession will be productive of any evil; for there is not a man in the whole world that will presume to avail himself of it, since there is no man whose conscience does not tell him that the creature altogether is a broken cistern, and that no true happiness can be found, but in Christ the fountain of living waters.]
The righteous, on the coutrary, have a sure reward
[The seed he sows may lie a long time under the clods, and may seem as if it were buried for ever: but it shall spring up in due season, and bring with it a harvest of solid joy. The Scripture attests, that the work of righteousness is peace [Note: Isa 32:17.], and that in keeping of Gods commandments there is great reward [Note: Psa 19:11.]. And so it is invariably found. This reward is sure on two accounts: one is, that his success is independent of all casualties: and the other is, that it is secured to him by the promise of God himself. Happiness as arising from earthly things may be altogether destroyed by disease or accident, or pains either of body or mind: but spiritual happiness is independent of all these things, and often derives a zest from those very things which seem most calculated to subvert it.
If we look to a future state, where the wicked, notwithstanding all their neglect of heavenly things, hope to have a portion with the righteous, we shall see the text fulfilled in all its extent. What surprise and anguish will seize hold upon the wicked the very instant he opens his eyes in the eternal world! Conceive of the Rich Man summoned from his carnal indulgences into the presence of his God: how little did he imagine but a few days before in what such a life would issue [Note: Luk 16:23.]! How deceitful had his work been, and how delusive all his hopes! But the righteous is sure to find his hopes realized, and his highest expectations infinitely exceeded: for Gods express determination is, that whatsoever any man soweth, that shall he also reap: he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; and he who soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting [Note: Gal 6:7-8.].]
See then,
1.
The wisdom of true piety
[Wisdom consists in pursuing the best ends by the fittest means. Now I would ask, What end is to be compared with eternal life? And by what other means can it be sought, than by those mentioned in the text? Let me then entreat you to walk, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time: for now is the seed time; and you will to all eternity reap according to what you sow: if you sow iniquity, you will reap vanity [Note: Job 4:8. Pro 22:8.]: if you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind [Note: Hos 8:7.]: but if you plow up your fallow ground, and sow in righteousness, you shall reap in mercy, both in this world and the world to come [Note: Hos 10:12.]. Let me however add, that you must not be sparing of your seed: for, if you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly; but if you sow bountifully, you shall reap also bountifully [Note: 2Co 9:6.].]
2.
The folly of neglecting the immortal soul
[Men will deride piety, because it is cultivated by few; and applaud worldliness, because its advocates are many. But the broad road is not at all the safer because it is trodden by so many, nor the narrow way the less safe because it is trodden by so few. Each path will have its proper termination, and issue in the state that God has assigned to it [Note: Mat 7:13-14.]. Can any thing then be conceived more foolish than to put our eternal happiness on such an issue, that it cannot possibly be attained but at the expense of Gods veracity? Truly if such conduct were pursued in reference to this world, it would be accounted not only folly, but madness itself. It is represented by Solomon as a laying in wait for our own blood, and lurking privily for our own lives [Note: Pro 1:18.], yea, and as a being in love with death itself [Note: Pro 8:36.]. Let me then urge all of you now to seek the one thing needful: and let me encourage you to it by this consideration, that, if you sow in tears, you shall reap in joy: and if you now go on your way weeping, bearing precious seed, you shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing your sheaves with you [Note: Psa 126:5-6.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness [shall be] a sure reward.
Ver. 18. The wicked worketh a deceitful work. ] By defrauding his genius, and afflicting his flesh, as Pro 11:17 he thinks he doth a very good work. Some emperors have left their thrones, and thrust [themselves] into a monastery, there to macerate themselves with much fasting and coarse clothing, out of an opinion of promoting their soul’s health thereby. But “bodily exercise profiteth little.” 1Ti 4:8 And as the pride of virginity is as foul a sin as impurity, a so is it in this case. The formal faster loseth his labour. Isa 58:3 Zec 7:5 In seventy years they kept seven score fasts in Babylon; yet among them all not one fast to God. There are that render it thus, Improbus comparat praemium falsum. The wicked get a false reward: all that he hath is but the things of this life, quae nec vera sunt, nec vestra. For the very fashion of this world passeth away and “surely every man walketh in a vain show,” or shadow, “surely he disquieteth himself in vain he heapeth up riches, and knows not who shall gather them.” Psa 39:6 They that dig in mines, or labour in mints, have gold enough about them, but are little the better for it. A sumpter horse bears much treasure on his back all day, but is eased of it at night, and turned into the stable with his back full of galls and bruises. So shall it be with wicked rich men at death; so that they have no great bargain of it.
But to him that soweth righteousness.
a Augustine.
b .
c In locis irriguis.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
worketh, &c. Pharaoh (Exo 1:20. Act 7:19). Caiaphas(Joh 11:49, Joh 11:50). Compare Act 8:1, Act 8:4.
deceitful = lie. Hebrew. sheker. The verb, adjective, and noun are the renderings of eight words in Proverbs: (1) sheker = a lie (Pro 11:18; Pro 20:17; Pro 31:30); (2) ramah = cheating (Pro 12:5, Pro 12:17, Pro 12:20; Pro 14:8, Pro 14:25; Pro 26:19, Pro 26:24); (3) shagah = wander, go astray (Pro 20:1); (4) kazab = fraud (Pro 23:3); (5) pathah = delude (Pro 24:28); (6) nashah (Pro 26:26); (7) ‘athar. See note on Pro 27:6; (8) tok. See note on Pro 29:13.
to him . . . a sure reward. Illustrations: Noah (Gen 6:22; Gen 6:7. Heb 11:7); Abraham (Heb 6:15); Joseph (Gen 37-41. Compare Psa 37:4-6); Simeon (Luk 2:25-32. Lam 3:25, Lam 3:26); Paul (2Co 1:12. 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 11:18
Pro 11:18
“The wicked earneth deceitful wages; But he that soweth righteousness hath a sure reward.”
“It is not real, what a bad man gains; but goodness yields a lasting profit. A wicked man’s deceptive wages will not provide for him what he expected.
Pro 11:18. Sometimes it looks like the wicked prosper in this world (Psa 37:35), but they will be cut down (Psa 37:1-2; Psa 37:10; Psa 37:12-15; Psa 37:17; Psa 37:20; Psa 37:38). They have sown to the flesh, and they will reap corruption (Gal 6:8). The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). Sowing to righteousness leads to a sure reward (Hos 10:12; Jas 3:18; Psa 37:3-6; Psa 37:11; Psa 37:18-19; Psa 37:29-31; Psa 37:37).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
wicked: Pro 1:18, Pro 5:22, Job 27:13-23, Ecc 10:8, Isa 59:5-8, Eph 4:22
but: Pro 22:8, Psa 126:5, Psa 126:6, Hos 10:12, Hos 10:13, Gal 6:8, Gal 6:9, Jam 3:18
Reciprocal: Gen 15:1 – and thy Exo 1:20 – God Rth 2:12 – recompense 2Sa 1:15 – Go near Psa 18:20 – rewarded Psa 19:11 – keeping Psa 120:4 – Sharp Pro 11:24 – that scattereth Pro 14:8 – folly Ecc 11:1 – for Dan 11:23 – work Mat 5:12 – for great Mar 4:26 – as Rom 2:10 – to every 2Co 9:6 – He which soweth sparingly 2Co 9:10 – multiply Gal 6:7 – for Eph 6:8 – whatsoever Col 3:24 – ye shall Heb 11:6 – a rewarder Heb 11:26 – for he had
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 11:18-19. The wicked worketh a deceitful work A work which will deceive his expectation of that good for which he works. But to him that soweth righteousness That worketh righteousness with constancy, diligence, and hope of a recompense, resembling the labour and hope of those who sow in seed-time; shall be a sure reward For, he that sows to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; so he that pursueth evil That lives in known sin, that sows to the flesh; pursueth it to his own death Shall of the flesh reap corruption.