Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 27:1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
1. a day ] This is taken to mean the (coming) day, the morrow, both by LXX. ( ), and Vulg. (superventura dies), as well as by some modern commentators (comp. St Jas 4:13-14); but the absence of the article shews that the rendering of A.V., which is followed by R.V., is right.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Pro 27:1
Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
On the conduct to be held with regard to future events
It is needless to prove the change and mutability of our present state, or the fact that the changes cannot be foreseen by us. Obvious as they are, it would be well if the thoughts of men dwelt on them more. But by a strange and prevailing deception, almost every one thinks his own case an exception from the general law; and that he may build plans with as much confidence on his present situation as if some assurance were given him that it were never to change. It has been so contrived by Providence that there should be no permanent stability to mans condition on earth. The seeds of alteration are everywhere sown. And think on what small and inconsiderable causes changes depend. In the midst of all these contingencies plans and designs for the future are every day formed. And this is fit and proper. Rules and precautions may be indicated.
I. Boast not thyself of to-morrow, Never presume arrogantly on futurity. Beware of pride and vanity. In the day of prosperity rejoice with trembling.
II. Despair not of to-morrow. Adverse situations fill many with fears and alarms of what is to come. The day may bring forth some unforeseen relief, and therefore we should hope under distress. The doctrine which the changes of the world perpetually inculcate is that no state of external things should appear so important, or should so affect and agitate our spirits, as to deprive us of a calm, an equal, and a steady mind. Anxiety, when it seizes the heart, is a dangerous disease, productive both of much sin and much misery.
III. Delay not till to-morrow what is proper to be done to-day. Thou art not the lord of to-morrow. Procrastination has, throughout every age, been the ruin of mankind. Many of the misfortunes which befall men in their worldly concerns are a consequence of delay. To-morrow, being loaded with the concerns of to-day, in addition to its own, is clogged and embarrassed. Evils of the same kind, arising from the same cause, overtake men in their moral and spiritual interests.
IV. Be every day prepared for what to-morrow may bring forth. The best preparation for all the uncertainties of futurity consists in a well-ordered mind, a good conscience, and a cheerful submission to the will of heaven. If to-morrow bring you any unexpected good, prepare to receive it with gratitude, temperance, and modesty. If it shall bring forth evil, prepare to receive it with manly fortitude.
V. Build your hopes of happiness on somewhat more solid and lasting than what either to-day or to-morrow are likely to produce. He who rests wholly upon this world builds his house upon the sand. We are begotten again unto a lively hope. Here is the object to which a wise man will bend his chief attention, that, having acted his part on earth with fidelity and honour, he may be enabled, through the merits of his Saviour, to look for a place in the mansions of eternal and untroubled peace. This prospect is the great corrective of the present vanity of human life. (Hugh Blair, D.D.)
Boasting
Mans nature inclines to boasting, to glorifying in something, and this ariseth from some apprehended excellency or advantage, and so is originated in the understanding power of man. There is a glorying and boasting which is good, especially a boasting in God. It is the apprehended personal interest in a thing which makes it become a subject of boasting. Nothing is truly the souls own but that which survives all changes, and is inseparable from it. There may be a lawful glorying in the works of God. Oftentimes men are found glorying in that which is their shame. The object of degenerate and vicious boasting is presented in this text. Boast not thyself, or of thyself. Self is the centre of mans affections and motions. This is the great Diana that the heart worships. Mens affections part themselves into three great heads of created things.
1. The goods or perfections of the mind.
2. The goods or advantages of the body.
3. The things that are without us, bona fortunae, riches and honour.
There is also a strong inclination in man towards the time to come; he has an immortal appetite. If the soul of man were in the primitive integrity, this providence of the soul would reach to eternity, which is the only just measure of the endurance of any immortal spirit. But since mans understanding is darkened, he can see nothing further than to-morrow. But confidence in to-morrow is folly, because of the instability of all outward things, and because of our ignorance of future events. Of all boastings the most irrational and groundless is that which arises from presumption of future things, which are so uncertain both in themselves and to us. Self is the great and ultimate object of mans glorying. No mans present possession satisfies him, without the addition of hope and expectation for the future. Our present revenue will not content the heart. Therefore the soul, as it were, anticipates and forestalls the morrow. But consider–
1. How independent all things are of us and of our choice.
2. The inconstancy of all material things. There is nothing certain but that all things are uncertain.
3. Our ignorance concerning coming changes. All things proclaim the folly and madness of that which the heart of man is set upon. The counsel of the Lord, that alone shall stand. (H. Binning.)
The necessity of a present repentance
It is not the doctrine of repentance men scruple to acknowledge, but the time for doing it. They say, To-morrow will be time enough. And they say this, again and again, through all the stages of life. Press on attention the absolute necessity of our present performance of this great work of repentance.
I. Show this by the dangerous uncertainties which all delaying men have to depend upon. There is no such thing hinted at in Scripture as future repentance. There is no ground for hoping that a late repentance will avail men who knowingly and wilfully defer that repentance which is the duty of the present.
1. What certainty can there be in that which depends upon so uncertain a foundation as the life of man? Who can ensure a hereafter to repent in?
2. As life is uncertain, so is the continuance of Gods grace uncertain also.
II. How improper the times resolved on by such men to repent in will be for the work of their repentance. Such as the time of sickness, or of old age, or of death.
III. Every excuse which men may make in favour of their delays must, if seriously considered, oblige them to hasten their repentance.
1. Excuse–their sins are so small; they can be easily cast off at pleasure.
2. Sins are so great; it is too difficult to repent.
3. Life is just now too full of other things. Consider that every moment consumes somewhat of the thread of life; and that of all business and employments none can possibly be more requisite than our making our peace with God. (William Bramston.)
To-morrow
Some are hindered by doubts, or blinded by definite unbelief; others are repelled from the gospel by prejudices of early education; others by worldly influences, others by the love of sin; and some by a coward fear of the possible consequences of decision. The chief hindrance, however, is the habit of procrastination. The fault is a common one even in worldly matters. There are things that must be done at once, and things which may be left. These latter have a very good chance of never being done at all. There are few who have not a lurking intention of thinking about religious matters sooner or later. Many are indisposed to prompt action, because they fear religion may interfere with their manner of life, their commercial prosperity, and their social enjoyments. By and by, when other matters are not so urgent, they may find a convenient season. This habit of procrastination grows upon us until it becomes a sort of second nature, and at last, even should we wish to act promptly, we seem almost to have lost the power. For one who doubts the Bible, there are a hundred who simply put off for the present. The Holy Ghost says, To-day; they still say, To-morrow. How can we best counteract this disposition towards procrastination? The nominally Christian world is pervaded by the radically false notion that religion has mainly to do with the future rather than with the present. This notion is encouraged by the use of the word salvation. Men do not see that they need to be saved now. True religion is a matter of present urgency. Religion is the one secret of true enjoyment in life. Another cause of procrastination is a false idea of the relative importance of things temporal and things spiritual. Religion is regarded as distinct from the practical purposes of life. This is an inverted estimate of the relative importance of things. Why should we say to-day rather than to-morrow? Because, of all our life, only to-day is really ours. Tomorrow belongs to God. Every to-morrow that God allots you, when it gets to you is a to-day. The to-morrow that we think will do so much for us never comes. To-day may ensure our best interests; to-morrow they may have passed from us, and be forfeited for ever. Moreover, we have a great work to do, and only a limited time to do it in. And we are living in a perishing world, and men and women are dying unprepared every day that passes. By religious decision, how much happiness we may confer upon others by our personal example and influence. In this world of changes and uncertainties, no man can be sure that he will have any to-morrow. Think, too, how you are treating your Lord when, from day to day, you still continue to say, To-morrow. To-day again He proffers the unspeakable gift. His time is now. Another to-morrow, and He may be constrained reluctantly to depart, wearied out at last by your heartless indifference. Oh, take shame to yourself that, hitherto, He has had nothing from you but to-morrow. (W. H. Hay Aitken, M.A.)
The folly and danger of boasting of the morrow
No truth is more obvious than that of the instability of human life, and the uncertainty of all earthly things; and yet there is none which produces a less abiding impression on the mind, or a less practical effect on the conduct. It seems to be a truth so trite as to be beneath our notice. All our courses of action, all our habits of thought, imply that we have a longer continuance, and a firmer interest, in the things around us, than a full conviction of their vanity and their uncertainty appear to warrant. We are willing to allow, as a general rule, that all below is fleeting and uncertain, but in our own case we are anxious to find a fortunate exception. This, at least, lies in the bottom of our hearts, springing up indistinctly in our thoughts, and whispering peace and safety, where neither of them are discoverable by the eye of reason. A knowledge of the fate of others can never entirely remove this error, because it is deeply seated in the heart. By boasting of to-morrow is meant a confident expectation of its arrival, and an undoubting calculation of the enjoyments which it may be expected to bring along with it; such a fancied assurance of possessing it, as may lead us to defer what ought now to be done till that imaginary period. The greatest evil to which this leads is the postponement of a religious life to some future period of our existence, it is too common for man to look upon religion as something totally incompatible with the pursuits and enjoyments of the present world. He therefore relies upon the possibility that the morrow may be extended to him, and to that uncertain period he commits the serious task of shaking off the evil habits which he has contracted, and curbing the corrupt passions which he has hitherto indulged, and of cultivating the Christian graces. Too often in the short and anxious hour of our closing existence all the more serious work of life has to be done. Let it be our aim, then, to look upon religion, not as a task which we are commanded to perform, but as a privilege which we are invited to share. For most of the ills of life religion is an effectual remedy, and in all it is a cheering alleviation.
1. There are many miseries which the morrow is continually bringing forth, that are the direct consequence of our own imprudent conduct or our own vicious habits. They spring from a want of religion; and the possession of it would of course relieve them.
2. Suffering also belongs to us as the sons of mortality; such as pain, sickness, infirmity, age. Religion cannot altogether remove such woes, but it can very materially mitigate and relieve them. And, at least, it enables us to look rightly upon them.
3. There is a class of disappointments to which irreligious men are subject, but from which the true Christian is altogether free. The worldly man is entirely immersed in the things of this life, its pleasures and its cares. When the changeful morrow comes, and these are swept away, he is ruined. The happiness of the religious man is not dependent on such accidents as these. (R. Parkinson, B.D.)
To-morrow
I. The abuse of to-morrow. Boast not–
1. Because it is extremely foolish to boast at all, Boasting never makes a man any the greater in the esteem of others, nor does it improve the real estate either of his body or his soul. Morrows come from God; thou hast no right to glory in them.
2. Because to-morrow is one of the frailest things in creation, and therefore the least to be boasted of. Boast not of to-morrow–thou hast it not. Boast not of to-morrow–thou mayest never have it. Boast not of to-morrow–if thou hadst it, it would deceive thee. Boast not of to-morrow, for to-morrow thou mayest be where morrows will be dreadful things, to tremble at.
3. Because it is exceedingly hurtful to boast. It is hurtful now. Some men are led into extraordinary extravagance from their hopes of the future. It is hurtful to-morrow also. Because you will be disappointed with to-morrow if you boast about it before it comes. The over-confident not only entail great sorrow upon themselves but upon others also.
II. The abuse of the spiritual to-morrow. Never boast of to-morrow with regard to your souls salvation. Those do who think it will be easier for them to repent to-morrow than it is to-day. Those do who suppose they shall have plenty of time to repent and return to God. Those do who boast in a way of resolves to do better.
III. If to-morrows are not to be boasted of, are they good for nothing? Nay; we may look forward to them with confidence and joy, and we may seek in wise ways to provide for to-morrow. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The folly and danger of delays in religion
I. Men are naturally inclined to boast of something.
II. Men are apt to delay religion as long as they can. They boast of to-morrow.
III. It is base and sinful to put off the concerns of religion till to-morrow.
IV. God alone knows what is to come. The Jews of Christs time were dreaming of future prosperity, but He foresaw their ruin and destruction as at hand. We, like them, lay plans for futurity, and invade the province of the Most High. We perhaps anticipate wealth, honour.
V. Great changes happen in a short time. For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Since the introduction of sin, the creature at its best estate is altogether vanity. (Christian Recorder.)
The danger of trusting to the future
I. In this passage it is very plainly insinuated that we are too apt to boast of to-morrow. The young hope to live to old age; the middle-aged, having passed the most critical stages of infancy and childhood, reckon, with too much security, on grey hairs; while the old look around them for examples, a few of which they can glean of extreme age, and hope they themselves shall add to the number of extraordinary cases of longevity. Boasting of to-morrow likewise appears in framing worldly schemes of future ease and aggrandisement. He who proposes it as his object to make up a sum at all hazards, that he may, by a certain time, execute a plan of a great mansion, suited to the fortune, and then to enjoy himself. See where the evil lies; not in thinking of to-morrow, in the way of making wise and prudent preparation, always taking along with us, If the Lord will; but the evil is that boasting of to-morrow which involves in sinful, at any rate in worldly and presumptuous plans, in reference to some future period, or that kind of reference to to-morrow which is a substitute for attention, immediate and serious, to our most important, even our eternal interests.
II. That it is foolish to boast of to-morrow, We are young. Granted; but the young droop oftentimes. The green leaf often is seen falling, nipped by frost, or shaken by the wind. The young and strong have been called hence by disease or accident, the majority were young. But we have stood already many trials of our constitution, and many attacks, and are yet vigorous. The last, however, will come, and the very next may be fatal. But we are a long-lived race. Father and mother, yea grandfather, and many relatives, lived to a great age. You forget the exceptions. But we have somehow this persuasion, that we shall live long, and at any rate we will not indulge in gloomy presage of an early tomb. This is very delusive–it is foolish–you can give no reason for it–you may soon find you were deceiving yourselves.
III. That there is much danger in indulging this disposition.
1. It fosters irreligion and atheism. Leaving out of calculation your own weak and dependent state, the uncertainty of time, and your ignorance of futurity, you form your plans without any reference to the Divine Disposer. You erect many high towering schemes, which savour at once of impiety and folly.
2. It is found to foster some of the worst passions of the human heart. The ambitious reason thus: A few steps more, and I shall rise to the very top of my profession, or of my rank in society, and that in the regular course of events, which supposes the removal of others by the stroke of mortality, as the means of elevation. The covetous man adds heap to heap, with desires more and more insatiable, forgetful of his latter end, and of that country to which he goes, where his wealth will be of no benefit. A due consideration of this might, by the Divine blessing, cut up by the roots this grovelling and idolatrous propensity, and give the soul a heavenward direction. A day may bring forth many most unexpected events, casting a dark cloud over the most flattering prospects. This present day improved may be the happy means of arresting the evil which the presumption of to-morrow tends so much to foster.
3. The boast of to-morrow is most prejudicial to spiritual and eternal concerns. It is the most successful of all Satans devices, and the easiest mode of compassing his designs. (W. Burns.)
Ignorance of the future
I. To what the words of the text will apply. On some things we can calculate with a degree of certainty. Apply text–
1. With regard to ourselves. And it will apply to both good and evil. The text seems to have in view evil.
2. To the dispensations of Providence.
3. This uncertainty regards our lives. Some are cut off in the midst of sin. Some in the midst of religious declensions.
II. What reasons can be given for this ignorance of futurity. It never was designed that man should know the future. Even the angels in heaven have not this knowledge. Would such knowledge add to our happiness? or improve our religious character? This arrangement keeps us fully dependent on God. By this means He keeps the world in awe.
III. Apply the fact to some useful purposes.
1. It should check vain curiosity.
2. It teaches us to hope for the best.
3. It is good to be prepared for the worst.
4. Learn the importance of real religion. (Charles Hyatt.)
Mans ignorance of futurity
I. The sentiment contained in the text. No man will attempt to controvert the assertion it makes.
1. We are ignorant of the future as to our circumstances.
2. We cannot tell what a day may bring forth as to the state of our bodies and our minds.
3. We are ignorant of the future as to our families and connections.
4. We are totally ignorant of futurity, as to the continuance of our lives.
II. Some lessons of practical instruction.
1. Learn the importance of a life of faith and dependence on God. Man was never designed to be independent.
2. Learn to cultivate a spirit of holy resignation to the Divine will.
3. Learn to cultivate a spirit of cautious moderation as to the things of this present life.
4. Learn to cultivate a spirit of humility. (R. Cameron.)
Ignorance of the future
Mr. D. L. Moody says: To recall the following act I would give my right hand. On the night when the Court House bell of Chicago was sounding an alarm of fire, my sermon was upon What shall I do with Jesus? And I said to the audience, I want you to decide this question by next Sunday. What a mistake! That night I saw the glare of flames, and knew that Chicago was doomed. I never saw that audience again.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER XXVII
To-morrow is uncertain. Self-praise forbidden. Anger and envy.
Reproof from a friend. Want makes us feel the value of a
supply. A good neighbour. Beware of suretyship. Suspicious
praise. The quarrelsome woman. One friend helps another. Man
insatiable. The incorrigible fool. Domestic cares. The profit
of flocks for food and raiment.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVII
Verse 1. Boast not thyself of to-morrow] See Clarke on Jas 4:13, c. Do not depend on any future moment for spiritual good which at present thou needest, and God is willing to give, and without which, should death surprise thee, thou must be eternally lost such as repentance, faith in Christ, the pardon of sin, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and complete renovation of soul. Be incessant in thy application to God for these blessings.
My old MS. Bible translates thus: Ne glorie thou into the morewenning. Here we see the derivation of our word morning; morewenning, from more, and wen or won, to dwell, i.e., a continuance of time to live or dwell in your present habitation. Every man wishes to live longer, and therefore wishes for to-morrow; and when to-morrow comes, then to-morrow, and so on.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of tomorrow; of any good thing which thou purposest to do or hopest to receive to-morrow, or hereafter; the thee being here put metonymically for things done or had in the thee, as Deu 4:32; Ecc 2:23. The same caution is given Jam 4:13, &c.
What a day may bring forth; what may happen in the space of one day, which may hinder thy designs or expectations. The day is said to bring forth what God by his almighty power and providence doth either cause or suffer to be brought forth or done in it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
1. Do not confide implicitly inyour plans (Pro 16:9; Pro 19:21;Jas 4:13-15).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Boast not thyself of tomorrow,…. Or, “of tomorrow day” t. Either of having a tomorrow, or of any future time; no man can assure himself of more than the present time; for, however desirable long life is, none can be certain of it; so says the poet u: for though there is a common term of man’s life, threescore years and ten, yet no one can be sure of arriving to it; and, though there may be a human probability of long life, in some persons of hale and strong constitutions, yet there is no certainty, since life is so frail a thing; the breath of man is in his nostrils, which is soon and easily stopped; his life is but as a vapour, which appears for a little while, and then vanishes away; all flesh is as grass, which in the morning flourishes, in the evening is cut down, and on the morrow is cast into the oven: man is like a flower, gay and beautiful for a season, but a wind, an easterly blasting wind, passes over it, and it is gone; his days are as a shadow that declineth towards the evening; they are as a hand’s breadth; yea, his age is as nothing before the Lord. Death is certain to all men, as the fruit of sin, by the appointment of God; and there is a certain time fixed for it, which cannot be exceeded; but of that day and hour no man knows; and therefore cannot boast of a moment of future time, or of a tomorrow, nor of what he shall enjoy on the morrow w; for, what he has today he cannot be certain he shall have the next; he cannot assure himself of health and honour, of pleasures, riches, and friends; he may have health today, and sickness tomorrow; be in honour today, and in disgrace on the morrow: he may bid his soul eat, drink, and be merry, seeing he has much goods laid up for many years, and vainly say, tomorrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant, when this night his soul may be required of him; he may have his wife and children, friends and relations, about him now, and before another day comes be stripped of them all; he may be in great affluence, and gave great substance for the present, and in a short time all may be taken from him, as Job’s was; riches are uncertain things, they make themselves wings and flee away. Nor should a man boast of what he will do on the morrow; either in civil things, in trade and business; to which the Apostle James applies this passage, Jas 4:13; or in acts of charity, so Aben Ezra explains it, boast not of an alms deed to be done tomorrow; whatever a man finds to be his duty to do in this respect, he should do it at once, while he has an opportunity: or in things religious; as that he will repent of his sins, and amend his life on the morrow; that he will attend the means of grace, hear the Gospel, the voice of Christ; all which should be to day, and not be put off till tomorrow. Nor should true believers procrastinate the profession of their faith; nor should any duty, or exercise of religion, be postponed to another season; but men should work while it is day, and always abound in the work of the Lord, and be found so doing; see Isa 56:12;
for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth; time is like a teeming woman, to which the allusion is, big with something; but what that is is not known till brought forth: as a woman, big with child, knows not what she shall bring forth till the time comes, whether a son or a daughter, a dead or a living child; so the events of time, or what is in the womb of time, are not known till brought forth; these are the secret things which belong to God, which he keeps in his own breast; the times and seasons of things are only in his power, Ac 1:6. We know not what the present day, as the Targum renders it, will bring forth; and still less what tomorrow will do, what changes it will produce in our circumstances, in our bodies and in our minds; so that we cannot be certain what we shall be, what we shall have, or what we shall do, on the morrow, even provided we have one.
t “in die crastino”, Pagninus, Montanus. u Sophoclis Oedipus Colon. v. 560. “Nemo tam divos habuit faventes, erastinum ut possit sibi polliceri”, Senco. Thyest. v. 617, 618. w “Quid sit futurum eras, fuge quaerere”, Horat. Carmin. l. 1. Ode 9.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In the group Pro 27:1-6 of this chapter every two proverbs form a pair. The first pair is directed against unseemly boasting:
1 Boast not thyself of to-morrow,
For thou knowest not what a day bringeth forth.
The of is like, e.g., that in Pro 25:14, the of the ground of boasting. One boasts of to-morrow when he boasts of that which he will then do and experience. This boasting is foolish and presumptuous (Luk 12:20), for the future is God’s; not a moment of the future is in our own power, we know not what a day, this present day or to-morrow (Jam 4:13), will bring forth, i.e., (cf. Zep 2:2) will disclose, and cannot therefore order anything beforehand regarding it. Instead of (with Kametz and Mugrash), (thus e.g., the Cod. Jaman) is to be written; the Masora knows nothing of that pausal form. And instead of , we write with Zinnorith. before has the tone thrown back on the penult., and consequently a shortened ult.; the Masora reckons this word among the twenty-five words with only one Tsere.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Here is, 1. A good caution against presuming upon time to come: Boast not thyself, no, not of to-morrow, much less of many days or years to come. This does not forbid preparing for to-morrow, but presuming upon to-morrow. We must not promise ourselves the continuance of our lives and comforts till to-morrow, but speak of it with submission to the will of God and as those who with good reason are kept at uncertainty about it. We must not take thought for the morrow (Matt. vi. 34), but we must cast our care concerning it upon God. See James iv. 13-15. We must not put off the great work of conversion, that one thing needful, till to-morrow, as if we were sure of it, but to-day, while it is called to-day, hear God’s voice. 2. A good consideration, upon which this caution is grounded: We know not what a day may bring forth, what event may be in the teeming womb, of time; it is a secret till it is born, Eccl. xi. 5. A little time may produce considerable changes, and such as we little think of. We know not what the present day may bring forth; the evening must commend it. Nescis quid serus vesper vehat–Thou knowest not what the close of evening may bring with it. God has wisely kept us in the dark concerning future events, and reserved to himself the knowledge of them, as a flower of the crown, that he may train us up in a dependence upon himself and a continued readiness for every event, Acts i. 7.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
THE UNCERTAINTY OF TIME
(Proverbs 27)
The Uncertainty of Time
Verse 1 warns against the assumption that there will be ample time for future plans because no man has assurance of tomorrow, Jas 4:13-15; Luk 12:19-20. Divine wisdom urges that the present be used wisely, giving proper consideration to first things first, Isa 1:18; 2Co 6:2; Heb 3:7-8; Mat 6:19-34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 27:1
DIVINE PROPERTY
I. A possession exclusively Divine. Both the distant and the immediate future belong to God alone; not only does He possess the exclusive control of what shall be in a hundred years to come, but to-morrow, and even the next hour and minute, are exclusively His. There is, doubtless, an existence beyond time where Gods creatures can look forward to the future with more certainty than can man in his present condition, but it does not belong to even the highest archangel to say what shall be in the far-off or even the near time to come. This is the prerogative of Him alone with whom all is one eternal present.
II. A possession to which men often lay claim. If we were to hear a man making definite plans as to how he would spend a fortune which it was only probable he would possess, we should wonder at his tone of certainty, and perhaps attribute it to weakness or presumption. But we all dispose of our days, and sometimes of our months and years, long before they are ours, and while our own past experience and that of others around us admonish us of the great uncertainties that surround our future, we are prone to lay our plans as if to-morrow and many years to come were ours. It is doubtless necessary and right to forecast to a certain extentwe must look forward to what will probably or may be on the morrow, or be guilty of another form of presumption. But we are not forbidden by the wise man to do thisall that the proverb warns us against is that boastful certainty in relation to the future which so ill becomes creatures so limited in their knowledge and so straitened in their resourcesthat definite laying of our plans which leaves God entirely outside of them, and that confident disposal of ourselves which forgets to say, If the Lord will we shall live, and do this, or that (Jas. 4:15). It would be foolish for a raw recruit to pretend to map out the plan of his generals campaign, or for an unlettered peasant to prophecy what line of policy would be adopted by the prime minister of the land; but he who boasts himself of to-morrow is more foolish, and is also wicked.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
The day is said to bring forth because time travaileth with the Lords decrees, and in their season bringeth them forth, even as a woman with child doth her little babes. Indeed, time properly worketh not, but, because Gods works are done in time, it is said to do those things which are done therein.Muffett.
I. This ignorance of the morrow is necessary to the prosecution of our duties on earth. Could we draw aside the veil of the future and look at the things which are coming to us, our energies would be so paralysed as to incapacitate us for the ordinary avocations of life; mercy has woven the web of concealment. II. This ignorance of to-morrow is our incentive to the preparation for the future. Christ used this argument: Be ye, therefore, ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.Dr. David Thomas.
The same reason that should check our boasting of to-morrow may preserve us from desponding fears. It may be stormy weather to-day; but storms do not last all the year. We are filled and tormented with fears of some impending evil, but we often give ourselves real pain by the prospect of calamities that never were appointed to us by the providence of God.Lawson.
How awfully has this boasting been put to shame! In the days of Noah they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the very day when the flood came and destroyed them all. Abner promised a kingdom, but could not ensure his life for an hour. Haman plumed himself upon the prospect of the queens banquet, but was hanged like a dog before night. The fools soul was required of him on the very night of his worldly projects for many years to come. Serious affairs to-morrow, was the laughing reply of Archias, warned of a conspiracy which hurried him into eternity the next hour. The infidel Gibbon calculated upon fifteen years of life, and died within a few months, at a days warning.Bridges.
To count on to-morrow so as to neglect the duty of to-day is in many respects the greatest practical error among men. None have a wider range, and none are charged with more dreadful consequences. Whether the work in hand pertain to small matters or greatto the sowing of a field or the redemption of a soulfor every one who resolves deliberately not to do it, a hundred tread the same path, and suffer the same loss at last, who only postpone the work of to-day with the intention of performing it tomorrow. The proverb contains only the negative side of the precept, but it is made hollow for the very purpose of holding the positive promise in its bosom. The Old Testament sweeps away the wide-spread indurated error; the New Testament then deposits its saving truth upon the spot. Solomon warns us to distrust the future, and Paul persuades us to accept the present hour. Behold now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation. To-morrow, is the devils great ally, the very Goliath in whom he trusts for victory. Now, is the stripling whom God sends forth against him. A great significance lies in that little word. It marks the points on which lifes battle turns. That spot is the Hougomont of Waterloo. There the victory is lost or won. An artist solicited permission to paint a portrait of the Queen. The favour was grantedand the favour was great, for probably it would make the fortune of the man. A place was fixed, and a time. At the fixed place and time the Queen appeared; but the artist was not therehe was not ready yet. When he did arrive, a message was communicated to him that her Majesty had departed, and would not return. Such is the tale. We have no means of verifying its history, but its moral is not dependent on its truth. If it is not a history, let it serve as a parable. Translate it from the temporal into the eternal. Employ the earthly type to print a heavenly lesson.Arnot.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
CHAPTER 27
TEXT Pro. 27:1-9
1.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow;
For thou knowest now what a day may bring forth.
2.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth;
A stranger, and not thine own lips.
3.
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty;
But a fools vexation is heavier than they both.
4.
Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming;
But who is able to stand before jealousy?
5.
Better is open rebuke
Than love that is hidden.
6.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7.
The full soul loatheth a honeycomb;
But to the hungry every bitter thing is sweet.
8.
As a bird that wandereth from her nest,
So is a man that wandereth from his place.
9.
Oil and perfume rejoice the heart;
So doth the sweetness of a mans friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 27:1-9
1.
What would boasting consist of in Pro. 27:1?
2.
What New Testament passage elaborates upon Pro. 27:1?
3.
Why is such instruction necessary (Pro. 27:2)?
4.
Why does God not want us to praise ourselves (Pro. 27:3)?
5.
Heavier than what (Pro. 27:3)?
6.
Do you detect the similarities and differences in the structure of Pro. 27:3-4?
7.
Better in what sense or senses (Pro. 27:5)?
8.
Faithful in what sense (Pro. 27:6)?
9.
What does profuse mean (Pro. 27:6)?
10.
What does loatheth mean (Pro. 27:7)?
11.
What is the comparison in Pro. 27:8?
12.
What does the last statement of Pro. 27:9 mean?
PARAPHRASE OF 27:1-9
1.
Dont brag about your plans for tomorrowwait and see what happens.
2.
Dont praise yourself; let others do it!
3.
A rebels frustrations are heavier than sand and rocks.
4.
Jealousy is more dangerous and cruel than anger.
5.
Open rebuke is better than hidden love!
6.
Wounds from a friend are better than kisses from an enemy!
7.
Even honey seems tasteless to a man who is full; but if he is hungry, hell eat anything!
8.
A man who strays from home is like a bird that wanders from its nest.
9.
Friendly suggestions are as pleasant as perfume.
COMMENTS ON 27:1-9
Pro. 27:1. Jas. 4:13-16 is an elaboration upon this verse: Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. The rich fool in the parable was boasting himself of tomorrow (The ground of certain rich men brought forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry Luk. 12:16-19) when actually he had no tomorrow (God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of theeLuk. 12:20). Pulpit Commentary: He boasts himself of tomorrow who counts upon it presumptuously, settles that he will do this or that, as if his life were in his own power, and he could make sure of time. This is blindness and arrogance.
Pro. 27:2. An old German proverb: Self-brag stinks. How much better it sounded for the elders of the Jews, when entreating Jesus to come heal the centurions servant to say, He is worthy that thou shouldest do this for him (Luk. 7:4), than for the man himself to have said, I am worthy that thou shouldest do this for me. There is that element of society that seems to think, If I dont toot my own horn, it wont get tooted. We reply in the words of Clarke (Self praise is no commendation). Jesus recognized the general truthfulness of this statement when He said, If I bear witness of myself, (that is, if I am the only one saying good things about myself), my witness is not true (Joh. 5:32). Remember, too, that Pro. 25:27 frowned upon mens searching out their own glory.
Pro. 27:3. Work with stone or sand very long, and your hands, your legs and your back (in fact, your whole body) soon become weary and exhausted, But to be around a fool when vexed is even more wearying and exhausting. Pulpit Commentary: The ill temper and anger of a headstrong fool, which he vents on those about him, are harder to endure than any material weight is to carry. Job. 6:3 speaks of his grief and trials being heavier to bear than the sand of the sea. And Jewish literature contains this statement: Sand and salt and a mass of iron are easier to bear than a man without understanding.
Pro. 27:4. Wrath and anger may arise and subside, but not so with jealousy. Pulpit Commentary: These may be violent for a time, yet they will subside when they have spent themselves. It was such non-dying jealousy that caused Josephs brothers to sell him: The patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt (Act. 7:9). One who commits adultery with another mans wife will probably encounter the never-dying jealousy of her husband mentioned in Pro. 6:35; Pro. 6:35 : Jealousy is the rage of man; And he will not spare…He will not regard any ransom; Neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.
Pro. 27:5. Christ said, As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (Rev. 3:19). Pro. 13:24 says, He that spareth his rod hateth his son (no matter how much pretension of love he may claim); But he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. It is in such a consideration that our verse exalts the love that rebukes over the love that does not. Thus gospel preachers and godly people who rebuke people for their sins really and truly love people more (and what they do is better) than their pretended friends who say nothing about their sins and let them die and be lost.
Pro. 27:6. Therefore, this verse exalts the same love that administers correction over the deceitful kisses of an enemy. Judass kiss didnt fool Jesus, but people have been fooled by the nice treatment of people who really didnt love them like the person who corrected them. Time will sometimes open peoples eyes as to who were their true friends: He that rebuketh a man shall afterward find more favor than he that flattereth with the tongue (Pro. 28:23). Notice the triple contrast in this verse: faithful vs. deceitful; wounds vs. kisses; and friend vs. enemy.
Pro. 27:7. Benjamin Franklin: A hungry man never saw poor bread. People who complain about food would probably not do so if really hungry. When one is really hungry, just plain bread or dry crackers taste good, but after one has eaten a big meal at a family get-together, just to mention eating will fulfill the fact of this verse: The full soul loatheth a honeycomb. In a sense this is why some are not hungry for the gospel: they feel no need, so they have no desire.
Pro. 27:8. Though we do not think of it as normal, there are birds who abandon their nest, their natural surroundings, and go elsewhere with sad results. In like manner do some men become wanderers and prodigals (like the Prodigal Son in the parable, Luke 15). Time has proven that strength of character is more often developed in a family and in children if they settle down to one community and make it their home than to move about from place to place. This general observation reflected itself in our forefathers maxim: A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Pro. 27:9. They anointed their faces with olive oil and put on perfume to make themselves happy and light-hearted and carefree. Psa. 104:15 refers to this practice. What is sweeter and more burden-lifting than the good advice and counsel of a trusted friend? How much better one feels who has been burdened!
TEST QUESTIONS OVER 27:1-9
1.
What man in a parable of Jesus boasted himself of tomorrow (Pro. 27:1)?
2.
What did the German proverb say about the person who brags on himself (Pro. 27:2)?
3.
How wearying can a fool be to those around him (Pro. 27:3)?
4.
How do wrath and anger differ from jealousy (Pro. 27:4)?
5.
What unusual fact is stated in Pro. 27:5?
6.
What is the triple contrast in Pro. 27:6?
7.
How can the first part of Pro. 27:7 be applied to peoples appetite for the gospel?
8.
Is it advisable to be a rolling stone in society (Pro. 27:8)?
9.
How do friends help lift our burdens (Pro. 27:9)?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
XXVII.
(1) Boast not thyself of to-morrow.This is forbidden also in Jas. 4:13, sqq.; but there on the higher ground that it argues a want of submission to the will of Almighty God. This temper of mind, as well as the opposite one of too great anxiety for the morrow (Mat. 6:34), proceed from the same cause, too much dependence upon self, and are only to be met by learning to realise the love of God for His children (ibid., 26, 30, 33), and looking up to Him daily for protection, guidance, and support.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
1. Boast not thyself Do not exult too confidently in anticipation of the future. Count not too surely on life and prosperity, but redeem the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:16; Col 4:5. We cannot know the future, and all attempts curiously to pry into it are foolish and unprofitable, and, in some cases, sinful. Such are resorts to fortune tellers, necromancers, spirit mediums, and the various other modes of discovering what is yet concealed in the womb of time. This does not preclude the forming of a judgment of what will probably occur in the natural course of things, whether by the known laws of physics, of the mind, of society, or of Providence. Compare Jas 4:13-14; Luk 12:20.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
A Collection Of Solomon’s Proverbs ( Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27 ).
Solomon’s presentation of The Book of Proverbs has followed the pattern of much Wisdom literature. This commenced with the initial heading detailing the details of the author and his purpose in writing (Pro 1:1-7), continued with a Prologue which laid the foundation for what was to follow (Pro 1:8 to Pro 9:18), and was then followed by the body of the work introduced by one or more subheadings. In Solomon’s case this main body comprises Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27. It is usually divided up into four parts:
1) Proverbs of Solomon (Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16), introduced by a subheading ‘The Proverbs Of Solomon’. This may possibly be divided into two sections, Pro 10:1 to Pro 15:21, and Pro 15:22 to Pro 22:16.
2) Words of the Wise (Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:22), introduced by an exhortation to hear the words of the wise. This is in a form comparable with exhortations in the Prologue, but there is no subheading in the text as we have it. It may rather therefore be seen as a third section of The Proverbs of Solomon, but with unusual characteristics.
3) Further Sayings of the Wise (Pro 24:23-34), introduced by the subheading, ‘these also are of the wise’.
4) Proverbs of Solomon copied out by the ‘Men of Hezekiah, King of Judah’ (Pro 25:1 to Pro 29:27), introduced by a specific heading.
The inclusion of the words of the wise within two sets of proverbs of Solomon, the first time without a subheading, suggests that we are to see the words of the wise and the sayings of the wise as also from Solomon, but based in each case more specifically on collections of Wisdom sayings known to him, which he himself, or his Scribes, had taken and altered up in order to conform them to his requirements thus making them finally his work. That does not necessarily mean that his proverbs in section 1 (Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16) were not based on other material. He would have obtained his material from many sources. But once again we are to see them as presented after alteration by his hand.
We should note, for example, the continual references to YHWH that occur throughout the text. Whatever material Solomon may have appropriated, he refashioned it in order to make it the wisdom of the God of Israel, of YHWH their covenant God. This approach of taking what was written by others and refashioning it, while at the same time introducing further ideas of his own, may be seen as following the pattern of modern scholars, each of whom takes the works of others, and then reinterprets them in his own words, whilst adding to them on the basis of his own thinking. The final product is then seen as their own thinking, aided by others. The only difference is that Solomon would have been far more willing to copy down word for word what others had said and written without giving acknowledgement.
Having said that we must not assume that Solomon simply copied them down unthinkingly. As the Prologue has made clear, he did not see himself as presenting some general form of Wisdom teaching. He saw what he wrote down as given by YHWH, and as being in the words of YHWH (Pro 2:6). And he saw it as based on YHWH’s eternal wisdom, His wisdom which had also been involved in the creation of heaven and earth (Pro 3:19-20; Pro 8:22-31). Thus he wants us to recognise that what now follows is not a series of general wisdom statements, but is a miscellany revealing the wisdom of YHWH, the wisdom that leads men into the paths of life.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Proverbs About Misc Activities Pro 27:1 to Pro 29:27 make up a collection of proverbs that deal with miscellaneous activities.
Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Pro 27:1
Jas 4:13, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.”
Pro 27:2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Pro 27:2
Pro 25:27, “It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory .”
Pro 27:3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.
Pro 27:4 Pro 27:4
Pro 6:34-35, “For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts.”
Pro 27:5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
Pro 27:5
Gal 2:14, “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Pro 28:1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Pro 28:1
Pro 28:2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
Pro 28:2
Judah has 19 kings, 1 queen and lasts for 335 years (922-587 B.C.).
Israel has 20 kings and only lasts 200 years (922 724B.C.).
Pro 28:3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.
Pro 28:4 Pro 28:5 Pro 28:5
Pro 28:6 Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich.
Pro 28:7 Pro 28:8 Pro 28:8
Pro 13:22, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”
Ecc 2:26, “For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Pro 28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.
Pro 28:10 Pro 28:10
Pro 26:27, “ Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein : and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”
Pro 28:10 “the upright shall have good things in possession” Illustration – In 1990 I had just bought an old used car from a fellow employee of Brown Trail Apartments for only US$ 125.00. I had done it out of good will because he had desperately needed the cash. But the Lord then spoke to me and said, “You have to stop buying the worst so that you can have the best.” I soon took courage, gave this car back to the person I had purchased it from as a free give to him and went out and purchased a new car.
Pro 28:12 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
Pro 28:12
Pro 28:28, “When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”
Pro 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Pro 28:13
1Jn 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Pro 28:18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.
Pro 28:18
Pro 10:9, “He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.”
Pro 28:19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.
Pro 28:20 Pro 28:20
Gen 14:22-24, “And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
Scripture References – Note similar verses:
Pro 10:22, “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”
1Ti 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
Pro 28:28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.
Pro 28:28
Pro 28:12, “When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.”
Pro 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
Pro 29:1
Comments – Note other uses of this same Hebrew word, “remedy”:
2Ch 36:16, “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy .
Pro 6:15, “Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy .”
The opposite of “remedy” would be “trouble or calamity.” Note the use of the same Hebrew as it is translated “health, healing”:
Jer 8:15, “We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health , and behold trouble!”
Jer 14:19, “Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing , and behold trouble!
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Justification: The Journey to a Place of Rest ( Pro 10:1 to Pro 29:27 ) In Proverbs 10-29 we find a new emphasis regarding our spiritual journey in life. We have heard the call of wisdom in the first nine chapters. Now we have to make the choice to follow the path of wisdom, or the path of the fool. It is our decision to pursue wisdom that will justify us before God. Thus, the underlying theme of Proverbs 10-29 is our justification before God the Father, while the final chapter brings us to a place of rest, which is the destination for man’s spiritual journey in life.
Throughout Proverbs 10-29 we encounter hundreds of individual proverbs that appear to have no organized arrangement in which they are presented us. This is because in the journey of life, our encounters with the wise man and the fool appear to come in the same random order. However, God has placed all things in His divine order. When we read individual proverbs, they appear to be randomly assembled, but if we will step back and look at them as a whole or in groups, we can see an order. These proverbs are clearly grouped together by themes, such as a pure heart, the tongue, a long life, and wealth. In the same way, the circumstances that we face in our daily lives appear to have no particular order. We see very little of God’s hand in our lives in a single day, but when we step back and look as our lives over the months or years, we very clearly see God’s sovereign hand at working in our lives. We recognize that He is divinely orchestrating His purpose and plan for our lives. This is the way that the verses in the book of Proverbs are arranged.
We have seen that Proverbs 1-9, about one third of the book, is man’s call to follow the path of wisdom. Thus, about one third of the book of Proverbs is an introduction, or a preparation, for the rest of this book. Why is that so? We know that Solomon was chosen to be the successor to the throne at his birth. Therefore, he received many years of training under King David for this great task. Even today, we spent the first twenty years of our lives going to school and training for a profession, which is about one third of our lives. We spend the next two thirds of our lives building upon these twenty years of preparation. In our lives, we spend the first twenty years in preparation, the next twenty years sowing, and the last twenty years reaping what we have sown. This is why these years seem to be turning points in many people’s lives. This was the pattern in King Solomon’s life of preparation and growing in wisdom, and this is the pattern found in the book of Proverbs. It is important to note that a season of preparation is something that God has designed and instituted in the human life. He created every human being with the capacity to be shaped and molded through a training process. We often use the term “brainwashing” in a negative sense to refer to a person who has been programmed to think in a negative way; but proper training also reprograms the mind and prepares an individual for the tasks of life. Our human make-up of the spirit, soul, and body were designed to receive training before practical application and abundant living can be achieved.
Although we will study these proverbs, we will find ourselves falling short of fulfilling them in our everyday lives. None of us has walked flawlessly in obedience to any single proverb. Therefore, each individual proverb reveals God’s standard of righteousness, pointing us to Jesus, who alone fulfilled this divine standard in our behalf. In this sense, this collection of proverbs is a collection of redemptive proverbs, revealing our need for a Redeemer, who alone fulfilled every proverb.
Outline Here is a proposed outline:
1. Justification: Solomon’s First Collection Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16
2. Divine Service: Sayings of the Wise Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:34
3. Perseverance: Solomon’s Second Collection by Hezekiah Pro 25:1 to Pro 29:27
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Perseverance: Solomon’s Second Collection of Proverbs (126 Sayings) – Proverbs 25-29 are often called Solomon’s Second Collection of Proverbs. When we enter into chapters 25 and 29, we begin to notice a number of proverbs that deal with leaders of a nation. We now must learn that our actions ultimately affect our nation. We often find the underlying them of a section in its opening verses; and this is the case with this division in Proverbs. Pro 25:2-7 reveal how the king decrees by divine oracles (Pro 25:2-3), so that he might establish righteousness (Pro 25:4-5), so that everyone will walk humbly before the king and his decrees (Pro 25:6-7). Therefore, the proverbs in 25-29 are emphasizing how a king establishes justice in the land. Perhaps Solomon gathered this second group of proverbs separately from his first collection because he used them in specifically to establish righteousness and order in the land of Israel. This may the reason that many proverbs in this collection refer to rulers of a land (Pro 25:2-7; Pro 25:15; Pro 27:23-27; Pro 28:2; Pro 28:15-16; Pro 29:2; Pro 29:4; Pro 29:12; Pro 29:14; Pro 29:26). In fact, this collection of proverbs closes with two verses stating this very theme of how a king’s righteous judgment establishes the land (Pro 29:4; Pro 29:14).
The signposts found in the sayings of the wise (Pro 22:17 to Pro 24:34) and in Solomon’s second collection (25-29) tell us to continue in the fear of the Lord, to honor those in authority over us, and this will bring happiness into our lives as we continue on this journey. Note:
Pro 23:17, “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.”
Pro 24:21, “My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:”
Pro 28:14, “Happy is the man that feareth alway : but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Regarding the relationship of Proverbs 25-29 to our spiritual journey, we can group these proverbs under the phase called perseverance of the saints, in which God’s children have entered their divine calling and are in the process of fulfilling it in order to reach the final stage of glorification. The theme of leadership and the establishment of justice reveal our purpose for this season in our lives. God has put us on this path in order to establish righteousness in the land.
1. Proverbs About Relationships with Others Pro 25:1 to Pro 26:28
2. Proverbs About Misc. Activities Pro 27:1 to Pro 29:27
Characteristics of the Passage – A number of the proverbs found in the Solomon’s first collection (Pro 10:1 to Pro 22:16) are repeated in this section of Solomon’s second collection (Pro 25:1 to Pro 29:27). The opening verse of this section tells us that these proverbs were copied out by Hezekiah about 250 years after Solomon wrote them. Perhaps Hezekiah’s men were unwilling to delete anything they found repeated in the second collection out of holy reverence for what they now considered divine Scriptures.
Many scholars observe differences between the characteristics and content of this second collection of proverbs and the first collection. They mention a number of examples: (1) Grammar – Some scholars suggest the first collection repeatedly uses several phrases that are not found in the second collection, such as “fountain of life (two times),” “tree of life (four times),” “snares of death (two times),” “hand in hand (two times),” and “shall not be unpunished (five times).” All agree that this does not provide a strong argument to suggest different authorships and dates between the two collections. (2) Content – Other scholars use the climate of the monarchy described within the two collections to conclude that they were written in different periods of Israel’s history. For example, during the time of Solomon, the political climate was one of peace and righteousness. Thus, we see within the first collection words that support the monarchy:
Pro 14:28, “In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.”
Pro 16:12, “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.”
Pro 16:13, “Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.”
Pro 16:15, “In the light of the king’s countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.”
Pro 20:28, “Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.”
A contrast can be made in the second collection, where we find descriptions of people who have been oppression by the king:
Pro 25:5, “Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.”
Pro 28:2, “For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.”
Pro 28:15, “As a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; so is a wicked ruler over the poor people.”
Pro 28:16, “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor: but he that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.”
Pro 29:2, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.”
Pro 29:4, “The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts overthroweth it.”
Pro 29:12, “If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.”
Such verses about political oppression are missing in the first collection. They bring new and fresh insight into the failures of a monarchy system. Scholars suggest that this indicates a later date of writing than the first collection. However, as interesting as these suggestions appear, neither of the two gives strong enough support to conclude that there was more than one author of the first and second collections of proverbs. [132]
[132] W. J. Deane, S. T. Teylor-Taswell, and W. F. Adeney, Proverbs, in The Pulpit Commentary, e Eds.H. D. M. Spence and Joseph S. Excell (New York: Funk and Wagnalis Company, n.d.), x, xvi.
The Structure of the Passage – Nelson’s Teaching Outlines of the Bible groups the verses found in chapters 25-26 into subject matter related to various aspects of our relationships with people in society. [133] I have followed these sections with different titles.
[133] Nelson’s Teaching Outlines of the Bible (Thomas Nelson: Nashville: Thomas Nelson, c1986, 1997).
1. Introduction Pro 25:1
2. Wisdom in Dealing with Leaders Pro 25:2-7
3. Wisdom in Dealing with Relationships Pro 25:8-20
4. Wisdom in Dealing with Adversity Pro 25:21-24
5. Wisdom Regarding Self-Discipline Pro 25:25-28
6. Wisdom in Dealing with the Foolish Pro 26:1-12
7. Wisdom in Dealing with the Sluggard Pro 26:13-16
8. Wisdom in Dealing with the Liar Pro 26:17-28
The fact that Hezekiah grouped the proverbs in chapters 25-26 according to subject matter implies that he may have studied the proverbs of Solomon by topic as we often do today.
In addition, our relationships with those in our society help us to see the underlying theme of perseverance, knowing that the way we manage our relationships with others determines whether or not we are continuing in the path of wisdom by walking in love with others.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Pro 22:26-27 Third Saying (Tetrastitch) Pro 22:26 forms a single proverbial thought using four lines. This is called a tetrastitch.
Pro 22:26 Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
Pro 22:27 Pro 22:28 Pro 22:28 Pro 22:28
Deu 19:14, “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.”
Deu 27:17, “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.”
Job 24:2, “Some remove the landmarks; they violently take away flocks, and feed thereof.”
Scripture Reference – Note a similar proverb:
Pro 23:10, “Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:”
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Exaltation of Self Leads to Folly
v. 1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, v. 2. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips; v. 3. A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, v. 4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous, v. 5. Open rebuke is better than secret love, v. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, v. 7. The full soul, v. 8. As the bird that wandereth from her nest, v. 9. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, v. 10. Thine own friend and thy father’s friend forsake not,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Pro 27:1-6
These verses are grouped in pairs, each two being connected in subject.
Pro 27:1
Boast not thyself of tomorrow. He boasts himself (Pro 25:14) of tomorrow who counts upon it presumptuously, settles that he will do this or that, as if his life was in his own power, and he could make sure of time. This is blindness and arrogance. For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Our Lord gave a lesson on this matter in the parable of the rich fool (Luk 12:1-59.); and an analogous warning, based on our verse, is given by St. James (Jas 4:13, etc.). On this topic moralists and poets are always dilating. Very familiar are the words of Horace (‘Carm.,’ 4.7, 17)
“Quis scit, an adjiciant hodiernae crastina summae
Tempora di superi?“
Euripides, ‘Alc.,’ 783
“Every day in thy life,” says the Arab, “is a leaf in thy history.” Seneca wrote
“Nemo tam divos habuit faventes
Crastinum ut possit sibi pelliceri,
Res deus nostras celeri citatas
Turbine versat.”
There is the adage, “Nescis quid serus vesper vehat.” The LXX. has, as at Jas 3:1-18 :28, “Thou knowest not what the next day ( ) shall bring forth.” (For the expression, , comp. Act 7:26; Act 16:11.)
Pro 27:2
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; Septuagint, “Let thy neighbour ( ) laud thee.” A stranger; , properly, “an unknown person from an unknown country;” but, like in the former hemistich, used indifferently for “another” (see on Pro 2:16). “If I honour myself,” said our Lord (Joh 8:54), “my honour is nothing” And as St. Paul testifies (2Co 10:18), “Not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”
said the Greek gnomist; and
.
And a trite maxim runs, “In ore proprio laus sordet;” and an English one decides, “He who praises himself is a debtor to others.” Delitzsch quotes a German proverb (which loses the jingle in translation), “Eigen-lob stinkt, Freundes Lob hinkt, fremdes Lob klingt,” “Self-praise stinks, friends’ praise limps, strangers’ praise sounds.”
Pro 27:3
A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; literally, heaviness of a stone, weight of the sand. The substantives are more forcible than the corresponding adjectives would be: the versions rather weaken the form of the expression by rendering, Grave est saxum, etc. The quality in the things mentioned is weight, heaviness, ponderosity; that is what we are bidden regard. A fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. The ill temper and anger of a headstrong fool, which he vents on those about him, are harder to endure than any material weight is to carry. Ecclesiasticus 22:15, “Sand and salt and a mass of iron are easier to bear than a man without understanding.” The previous verse asks, “What is heavier than lead? and what is the name thereof [i.e. of the heavier thing], but a fool?” Job speaks of his grief being heavier than the sand of the sea (Job 6:3).
Pro 27:4
Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous. Again substantives are used, as in Pro 27:3, “Cruelty of wrath, and overflowing of anger.” Figure to yourself the fierceness and cruelty of a sudden excitement of anger, or the bursting forth of passion which, like a flood, carries all before it; these may be violent for a time, yet they will subside when they have spent themselves. But who is able to stand before envy? or rather, jealousy. The reference is not so much to the general feeling of envy as to the outraged love in the relation of husband and wife (see Pro 6:34, and note there). So Pro 8:6, “Love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the flashes thereof are flashes of fire, a very vehement flame.” Such jealousy does not blaze forth in some sudden outbreak, and then die away; it lives and broods and feeds itself hourly with fresh aliment, and is ready to act at any moment, hesitating at no means to gratify itself, and sacrificing without mercy its victim. Septuagint, “Pitiless is wrath, and sharp is anger; but jealousy () submits to nothing.”
Pro 27:5
Open rebuke is better than secret love. Love that is hidden and never discloses itself in acts of self-denial or generosity, especially that which from fear of offending does not rebuke a friend, nor speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15), when there is good reason for such opennesssuch disguised love is worse, more objectionable, less beneficial, than the plain speaking which bravely censures a fault, and dares to correct what is wrong by well-timed blame. To hold back blame, it has been said, is to hold back love. “I love not my friend,” wrote Seneca (‘Ep.,’ 25), “if I do not offend him.” Plautus, ‘Trinum.,’ 1.2, 57
“Sed tu ex amicis certis mi es certissimus.
Si quid scis me fecisse inscite aut improbe,
Si id non me accusas, tu ipse objurgandus.”
Publ. Syr; ‘Sent.,’ 16, “Amici vitia si feras, facis tua,” which Erasmus expounds by adding, “If you take no notice of your friend’s faults, they will be imputed to you.” Cicero (‘De Amicit.,’ 24, 25) has some sensible remarks on this subject: “When a man’s ears are shut against the truth, so that he cannot hear the truth from a friend, the welfare of such a one is hopeless. Shrewd is the observation of Cato, that some are better served by bitter enemies than by friends who seem to be agreeable; for the former often speak the truth, the latter never . As therefore both to give and receive advice is the characteristic of true friendship, and that the one should act with freedom, but not harshly, and that the other should accept remonstrance patiently and without resistance, so it should be considered that there is no deadlier bane to friendship than adulation, fawning, and flattery.”
Pro 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of friend. This and the next verse afford examples of the antithetic form of proverb, where the second line gives, as it were, the reverse side of the picture presented by the first. The wounds which a real friend inflicts by his just rebukes are directed by truth and discriminating affection (see Psa 141:5). But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. So St. Jerome, Fraudulenta oscula odientis. But the verb here used () has the meaning, among others, “to be abundant or frequent;” hence it is better to take it in this sense here, as “plentiful, profuse.” An enemy is lavish with his Judas kisses to hide his perfidy and hatred. Septuagint, “More to be trusted are the wounds of a friend than the spontaneous () kisses of an enemy.” “Non omnis qui parcia,” wrote St. Augustine (‘Ep.,’ 48, ‘ad Vincent.’), “amicus est, neque omnis qui verberat, inimicus.”
Pro 27:7
The full soul loatheth an honeycomb. For “loathes” the Hebrew is literally “treads upon,” “tramples underfoot,” which is the expression of the greatest disgust and contempt; or it may mean that the well-fed man will not stoop to pick up the comb which may have dropped in his path from some tree or rock. But whichever way we take it, the same truth is toldSelf-restraint increases enjoyment; over-iudulgence produces satiety, fatigue, and indolence. Horace, ‘Sat.,’ 2.2, 38
“Jejunus raro stomachus vulgaria temnit.”
But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. So the prodigal in the parable would fain fill himself with the husks which the swine did eat. So we say, “Hunger is the best sauce;” the Germans, “Hunger makes raw beans sweet;” and the Portuguese. “Brackish water is sweet in a dry land.”
Pro 27:8
As a bird that wandereth from her nest. Jerome’s avis transmigrans conveys to us a notion of a migratory bird taking its annual journey. But the idea here is of a bird which leaves its own nest either wantonly or from some external reason, and thereby exposes itself to d so comfort and danger (comp. Isa 16:2). So is a man that wandereth from his place; i.e. his own home (comp. Ecclesiasticus 29:21, etc; and 36:28 in Vet. Lat; “Quis credit ei qui non habet nidum, et deflectens ubicumque obscuraverit, quasi succinctus latro exsil ins de civitate in civitatem?“). The proverb indirectly inculcates love of one’s home and one’s native land. To be “a fugitive and a vagabond” (Gen 4:12) was a terrible punishment, as the Jews have learned by the experience of many centuries. Language and religion placed a barrier against residence in any country but their own (see Psa 84:1-12.); and though at the time when this book was probably written they knew little of foreign travel, yet they regarded sojourn in a strange land as an evil, and centred all their ideas of happiness and comfort in a home life surrounded by friends and countrymen. The word “wander” may have the notion of going into exile. Septuagint, “As when a bird flies down from its own nest, so is a man brought into bondage when he is banished () from his own place.” Some have reasoned from this expression that the idea of exile had become familiar to the writer, and hence that this portion of the Proverbs is of very late origin (Cheyne)surely a very uncertain foundation for such a conclusion. The love of Orientals for their native soil is a passion which no sordid and miserable surroundings can extinguish, and a man would consider even a change of home an unmixed evil, though such change was not the result of exile. Our view of the fortunes of one who is always shitting his abode is expressed in the adage, “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”
Pro 27:9
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart. (For the use of unguents in the honourable treatment of guests, see Pro 7:16, etc.; Pro 21:17.) Similarly, perfumes prepared from spices, roses, and aromatic plants were employed; rooms were fumigated, persons were sprinkled with rose water, and incense was applied to the face and beard, as we read (Dan 2:46) that Nebuchadnezzar ordered that to Daniel, in recognition of his wisdom, should be offered an oblation and sweet odours (see ‘Dick of Bible,’ and Kitto, ‘Cyclop.,’ voc. “Perfumes”). The heat of the climate, the insalubrious character of the houses, the profuse perspiration of the assembled guests, rendered this attention peculiarly acceptable (comp. So Dan 3:6). The LXX; probably with a tacit reference to Psa 104:15, renders, “The heart delighteth in ointments, and wines, and perfumes.” So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. This is rather clumsy; the Revised Version improves it by paraphrasing, that cometh from hearty counsel. The meaning is that as ointment, etc; gladden the heart, so do the sweet and loving words of one who speaks from the depths of his soul. The idea is primarily of a friend who gives wise counsel, speaking the truth in love, or shows his approval by discreet commendation. The LXX. has pointed differently, and translates, “But the soul is broken by calamities ( ();” Vulgate, “The soul is sweetened by the good counsels of a friend.”
Pro 27:10
Another proverb, a tristich, in praise of friendship. It seems to be a combination of two maxims. Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not. A father’s friend is one who is connected with a family by hereditary and ancestral bonds; . Septuagint. Such a one is to be cherished and regarded with the utmost affection. Neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity. The tried friend is more likely to help and sympathize with you than even your own brother, for a friend is born for adversity, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother (Pro 17:17; Pro 18:24, where see notes). The mere blood relationship, which is the result of circumstances over which one has had no control, is inferior to the affectionate connection which arises from moral considerations and is the effect of deliberate choice. We must remember, too, that the practice of polygamy, with the separate establishments of the various wives, greatly weakened the tie of brotherhood. There was little love between David’s sons; and Jonathan was far dearer to David himself than any of his numerous brothers were. Better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off. “Near” and “far off” may be taken as referring to feeling or to local position. In the former case the maxim says that a neighbour who is really attached to one by the bonds of affection is better than the closest relation who has no love or sympathy. In the latter view, the proverb enunciates the truth that a friend on the spot in time of calamity is more useful than a brother living at a distance; one is sure of help at once from the former, while application to the latter must occasion delay, and may not be successful. Commentators quote Hesiod, . ; 341
Pro 27:11
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad. The exhortation of a father to his son, or of a teacher to his pupil. Such address is not found elsewhere in this latter portion of the book, though common in previous parts. Delitzsch translates, “become wise.” , Septuagint. Such development of wisdom delights a father’s heart, as Pro 10:1; Pro 23:15, Pro 23:24. That I may answer him that reproacheth me (Psa 119:42; comp. Psa 127:5; Ecclesiasticus 30:2). If the pupil did not show wisdom and morality in his conduct, the teacher would incur blame for the apparent failure of his education; whereas the high tone of the disciple might be appealed to as a proof of the merit and efficacy of the tutor’s discipline. On the other hand, the evil doings of Hebrews often made the Name of God to be blasphemed among the Gentiles; just as nowadays the inconsistent lives of Christians are the greatest impediment to the success of missionary efforts in heathen countries. St. Jerome has, Ut possis exprobanti respondere sermonem. So Septuagint, “And remove from thyself reproachful words.” But the first person is in accordance with the Hebrew.
Pro 27:12
A repetition of Pro 22:3. The sentence is asyndeton.
Pro 27:13
A repetition of Pro 20:16. The LXX; which omits this passage in its proper place, here translates, “Take away his garment, for a scorner passed by, whoever lays waste another’s goods.”
Pro 27:14
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning. What is meant is ostentatious salutation, which puts itself forward in order to stand well with a patron, and to be beforehand with other servile competitors for favour. Juvenal satirized such parasitical effusion (‘Sat.’ 5.19)
“Habet Trebius, propter quod rumpere somnum
Debeat et ligulas dimittere, sollicitus, ne
Tots salutaris jam turba peregerit orbem,
Sideribus dubiis, aut illo tempore, quo se
Frigida circumagunt pigri surraca Bootae.”
The “loud voice” intimates the importunate nature of such public trumpeting of gratitude, as the “rising early” denotes its inopportune and tactless insistency, which cannot wait for a convenient opportunity for its due expression. It shall be counted a curse to him. The receiver of this sordid adulation, and indeed all the bystanders, would just as soon be cursed by the parasite as blessed in this offensive manner, This clamorous outpouring of gratitude is not accepted as a return by the benefactor; he sees the mean motives by which it is dictated self-interest, hope of future benefitsand he holds it as cheap as he would the curses of such a person. The nuisance of such flattery is mentioned by Euripides, ‘Orest.,’ 1161
_
.
“Duo sunt genera prosecutorum,” says St. Augustine (‘In Psalm.,’ 69), “sciliet vituperantium et adulantium; sed plus prosequitur lingua adulatoris, quam manus prosecutoris.” “Woe unto you,” said Christ (Luk 6:26), “when all men shall speak well of you.” “Do I seek to please men?” asked St. Paul (Gal 1:10); “for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”
Pro 27:15-16
Pro 27:15 and Pro 27:16 form a tetrastich on the subject of the termagant wife.
Pro 27:15
The single line of the second clause of Pro 19:13 is here formed into a distich. A continual dropping in a very rainy day. “A day of violent rain,” (sagrir), which word occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. And a contentious woman are alike. The word rendered “are alike” () is usually taken to be the third perf. nithp. from ; but the best established reading, according to Hitzig, Delitzsch, and Nowack, is , which is regarded as a niph. with a transposition of consonants for . Septuagint, “Drops of rain drive a man out of his house on a stormy day.” The ill-constructed roofs of Eastern houses were very subject to leakage, being flat and formed of porous material.
Pro 27:16
Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind. Whoever tries to restrain a shrewish woman, or to conceal her faults, might as well attempt to confine the wind or to check its violence. And the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself. He might as well try to hide the ointment which signifies its presence by its odour. But there is no “which” in the original, which runs literally, “his right hand calls oil,” or, “oil meets his right hand.” The former is supposed to mean that he is hurt in the struggle to coerce the vixen, and needs ointment to heal his wound; but the latter seems the correct rendering, and the meaning then is that, if he tries to hold or stop his wife, she escapes him like the oil which you try in vain to keep in your hand. An old adage says that there are three things which cannot be hidden, but always betray themselves, viz. a woman, the wind, and ointment. The LXX. has read the Hebrew differently, translating, “The northwind is harsh, but by name it is called lucky ();” i.e. because it clears the sky and introduces fine weather. The Syriac, Aquila, and Symmachus have adopted the same reading.
Pro 27:17
Iron sharpeneth iron. The proverb deals with the influence which men have upon one another. So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. So the Vulgate, Homo exacuit faciem amici sui. The action of the file is probably meant (1Sa 13:21); and the writer names iron as the sharpener rather than the whetstone, because he wishes to denote that one man is of the same nature as another, and that this identity is that which makes mutual action possible and advantageous. Some have taken the proverb in a bad sense, as if it meant that one angry word leads to another, one man’s passion excites another’s rage. Thus Aben Ezra. The Septuagint perhaps supports this notion by rendering, . But the best commentators understand the maxim to say that intercourse with other men influences the manner, appearance, deportment, and character of a man, sharpens his wits, controls his conduct, and brightens his very face. Horace uses the same figure of speech, ‘Ars Poet.,’ 304
“Fungar vice cotis, acutum
Reddere quae ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secaudi.”
On the subject of mutual intercourse Euripides says, ‘Androm.,’ 683
“Companionship
Is that which teaches mortals everything.”
Pro 27:18
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof. He who watches, tends, and cultivates the fig tree will in due time have the reward of his labour in eating its fruit. The abundance of the produce of this tree makes it a good figure of the reward of faithful service. Septuagint, “He that planteth a fig tree shall eat the fruits thereof” (2Ti 2:6). So he that waiteth on his maser shall be honoured. He who pays attention, has loving regard to his master, shall meet with honour as his reward at his master’s hands, and also from all who become acquainted with his merits. The gnome may well be applied to the case of those who do true and laudable service to their heavenly Master, and she shall one day hear from his lips the gracious word, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord” (Mat 25:21).
Pro 27:19
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man; Vulgate, Quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus prospicientium, sic corda hominum manifesta sunt prudentibus. As in clear water the face of the gazer is reflected, so man finds in his fellow man the same feelings, sentiments, passions, which he has himself. He sees in others the likeness of himself; whatever he knows himself to be, he will see others presenting the same character. Self-knowledge, too, leads to insight into others’ minds; “for what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?” (1Co 2:11). There is a solidarity in human nature which enables us to judge of others by ourselves. The difficulties in the construction and wording of the sentence do not affect the interpretation. They are, however, best met by rendering, with Delitzsch, “As it is with water, face corresponds to face, so also the heart of man to man.” Septuagint, “As faces are not like faces, so neither are the thoughts of men;” which is like the saying of Persius, ‘Sat.,’ 5.52
“Mille hominum species, et rerum discolor usus;
Velle suum cuique est, nec voto vivitur uno.”
Pro 27:20
Hell and destruction are never full. “Hell” is sheol, the under-world, Hades, the place of the departed; “destruction” is the great depth, the second death, personified (see on Pro 15:11, where the terms also occur). These “are never satisfied,” they are insatiable, all-devouring (comp. Pro 30:16; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5). So the eyes of man are never satisfied. The verb is the same in both clauses, and ought to have been so translated. The eye is taken as the representative of concupiscence in general. What is true of “the lust of the eyes” (1Jn 2:16) is true of all the senses; the craving for their gratification grows as it is fed. Therefore the senses should be carefully guarded, lest they lead to excess and transgression. “Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity,” said the psalmist, “and quicken me in thy way” (Psa 119:37). The LXX. here introduces a paragraph not in the Hebrew or the Latin Versions: “He that fixes () his eye [i.e. staring impudently] is an abomination to the Lord, and the uninstructed restrain not their tongue.”
Pro 27:21
Fining pot, etc. (see on Pro 17:3; comp. also Pro 25:4). So is a man to his praise. The Hebrew is literally, The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man according, to his praise; i.e. as the processes of metallurgy test the precious metals, so a man’s public reputation shows what he is really worth, as is stated in Pro 12:8. As the crucible brings all impurities to the surface, so public opinion drags forth all that is bad in a man, and he who stands this test is generally esteemed. Certainly praise is a stimulus to exertion, an incentive to try to make one’s self worthy of the estimation in which one is held, especially if he purifies it from the dross and earthliness mixed with it, and takes to himself only what is genuine and just. But public opinion is very commonly false end is always a very unsafe criterion of moral excellence. Hence other interpretations have been proposed. Ewald renders, “and a man according to his boasting,” that is, according to that which he most praises in himself and others. So virtually Hitzig, Bottcher, Zockler, and others. In this view the gnome denotes that a man’s real character is best examined by the light cast upon it by his usual line of thought, what he most prides himself upon, what he admires most in other men. Plumptre, after Gesenius and Fleischer, has, “So let a man be to his praise,” i.e. to the mouth which praises him; let him test this commendation, to see what it is worth, before he accepts it as his due. The explanation first given seems on the whole most suitable, when we reflect that the highest morality is not always enunciated, and that secondary motives are widely recognized as factors in action and judgment. There are not wanting men in modern days who uphold the maxim, Vox populi, vox Dei. Septuagint, “The action of fire is a test for silver and gold, so a man is tested by the mouth of them that praise him.” No surer test of a man’s true character can be found than his behaviour under praise; many men arc spoiled by it. If a man comes forth from it without injury, not rendered vain, or blind to his defects, or disdainful of others, his disposition is good, and the commendation lavished upon him may be morally and spiritually beneficial. Vulgate, Sic probatur homo ore laudantis, “So is a man proved by the mouth of him that praises him.” The following passage from St. Gregory, commenting on this, is worth quoting, “Praise of one’s self tortures the just, but elates the wicked. But while it tortures, it purifies the just; and while it pleases the wicked, it proves them to be reprobate. For these revel in their own praise, because they seek not the glory of their Maker. But they who seek the glory of their Maker are tortured with their own praise, lest that which is spoken of without should not exist within them; lest, if that which is said really exists, it should be made void in the sight of God by these very honours; lest the praise of men should soften the firmness of their heart, and should lay it low in self-satisfaction; and lest that which ought to aid them to increase their exertions, should be even now the recompense of their labour. But when they see that their own praises tend to the glory of God, they even long for and welcome them. For it is written, “That they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (‘Moral.,’ 26.62, Oxford transl.). The LXX. adds a verse which is not found in the Hebrew, but occurs in some manuscripts of the Latin Version, “The heart of the transgressor seeketh out evils, but an upright heart seeketh knowledge.”
Pro 27:22
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle. “To bray” is to pound or beat small. “Wheat,” , riphoth (only in 2Sa 17:19), “bruised corn.” Vulgate, In pila quasi ptisanas (barley groats) feriente; Aquila and Theodotion, “In the midst of grains of corn being pounded.” The LXX; reading, differently, has, “Though thou scourge a fool, disgracing him ( ) in the midst of the congregation.” Of course, the process of separating the husks from the corn by the use of pestle and mortar is much more delicate and careful than threshing in the usual clumsy way; hence is expressed the idea that the most elaborate pains are wasted on the incorrigible fool (see on Pro 1:20). His foolishness will not depart from him. An obstinate, self-willed, unprincipled man cannot be reformed by any means; his folly has become a second nature, and is not to be eliminated by any teaching, discipline, or severity. There is, too, a judicial blindness, when, after repeated warnings wilfully rejected and scorned, the sinner is left to himself, given over to a reprobate mind “Whoso teacheth a fool,” Siracides pronounces, “is as one that glueth a potsherd together, and as he that waketh one from a sound sleep” (Ecclesiasticus 22:7). Again, “The inner parts of a fool are like a broken vessel, and he will hold no knowledge as long as he liveth” (Ecclesiasticus 21:14). In Turkey, we are told, great criminals were beaten to pieces in huge mortars of iron, in which they usually pounded rice. “You cannot straighten a dog’s tail, try as you may,” says a Telugu maxim (Lane). There is a saying of Schiller’s which is quite proverbial, “Heaven and earth fight in vain against a dunce.” Horace, ‘Epist.,’ 1.10, 24
“Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.”
Juvenal, ‘Sat.,’ 13.239
“Tamen ad mores natura recurrit
Damnatos, fixa et mutari nescia.”
Pro 27:23-27
A mashal ode in praise of a pastoral and agricultural life. The moralist evidently desires to recall his countrymen from the luxury of cities and the temptations of money making to the simple ways of the patriarchs and the pleasures of country pursuitswhich are the best foundation of enduring prosperity.
Pro 27:23
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks. “State;” (panim); vultum, Vulgate; the face, look, appearance. The LXX. has , which may perhaps mean “the number”a necessary precaution when the sheep wandered on the downs and mountains, and had to be collected in the evening and folded. These precepts are naturally applied to all rulers, and especially to Christian pastors who have the oversight of the flock of Christ (1Pe 5:2-4). Ecc 7:22, “Hast thou cattle? have an eye to them; and if they he for thy profit, keep them with thee.”
Pro 27:24
For riches are not forever; as Pro 23:5. Money and other kinds of wealth may be lost or wasted; it is therefore expedient to have the resources of agriculture, land and herds, to depend upon. Chosen (Pro 15:6), translated “riches,” is “strength,” “abundance,” “treasure laid up.” Delitzsch renders, “prosperity;” Septuagint, “A man has not strength and power forever;” Vulgate, Non habebis jugiter potestatem, i.e. “you will not always be able to tend your flocks; infirmity and old age will prevent you.” And doth the crown endure to every generation? The crown or diadem, (nezer), is the symbol of royal authority, or of the highest dignity of the priesthood (Exo 29:6; Exo 39:30). These positions are not secure from generation to generation; much less stable, in fact, than the possession of farms and cattle. St. Jerome, Sed corona tribuetur in generationem et generationem, where corona is the headship of the family. Septuagint, “Neither doth he transmit it (his strength) from generation to generation.”
Pro 27:25
As Pro 27:23 commended the rearing of cattle, and Pro 27:24 supported the injunction by showing its comparative permanence, so this and the following verses discuss the material advantages of such occupation. The hay appeareth; rather, the grass passeth away, is cut and carried. This is the first stage in the agricultural operations described. And the tender grass showeth itself; the aftermath appears. And the herbs of the mountain are gathered; the fodder from off the hills is cut and stored. All these verbs are best taken hypothetically, the following verses forming the apodosis. When all these operations are complete, then crone the results in plenty and comfort. Septuagint, “Have a care of the herbage () in the plain, and thou shalt cut grass, and gather thou the mountain hay.”
Pro 27:26
The Iambs are for thy clothing. Thy sheep will provide thee with clothing by their skin and wool, and by the money which thou wilt obtain by the sale of them. The goats are the price of the field; the sale of thy goats and their produce will pay for thy field if thou wish to buy it (see on Pro 30:31). Septuagint, “That thou mayest have sheep for clothing; honour thy land that thou mayest have lambs.”
Pro 27:27
Goats’ milk. Dr. Geikie (‘Holy Land and Bible,’ 1.311) notes that in most parts of Palestine goats’ milk in every formsour, sweet, thick, thin, warm, or coldmakes, with eggs and bread, the main food of the people. And maintenance for thy maidens; who milk the goats, etc; and tend the cattle, and do the household work. There is no mention of the use of animal flesh as food. It was only on great occasions, as high festivals, or the presence of an honoured guest, that kids, lambs, and calves were killed and eaten. This picture of rural peace and plenty points to a time of security and prosperity, free alike from internal commotion and external danger. The famous passage in Cicero, ‘De Senect.,’ 15; on the pleasures and advantages of the agricultural life. will occur to all classical readers. So also Horace (‘Epod.,’ 2), “Beatus ille qui procul negotiis,” etc. The LXX. makes short work of this verse, “My son, thou hast from me sayings mighty for thy life and for the life of thy servants.”
HOMILETICS
Pro 27:1
Boasting of the morrow
I. ITS FOLLY. No man is a prophet. At the best we can but calculate probabilities. The man who has never had a day’s illness may be suddenly laid low, struck down with paralysis, arrested by unsuspected heart disease, blood poisoned by a whiff of bad air from a drain, at death’s door from pneumonia caught in an unheeded draught. The business which looks fair and prosperous may suddenly collapse. The trusted bank may break. Our life is dependent upon so many unseen sources, and is affected by so many complicated circumstances, that no man can unravel the tendencies or predict the results. Astronomy is a simple science compared with sociology. The movements of the solar system are altogether more intelligible than those of the homeliest soul. We cannot predict our own conduct, Moreover, there are other minds to be considered. Above all, there is the inscrutable providence of God.
II. ITS DANGER. “Boasting of the morrow” leads to carelessness. The man who is confident without warrant is likely to be off his guard. Believing that all is safe, he does not fortify himself against a possible surprise of mischief. He is just in the condition most favourable for attack. The wily tempter is aware of this. Therefore the danger is all the greater because it is ignored. Thus Peter, weakened through over confidence, fell into sin, even though he had been warned against it.
III. ITS SIN. This is not merely a question of prudence and personal welfare. It touches our relations with God. He who boasts himself of the morrow acts either atheistically, denying the Divine control of life, or presumptuously, assuming without reason that God will aid his plans. Such conduct reveals a guilty pride. It is opposed to the humility of one who would bow low before the inscrutable providence of the Almighty.
IV. ITS PUNISHMENT. Such boasting is certain to be punished by failure. It would not be well to let it proceed to success, for such a result would only confirm and aggravate the evil habit. Partial and temporary victory may be attained, but ultimate triumph cannot be won in this way. God casts down and humbles the boaster, and in his shame he has an opportunity of learning wisdom.
V. ITS ANTIDOTE. This is not to be found in a cowardly shrinking from the future, nor is it to be had in a habit of despair, ever painting the days to come in the blackest hues, with the melancholy motto, “Blessed is he that expecteth little; for he shall not be disappointed.” The true antidote is to be discovered in a spirit of trust. God has indeed hung an impenetrable curtain between our vision and the land of the future. Even the very morrow dwells as yet in a land of darkness, and we vainly try to discern its features. But it is perfectly familiar to God, before whom all eternity is as a clear picture ever present. And God, who knows the future, controls it. Therefore we are safe when we trust; and, eschewing boastfulness, we can learn not to be anxious about the morrow, because we can trust our Father who holds the secrets of all the morrows in his hand.
Pro 27:2
Self-praise
I. SELF–PRAISE IS ILL FOUNDED. It may be true to fact, but we cannot be sure that it is.
1. Possibly it is insincere. So many motives of vanity and self-interest urge a person to pretend to be better than he is, that a certificate of merit given by himself on behalf of himself cannot be taken at a high value.
2. Probably it is delusive. Even when it is perfectly sincere it is likely to be perverted by unconscious misconceptions. It is very easy to be honestly mistaken as to one’s own worth. We are the worst conceivable judges of our own characters and deserts. Even when we can calmly and fairly estimate our powers we are likely to be very wrong in valuing our use of them.
II. SELF–PRAISE SPRINGS FROM SELFISHNESS.
1. It reveals a self-regarding habit. If a man is given to expatiate on his own merits, he must be accustomed to turn his thoughts inwards; he must be familiar with the contemplation of himself. Now, this is not wholesome. The less a man thinks about himself the better for his own soul’s health.
2. It implies a desire of self-aggrandizement. There is usually a motive behind the habit of self-praise, and, though this may be nothing worse than childish vanity, it carries with it a desire for exciting the admiration of others; it aims at reaping a harvest of laudation. But possibly the end sought is more far reaching, and the pretentious person indicts his own testimonials with a deliberate intention of securing some tangible advantage thereby. The self-praise is then just an ugly, glaring blossom of selfishness.
III. SELF–PRAISE PROVOKES JEALOUSY. It rarely secures the admiration that it seeks. On the contrary, it is generally received with suspicion; and even when it is honest and true, a large discount is taken off its claims.
1. Its defective authority is perceived. This is a point to which vanity is singularly blind. Yet all the weakness of the situation is apparent to every beholder; for it is universally recognized that a man is strongly tempted to make out a good case for himself, and that he is likely to be deceived into an inordinate estimate of his own value. Therefore self-praise is usually wasted.
2. It irritates the vanity of others. The tendency is for the hearer to imagine that the vain speaker desires to exalt himself at the expense of others. A comparison of merit seems to be challenged, and this at once rouses the jealousy of the audience. Thus self-praise does not win friends. What it may perhaps succeed in extracting in the form of admiration is paid for dearly by the dislike that it also creates.
IV. SELF–PRAISE IS CONTRARY TO CHRISTIAN HUMILITY. It represent, a wholly alien spirit. Doubtless it is a common weakness of men who are truly Christian and kind hearted, for no man is perfect; but still it is a weakness, and it is foreign to the genius of the religion under which it finds a shelter. The often repeated rule of Christ is that “Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased;” “The first shall be last.” The Due disciple is not to choose the upper seat in the synagogue. Humility, self-forgetfulness, the preference of others, are the Christian graces. Self-praise is useless before God.
V. SELF–PRAISE ONLY AIMS AT WHAT CAN BE BETTER ATTAINED WITHOUT IT. “Let another man praise thee.” Self-praise silences the lips of admration from others. The truly humble man will not crave such admiration. But all men of right feeling must desire to stand well with their fellows. It is happy to feel that we have the respect and confidence of those whose opinion we value. Now, these encouragements are better secured by unpretentious merit, and humility in earnest, simple attempts to do right.
Pro 27:6
The wounds of a friend.
The principle implied in this verse is apparent at a glance. It is better that one who loves and truly considers the interests of another should wound him for his good than that a superficial flatterer should refrain from doing so for the sake of pleasing and winning continuous favour. The only difficulties lie in the practical application of the principle.
I. TRUE FRIENDSHIP WILL DARE TO WOUND. It is painful and difficult to do that which we know will grieve one who is greatly loved. Therefore if it is ready necessary it will put the love to the test.
1. True friendship considers the welfare of another. The chief thought is not on behalf of agreeable companionship, but as to what will really benefit one’s friend.
2. The welfare of another may require a painful treatment. There are so called “candid friends,” who secretly delight in saying unpleasant things. With such people there is no merit in giving pain, nor is it likely that much advantage will result from their rough conduct. But it may be possible to point out a friend’s mistakes, to warn him against temptation, to gravely deprecate his wrongful conduct, to make him feel his deterioration of character. Then, though the process must be keenly painful on both sides, love will attempt it.
II. THE WOUNDS OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP SHOULD BE PATIENTLY RECEIVED.
1. The cost of thorn should be considered. If they do indeed come from a friend they show his genuine regard, his unselfish devotion. They also indicate how thorough is his confidence; for they show that he expects to be rightly understood, and that his painful action will not be resented. He risks a breach of the friendship for the sake of benefiting his friend. This is a generous action, and it should be generously accepted. But it needs magnanimity both to give and to take the wounds of friendship.
2. The value of them should be appreciated. The first impulse is to feel aggrieved, to resent the intrusion, to treat the well-meant rebuke as an insult, to justify, one’s self, perhaps even to overwhelm the friend who wounds with rage and revenge. This is as foolish as it is ungrateful. If we only knew it, we should confess that we have no better friends than those who dare to wound us. It is just from such friends that we can learn wisdom. Flattery kisses and slays; friendship wounds and saves.
III. THE DIVINE FRIENDSHIP WOUNDS TO SAVE. The world flatters and promises only pleasant things to its slaves when it first enthralls them. God treats us in the opposite way, warning us of danger, rebuking our sins, even chastising us with heavy blows. But “whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.”
1. God proves himself to be our Friend by wounding us. He might have left us alone to rot in our own wretched ruin. But in his great love he has interfered to save, though his advances are met with insult and anger. God loves enough to give pain.
2. It would be wise to receive God‘s wounding as that of a Friend. It is for our good; then the best course is to take it accordingly, to endeavour to profit by it. Christ lays a cross on his disciples, and saves them by leading them to follow in his Via Dolorosa, and to be crucified with him (Gal 2:20).
Pro 27:8
A bird wandering from her nest
Let us consider first in what respects a man may be said to be wandering from his place, and then how the evil of this condition may be illustrated by the metaphor of a bird wandering from its nest.
I. HOW A MAN MAY WANDER FROM HIS PLACE.
1. He may leave the work he is suited for. There is no reason why a man should not endeavour to rise in the social scale. Christianity does not consecrate any system of caste. But there are works for which certain men have natural aptitude, or for which they have been trained, and other works for which they are not thus suited. Unhappily, our inclination does not always coincide with our capacity. To follow one’s likings outside the range of one’s powers is to wander from one’s place.
2. He may forsake his duty. Every man’s rightful place is at the post of duty. No danger, no difficulty, no disagreeableness, can justify any one in forsaking that place.
3. He may depart from God. Then indeed will he have wandered from his true place. For the home of the soul is with God. Absence from God is to be out of one’s place,
(1) though in a very paradise of delights,
(2) though among the most congenial companions,
(3) though with an eminently attractive occupation.
4. He may renounce his human status.
(1) In descending to that of an animal. Bestial lust and brutal cruelty are inhuman. He who plunges into such vile things necessarily wanders from himself as a man. He gives up the rank of a human being.
(2) In degrading himself to diabolical living. This happens to one who chooses evil for its own sake, loving wickedness and pursuing it.
II. HOW SUCH A MAN MUST SUFFER AS A BIRD THAT WANDERS FROM HER NEST.
1. He loses peace. The nest is typical of quiet and restfulness. To forsake it is to be at large in the noisy, tumultuous world. So one who is out of his place is cast adrift on a homeless waste. He sacrifices peace in pursuit of novelty.
2. He is removed from congenital companionship. The poor young bird leaves her fellows and flies into unknown regions, where she finds hers. If alone among strange creatures. A man who is out of his element will be equally alone and friendless. The very fact that he is in the wrong place implies that he cannot find true sympathy in his new sphere. Perhaps he has been foolishly aiming at entering some higher circle of life than one that he is fitted for. If so, he will only be supremely uncomfortable, perpetually regarded as an intruder or ridiculed as a blunderer. It is better to cultivate the affections of one’s own home circle and true old friends.
3. He is not able to fulfil his mission. It may be that a mother bird is here thought of. In wandering from her nest she forsakes her young. So he who leaves his rightful place neglects his obligations. He fails to do his duty to those naturally dependent on him. Charity begins at home.
4. He is exposed to danger. The poor wandering bird may be lost in the forest; she may starve for want of food; birds of prey may pounce upon her in the darkness. There is no safety off the path of duty. Even unsuitable spheres are dangerous, because a man does not know how to behave himself in them. Away from God there is danger of ruin without hope of escape.
Pro 27:12
Foresight of evil
I. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO FORSEE ALL FUTURE EVIL. God, in his great mercy, has drawn a thick veil over the face of futurity. We can reason of probabilities; in some cases we can almost predict certainties; but taking the whole round of life, and the full reach of futurity, we have to recognize the fact that the evil to come as well as the good are largely hidden from our view. It would not be possible for us to bear the sight if all dark experiences were crowded into one horrible picture and presented before our imagination at once. We can take one by one the evils that would crush us if we beheld them all together in a mighty, terrible phalanx. When the trouble comes the strength may be given to bear it, but not before.
II. IT IS FOOLISH TO FRET OURSELVES WITH ANXIETIES ABOUT THE MORROW. This is the distinct teaching of Christ, based on various grounds.
1. We have enough to bear in the present. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
2. We cannot command the future. No man by being anxious can add one cubit to his stature or change the natural colour of his hair.
3. God is our Father. He feeds the wild birds and clothes the fields. Much more will he feed and clothe his own children.
4. We base higher considerations to absorb our allergies. “Seek first the kingdom of God. and his righteousness.”
III. WE NEED TO MAKE A REASONABLE PROVISION FOR THE FUTURE. It may appear that the prudence of the Book of Proverbs is rebuked by teachings of Christ. No doubt our Lord does lift us into a higher atmosphere. But there is no contradiction between the two positions. Indeed, we are best able to banish needless care when we have made proper provision for the future. Thrift does not create anxiety. The man who has insured his house against fire does not dread the incendiary more than the man who has not provided himself against the contingency of a conflagration. He who is prepared for death need not fear death.
IV. IT IS A MARK OF TRUE WISDOM TO GUARD AGAINST THE EVIL THAT MAY BE AVOIDED.
1. This obtains in secular pursuits. Ignorance is no excuse for not providing against a disaster when reasonable thoughtfulness would have foreseen it. The reckless general who burns the bridges behind him is guilty of the blood of his soldiers who are slaughtered after a great defeat.
2. This is most true in the spiritual world.
(1) Here we may foresee danger. For God has revealed the fatal consequences of sin. No one who reflects can say that he has no reason to expect that his sin will be punished. The very nature of sin foreshadows its own dreadful doom.
(2) Here we may provide against it. It is not an inevitable destiny. “God has opened up a way of escape.” It is wise to consider the danger of sin, in order to flee from it to safety in Christ (1Jn 2:1).
Pro 27:17
The advantages of society
I. OBSERVE IN WHAT THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIETY CONSIST. We have ancient authority for the idea that it is not good for man to be alone (Gen 2:18). Man is naturally a gregarious being. Though some people are more sociable than others, no one can be healthy in perpetual solitude. The isolation of the hermit engendered the wildest hallucinations of fanaticism together with the narrowest conception of the world. Prisoners of the Bastille, in solitary confinement, were reduced to a condition of semi-idiocy. Robinson Crusoe made the best of his situation, yet he could not live without the companionship of animal pets, and he was glad of the humble friendship of a poor savage.
1. Society quickens a man‘s intelligence. Even Wordsworth was thought by some to have deteriorated mentally in his comparative seclusion at Rydal Mount, and yet there were other men of high mental power in his neighbourhood. Men’s thoughts are stimulated and sharpened by conversation.
2. Society rouses a man‘s energy. Empty society of mere pleasure seekers only dissipates a man’s powers in frivolity. But the society of earnest men stimulates by sympathy, emulation, and encouragement.
3. Society broadens a man‘s views. He is able to see how other men think and feel. They may not all have greater advantages than he possesses; but at least they are differently constituted and situated from himself. Thus he is lifted out of the narrowness of his own single vision. Such breadth gives strength when it is accompanied by an earnest love of truth and right.
II. CONSIDER HOW THE ADVANTAGES OF SOCIETY MAY BE REALIZED.
1. They are dependent on a man‘s residence. Horace’s old dispute between the town and the country mouse has never been settled. Cowper wrote, “God made the country, man made the town;” and no doubt there is to be seen a certain restfulness, a purity, and a quiet power in nature that those men miss who reside in the heart of a wilderness of houses, Nevertheless, there are compensations for the disagreeable pressure of population in great cities. The mind is quickened. Still, as evils also result from this manner of living, it is certainly important that those who are able to select their own residences should consider wholesome society to be as important as a pure water supply.
2. They can be found in sympathetic friendship. One good, true friend is more helpful than a score of mere acquaintances. It is in the close intercourse of genuine friendship that the best results of the mutual play of thought and feeling can be obtained. Hence the supreme importance of cultivating friendship with the wise and good.
3. They should be obtained in the Christian Church. Christ not only called disciples to himself, one by one; he founded the Church, and his apostles established local Churches wherever they could gather together a few converts. Christian companionship should be a help to Christian life and thought. There was a time when they who feared the Lord spake often one to another (Mal 3:16). Above this earthly friendship the Christian finds a mental and spiritual quickening in the friendship of Christ (Luk 24:32).
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Pro 27:1-6
Beastliness, jealousy, and hypocrisy
I. OVER CONFIDENCE REBUKED. (Pro 27:1.)
1. On the ground of our limited knowledge. The homely proverb says, “Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.” The future exists for us only in imagination. “Who knows,” asks Horace, “whether the gods above will add tomorrow’s time to the sum of today?” (‘Od.,’ Pro 4:7. 17); and Seneca, “None hath gods so favourable as that he may promise himself tomorrow’s good.”
2. On the ground of the Divine reserve of the secrets of destiny. To boast is to lift ourselves in effect out of that finite sphere of thought and feeling in which we have been placed by the Divine ordination. So says Horace again, “Shun to inquire into the future and the morrow; and whatever day fortune shall afford thee, count it as gain” (‘Od.,’ Pro 1:9, Pro 1:13). Common sense and religious humility unite to teach us to “live for the day.”
II. SELF–PRAISE CENSURED. (Pro 27:2.) “Let another praise thee, and not thine own mouth.” “Self-praise stinks,” and “Not as thy mother says, but as the neighbours say,” are Arabic proverbs. Every individual has a certain value; the sense of this is the foundation of all self-respect and virtue. But to show an over-consciousness of this worth by self-praise is a social offence, because it is an exaction of that which ought to be a free tribute, and betrays a desire of self-exaltation above others not easily forgiven.
III. THE PASSION OF THE FOOL INTOLERABLE. (Pro 27:3.) Whether it be envy, furious resentment of rebuke, or jealousy, it is a burden intolerable to the person himself and to those with whom he has to do. The pious may readily sin in their anger, how much more the ungodly!
“Ira furor brevis est; animum rege; qui, nisi paret,
Imperat; hunc froenis, hunc tu compesce catena.’
(Horace, ‘Ep.,’ 1.2, 62).
It is like a weight of stone or sand, being without cause, measure, or end (Poole).
IV. THE TERRIBLE FORCE OF JEALOUSY AND ENVY. (Pro 27:4.) It exceeds all ordinary outbursts of wrath in violence and destructiveness. Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of revenge and murder, the beginner of sedition, and the perpetual tormentor of nature (Socrates). It never loves to honour another but when it may be an honour to itself. “From envy good Lord, deliver us!”
V. FALSE LOVE AND FAITHFUL FRIENDSHIP CONTRASTED. (Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6.) False love refuses to tell a friend of his faults, from some egotistic and unworthy motive. “If you know that I have done anything foolishly or wickedly, and do not blame me for it, you yourself ought to be reproved” (Plaut.,’Trinum.,’ Pro 1:2, 57). “It is no good office,” says Jeremy Taylor, “to make my friend more vicious or more a fool; I will restrain his folly, but not nurse it.” “I think that man is my friend through whose advice I am enabled to wipe off the blemishes of my soul before the appearance of the awful Judge” (Gregory I). Christians should “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). If the erring one does not learn it from the lips of love, he will have to learn it from a harsher source and in ruder tones (comp. Job 5:17, Job 5:18; Psa 141:5; Rev 3:19; Pro 28:23). There cannot be a more worthy improvement of friendship than in a fervent opposition to the sins of those we love (Bishop Hall).J.
Pro 27:7, Pro 27:8
The blessing of contentment
I. THE CONTENTED MIND. (Pro 27:7.) “Enough is as good as a feast;” “Hunger is the best sauce.” To know when we are well off is the cure for the canker of envy and discontent. Deprivation for a time teaches us the need of common blessings. The good of affliction is that it brings us nearer to God; and of poverty of spirit, that it is never without food.
II. THE EVIL OF RESTLESSNESS. (Pro 27:8.) “The rolling stone gathers no moss.” Rarely does the wanderer better his condition. Unstable as water, he doth not excel. Those who seek satisfaction for the soul out of God are like those who wander into far country, like the prodigal. “O my wandering ways! Woe to the soul which presumed, if it departed from thee, that it should find anything better! I turned on every side, and all things were hard, and thou alone wast my Rest. Thou hast made us for thyself, O God, and our heart is restless till it finds rest in thee.”J.
Pro 27:9, Pro 27:10
The praises of friendship
I. ITS SWEETNESS. (Pro 27:9.) It is compared to fragrant unguent and incense (Psa 104:15; Psa 133:2). It is more delightful to listen to the counsel of a dear friend than sternly to rely on self. It is in human nature to love to see itself reflected in other objects; and the thoughts we approve, the opinions we form, we recognize gladly on another’s lips. Talking with a friend is better than thinking aloud.
II. TIME–HONOURED FRIENDSHIP SHOULD ABOVE ALL BE HELD DEAR. (Pro 27:10.) The presumption is that your own and your father’s friend is one tried and approved, and may be depended upon.
“The friends thou hast and their adoption tried,
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel.”
III. FRIENDSHIP IS FOUNDED UPON SPIRITUAL SYMPATHY. And this ranks before the ties of blood. The thought meets us in the proverbs of the ancient world in general. In the touching story of the friendship of Orestes and Pylades, e.g; it has its application. “This is what people say, ‘Acquire friends, not relations alone;’ since a man, when he is united by disposition, though not of kin, is better than a host of blood relations for another man to possess as his friend”. And Hesiod says, “If aid is wanted, neighbours come ungirt, but relations stay to trek up their robes.” Divine friendship is the highest illustration of this love.. Christ is above all the “Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.”J.
Pro 27:11-13
The need of prudence
I. PRUDENT CONDUCT REFLECTS CREDIT UPON ONE‘S PARENTS. (Pro 27:11.) The graceless children of gracious parents are a special reproach, bringing dishonour even upon the Name of God (Gen 34:30; 1Sa 2:17). The world will generally lay the blame at the parents’ door. The Mosaic Law severely punished the sins of the priest’s daughter for the disgrace brought upon the holy office (Le Pro 21:9).
II. THE NEED AND ADVANTAGE OF FORETHOUGHT. (Pro 27:12.) Prudence has been described as “the virtue of the senses.” It is the science of appearances. It is the outward action of the inward life. It is content to seek health of body by complying with physical conditions, and health of mind by complying with the laws of intellect. It is possible to give a base and cowardly interpretation of the duty of prudence; that “which makes the senses final is the divinity of sots and cowards, and is the subject of all comedy. The true prudence admits the knowledge of an outward and real world.” Thus true prudence is only that which foresees, detects, and guards against the ills which menace the life of the soul; for there is no profit in the prudence which seeks the world and risks the soul. Those are “simple” who, often with the utmost regard for their material interests, go on heedless of the moral perils which their habits incur.
III. THE FOLLY OF THOUGHTLESS SURETYSHIP. (Pro 27:13.) This, as we have seen, is often dwelt on in this book. It refers to a different condition of society from our own. We may generalize the warning. Prudence includes a proper self-regard, a virtuous egotism, so to speak. When good-natured people complain that they have been deceived, taken in, and turn sourly against human nature, do they not reproach themselves for having hacked this primary virtue of prudence? The highest virtues can grow only out of the root of independence (see Pro 20:16).J.
Pro 27:14
Insincerity in friendship
The picture is that of one who indulges in the noisy ostentation of friendship, without having the reality of it at his heart.
I. EXCESS IN PRAISE OR BLAME IS TO BE GUARDED AGAINST. Luther shrewdly observes, “He who loudly scolds, praises; and he who excessively praises, scolds. They are not believed because they exaggerate.” Too great praise is half blame. Language should be used with sobriety and temperance.
II. INSINCERITY IS SUBJECT TO A CURSE. It is odious to God and to man. One of the constant moral trials of life is in the observance of the golden mean of conduct in social relationsto be agreeable without flattery, and sincere without rudeness. Here, as ever, we must walk in the bright light of our Saviour’s example, the All-loving, yet the All-faithtul.J.
Pro 27:15, Pro 27:16
The quarrelsome wife
She is compared to the continual dropping of a shower; and the attempt to restrain her is like seeking to fetter the wind or to grasp at oil.
I. THE MONOTONY OF ILL TEMPER. It persists in one mood, and dyes all it touches with one colour, and that a dismal one.
II. THE CORRODING EFFECT UPON OTHERS‘ MINDS. Fine tempers cannot resist this perpetual wear and tear; the most buoyant spirits may be in time depressed by this dead weight.
III. THE INFLEXIBILITY OF ILL TEMPER. Alas! it is one of those things we are tempted to say cannot be mended. Nothing indeed but that Divine grace which can turn the winter of the soul into summer is able to remedy this ill. In reliance upon this, the exhortation may be given, “Purge out the old leaven!”J.
Pro 27:17-22
Wisdom for self and for others
I. THE BENEFIT OF INTELLIGENT SOCIETY. (Pro 27:17, Pro 27:19.)
1. The collision of mind with mind elicits truth, strikes out flashes of new perception. A man may grow wiser by an hour’s discourse than by a day’s meditation. “Speech is like embroidered cloth opened and put abroad,” said the mistochs to the King of Persia. In the collision of minds the man brings his own thoughts to light, and whets his wits against a stone that cuts not (Bacon).
2. The reflection of mind in mind. (Pro 27:19.) For we are all “like in difference,” and never see so clearly what is in our own spirit as through the manifestation of another’s. As we have not eyes in the back of our head, so is introspection difficultperhaps, strictly speaking, impossible. Self knowledge is the reflection of the features of oilier minds in our own.
II. SPIRITUAL LAWS.
1. Diligent husbandry is rewarded. (Pro 27:18.) Whether we cultivate the tree, the master, the friend, our own soul, this law must ever hold good. Everything in this world of God’s goes by law, not by luck; and what we sow we reap. Trust men, and they will be true to you; treat them justly, and they will show themselves just, though they make an exception in your favour to all their rules of conduct.
2. The quenchless thirst of the spirit. (Pro 27:20.) Who can set a limit to the human desire to know, to do, to be? The real does not satisfy us; we are ever in quest of the ideal or perfect. Evil excesses and extravagances of vicious passion are the reverse of this undying impulse of an infinite nature. God is our true Good; our insatiable curiosities are only to be satisfied by the knowledge of himself.
3. The criterion of character. (Pro 27:21.) According to the scale of that which a man boasts of, is he judged. If he boasts of praise, worthy things, he is recognized as a virtuous and honest man; if he boasts of vain or evil things, he is abhorred. “Show me what a man likes, and I will show you what he is” (this according to what seems the true rendering of this proverb).
4. Folly in grain. (Pro 27:22.) In the East the husk is beaten from the corn by braying in a mortar. But from the fool the husk of folly will not depart. It is possible to despise the lessons of affliction, to harden one’s back against the rod. Mere punishment cannot of itself correct or convert the soul. The will, the conscious spiritual activity, must cooperate with God. A great man speaks of “that worst of afflictionsan affliction lost”J.
Pro 27:23-27
The man diligent in his business
I. ECONOMY AND FORESIGHT. (Pro 27:23-25.) He looks after the outgoings of his farm, well aware that there is in all things constant waste, that even the royal crown is a perishable thing. All knowledge is useful, and prudence applies through the whole scale of our being. Let the man, “if he have hands, handle; if eyes, measure and discriminate; let him accept and hive every fact of chemistry, natural history, and economy; the more he has, the less he is willing to spare any one. Time is always bringing the occasions that disclose their value. Some wisdom comes out of every natural and innocent action.” To preserve and hold together are as necessary as to gain in every kind of riches.
II. THE FRUITS OF INDUSTRY. (Pro 27:26, Pro 27:27.) Joyous is the sight when man’s toil united with the forces of nature, has been blessed with the abundant harvests and the rich flocks. Let a man keep the laws of God, and his way will be strewn with satisfactions. To find out the secret of “working together with God” in all the departments of our life is one of the deepest secrets of satisfaction and blessedness.J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON
Pro 27:1
Man in presence of the future: our greatness and our littleness
It is well to glance at
I. OUR GREATNESS IN REGARD TO THE FUTURE.
1. There need be no bound at all to our hope and aspiration in respect of the future. We are warranted in looking forward to an endless life beyond, to an actual and absolute eternity of blessedness and glory. Whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ has everlasting life.
2. We can and we should prepare for a very long time to come. The legislator should devise his measures, the religious leader or organizer should lay his plans, the architect should make his designs, and the builder provide his materials with a view to the next century as well as to the next decade.
3. We should have regard to the coming years as well as to the passing days; teaching our pupils so that they will not only pass the approaching examination, but be ready for the battle of life; offering and enforcing truths and principles which will not only tide men over tomorrow, but carry them victoriously through all the vicissitudes of their course, and solace and strengthen them in their declining days. But the lesson of the text is
II. OUR LITTLENESS IN REGARD TO THE FUTURE. We do not know what a day may bring forth.
1. How our purposes may be deranged, and all that we are proposing to do may have to be abandoned in favour of some more imperative duty (see Jas 4:13-15).
2. How our prospects may be affected; we may possibly rise from indigence to affluence, but we are much more likely to be suddenly and seriously reduced. Financial calamities are many, but “windfalls” are few.
3. How our circle of friendship may be narrowed, or how soon we may be called on to leave home and kindred.
4. How our hope of health or life may be extinguished. “Between the morning and the evening” (see Job 4:19-21, Revised Version) we may discover that we are afflicted with a disease which will complete its work in a few months at most, or we may be stricken down with a blow which will bring us face to face with death and eternity. With this uncertainty there are three lessons we should learn.
(1) All unqualified and unreserved declarations are unbecoming. If there be no verbal qualification, there should be a mental reservation, a feeling below the surface that all our plans and movements are subject to the will of God.
(2) We should do today’s work before its hours are over. Since we may not be able to do a stroke tomorrow, let us see that every day’s work is well and thoroughly done. We are not responsible for the future, but we are for the present. And not only is it of no use for us to be anxious to do much in the coming years, but it is foolish and unfaithful of us to be concerned about it. Our Master sets us our work, and he gives us our time. All that we should be solicitous about is the diligent and devoted discharge of our duty in his appointed time and way. If he takes the weapon out of our hand here, it will be because he has a better one to give us in a brighter and broader sphere.
(3) We ought to be prepared for any and every event. We should have within us principles that will sustain or preserve us in any trouble or in any elevation that may be awaiting us. We should have our house in such order that, if death should come suddenly to our door, those whom we leave behind us will suffer the least possible affliction, and we ourselves shall Bass to the great inheritance beyond.C.
Pro 27:2, Pro 27:21
The praise of man
How far we should go in praising others, and in what spirit we should accept their praise, is a matter of no small importance in the conduct of life.
I. THE DUTY OF PRAISING OTHERS. “Let another man praise thee” can hardly be said to be imperative so far as he is concerned. But it suggests the propriety of another man speaking in words of commendation. And the duty of praising those who have done well is a much-forgotten and neglected virtue. I. It is the correlative of blame, and if we blame freely (as we do), why should we not freely praise the scholar, the servant, the son or daughter, the workman, etc.?
2. With many hearts, perhaps with moat, a little praise would prove a far more powerful incentive than a large quantity of blame.
3. To praise for doing well is to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and of his apostles; it is to act as the most gracious and the most useful men and women have always acted.
4. It is to do to others as we would they should do to us. We thirst for a measure of approval when we have done our best, and what we crave from others we should give to others.
II. THE WISDOM OF ABSTAINING FROM SELF–PRAISE. The injunction of Solomon appeals to our common sense. Yet is it by no means unrequired. Many men are guilty of the unseemliness and the folly of praising themselvestheir ingenuity, their shrewdness, their persuasiveness, their generosity, etc. Probably if they knew how very little they commend themselves by so doing, how very soon they weary their audience, how often their language becomes positively nauseous, they would abstain. Self-vindication under a false charge is a duty and even a virtue; a very minute modicum of self-commendation may be occasionally allowable; anything beyond this is, at least, a mistake.
III. THE NECESSITY OF TESTING PRAISE. “The ordinary interpretation makes the praise try the man, but the words in the original make the man try the praise“ (Wardlaw). What the fining pot is to silver, that a man should be to his praisehe should carefully and thoroughly test it. For praise is often offered some part of which should be rejected as dross. The simple minded and the unscrupulous will praise us beyond the bounds of our desert, and to drink too much of this intoxicating cup is dangerous and demoralizing to us.
IV. THE PRACTICAL PROOF OF PRAISE. The duties and the difficulties that are before us will be the best possible proof of the sincerity and of the truthfulness of the praise we receive. We shall either be approved as the wise men we are said to be, or we shall be convicted of being less worthy than we are represented to be. Therefore let us be
(1) judicious as well as generous in our praise of others, remembering that they will be thus tested; and let us
(2) be contented with a modest measure of honour, realizing that we have to live up to the esteem in which we are held. But we may learn a valuable lesson from the common (if not the correct) interpretation, and consider
V. THE TEST WHICH PRAISE AFFORDS. We stand blame better than praise; though it is right to recollect that we cannot stand more than a certain measure of blame, and few people are more objectionable or more mischievous than the scold. But much praise is a great peril. It elates and exalts; it “puffs up.” It too often undermines that humility of spirit and dependence on God which are the very root of a strong and beautiful Christian character.
1. Discourage all excess in this direction; it is dangerous.
2. Care more for the approval of an instructed and well-trained conscience.
3. Care most for the commendation of Christ.C.
Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6, Pro 27:9, Pro 27:10, Pro 27:17, Pro 27:19
Four services of friendship
(And see homily on “Friendship,” Pro 13:20.) We have suggested in the nineteenth verse two conditions of friendship:
(1) likeness of character; and
(2) reciprocity in action.
There can be no true friendship where one heart does not answer to another as the face reflected from a mirror answers to that which is before it. Men must be like minded in their principles and sympathies; and they must be sensitive enough to feel with one another and to give back the thoughts which are expressed by one or the other, if their intimacy is to be worthy of the sacred name of friendship. There are four services which this most precious gift of God secures for us.
I. CORRECTION. (Pro 27:5, Pro 27:6.) “Open rebuke is better than hidden love”better than the love which hides from a friend its disappointment or its dissatisfaction with him. The wounds of friendship are faithful. Many are they whose character is seriously defective, and whose usefulness suffers considerable abatement from want of discipline; they are not told of their faults, they are allowed to go on deepening their roots and multiplying their fruits, because no wise and faithful friend is near to say, “Pluck out and prune.” What no authority may dare to speak, love can say without fear and with excellent result.
II. REFRESHMENT. (Pro 27:9.) We who are weary travellers along the path of life often need that which refreshes our spirit and turns languor into energy, gloom into gladness of heart. For that we look to friendship; it is as “ointment and perfume” to the senses. We may be jaded and worn, but the look, the grasp, the words, of our friend reanimate and renew us.
III. CONSOLATIONS. (Pro 27:10.) We may do well to avoid the house of our kindred in the day of our calamity, especially if we have passed it by in the time of our prosperity; if our “brother” has been kept or has kept himself at a distance. But the “neighbour that is near,” the friend that has been “sticking closer than a brother” will not shut the door of his heart against us. He is the “brother who is born for adversity;” he will claim the right of friendship to open his heart, to pour forth his sympathy, to offer his succour, to befriend us in every way in which affection can solace and strength can sustain us.
IV. INCITEMENT. (Pro 27:17.) It is the opportunity and the high privilege of friendship to urge to honourable achievement, to rekindle the lamp of holy aspiration when the light burns low; to sustain Christian devotedness when it is putting forth its strength, by every possible encouragement; to hold up the hands of that consecrated activity which is fearlessly speaking the truth and diligently building up the kingdom of Jesus Christ.C.
Pro 27:7
Superabundance and scarcity
We have here
I. A FAMILIAR FACT OF OUR PHYSICAL NATURE. Those who are well fed become very choice and dainty, while those who “lack bread” are thankful for the coarsest food. There are thousands of the sons and daughters of luxury whose appetite can hardly be tempted; for them cookery has to be developed into one of the fine arts, and nothing is palatable to their exquisite taste but delicacies. Living within five minutes’ walk of their residence, and sometimes smelling the odours that come from their kitchens, are poor, pinched, struggling men and women, who will devour with great delight the first soiled crust that is offered them. There are thousands in our great cities that weigh long and seriously the question what nice beverage they shall drink at their table; and there are to be found those who would gladly quench their thirst in the first foul water they can find. Indulgence makes all things tasteless, while want makes all things sweet to us.
II. A CORRESPONDING TRUTH IN OUR MORAL NATURE.
1. Superabundance tends to selfishness and ingratitude. We are apt to imagine that we have a prescriptive right to that which is continued to us for any time; and as soon as it is withdrawn we murmur and rebel. There are no more thankless, no more querulous hearts to be found anywhere than in the homes of the affluent, than among those who can command all that their hearts desire. They find no pleasure in what they have, and they give God no thanks for it.
2. On the other hand, scarcity is very frequently associated with contentment and piety. When our resources are not so large and full that we do not stop to ask ourselves whence they come, when some solicitude or even anxiety leads us to look prayerfully to the great “Giver of all,” then we recognize the truth that everything we are and everything we have, the cup itself and all that it holds, all our powers and all our possessions, are of God, and our hearts fill with gratitude to our heavenly Father. And thus it is not exceptionally but representatively and commonly true that
“Some murmur when their sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue.
And some with thankful love are filled.
If but one streak of light,
One ray of God’s good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.
“In palaces are hearts that ask,
In discontent and pride,
Why life is such a dreary task,
And all good things denied.
And hearts, in poorest huts, admire
How love has, in their aid
Love that not ever seems to tire
Such rich provision made.”
(Trench.)
III. ITS APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN PRIVILEGE. Here we have:
1. The peril of abundance. We are tempted to become indifferent to that which we can employ and enjoy at any time, and consequently to neglect it.
2. The compensation of scarcity. That which is often out of reach, of which we can only occasionally avail ourselves, we appreciate at its true worth. Hence, while persecuted Christians have been willing to walk many miles to take part in the worship of God, or to give large sums of money for a few pages if Scripture, those who live in the full light of privilege are negligent of the sanctuary and the Word of God. This will apply to prayer, to praise, to Christian work, to Christian fellowship.C.
Pro 27:8
(See homily on Pro 27:23-27.)C.
Pro 27:14
(See homily on Pro 25:20.)C.
Pro 27:18
This reward of faithful service
This is a question which very intimately and importantly concerns us; for
I. SERVICE CONSTITUTES THE GREATER PART OF HUMAN LIFE. We have to consider how large a proportion of our race is formally and regularly engaged in service as the occupation of their life. When we have counted domestic servants, agricultural labourers, and all orders of “workmen;” and when we have included all those who, in the press, or the pulpit, or the legislature, are the avowed and actual servants of the public, we have referred to a very large portion indeed of the whole population. So that “he that waiteth on his master,” though he may (in the literal sense of the, phrase) he continued to a small section, yet actually stands for the majority of mankind. Indeed, we must be occupying a very strange position if we are not of those who are engaged in serving in some form or other.
II. MANY THINGS DEMAND THAT SERVICE SHALL BE FAITHFUL.
1. God is requiring it of us. It is required by him that we who are stewards be found faithful (1Co 4:2; Col 3:22-25).
2. The best and noblest men, whose character and course we admire, were men “faithful in all their house” (see Heb 3:5).
3. We can only retain our self-respect by faithfulness. To do our work slowly or slovenly, in such wise that we should be ashamed to have it inspected by “the master”, in such a manner that it will not stand the test of time, is to undermine all respect for ourselves, is to sink sadly and pitifully, if nut fatally, in our own esteem.
4. Faithfulness has a large and a sure reward. Careful culture of the fig tree is sure to be rewarded with the eating of its fruit in due time. Faithful service is sure to bring its due recompense.
(1) It brings honour. We respect the true and conscientious labourer in our own hearts, and we do not fail to honour him in the estimation of others. Loyal and valuable service commands no small esteem when it has had time to make an impression on the mind.
(2) It brings personal attachment and even affection. Often between those who serve and those who are served there arises a true and deep affection which is very honourable to both, very beautiful in its character, and lasting as long as life.
(3) Due material recompense. This may be delayed, but it comes in time.
(4) Enlargement of capacity. Perhaps the best reward of faithful service is found herein the enlargement of the faculty of service. Do, and you will do better; serve today, and you will serve more skilfully and efficiently tomorrow; put out your one talent in the lowly sphere, and you will soon have two talents (of faculty and aptitude) to put out in a higher one.
“I will ask for no reward.
Except to serve thee still”
and to serve thee better. But if it be said that, after all, human service is sometimes unappreciated and unacknowledged, that the labourer’s hire is withheld and not paid, that the “master” does not render the honour that is due to him who has “waited on” him long and served him wellas it may sometimes be truly saidthen let us retire to the truth that
III. THERE IS ONE SERVICE IN WHICH THERE IS NO DISAPPOINTMENT. We are the servants of Christ. We delight to call him Master (Joh 13:13). We owe him everything, and we offer him the subjection of our will, the trust of our hearts, the service of our lives. He will not disappoint us. He will not forget our work of faith and our labour of love. The slightest service shall “in no wise lose its reward.” He will generously regard what we do for his humble disciples as something rendered to himself. Here we shall possess his loving favour, and there his bountiful recompense.C.
Pro 27:23-27
(and Pro 27:8)
A commendation of diligence
It is likely enough that Solomon, oppressed with the burdens and vexations, with the difficulties and dangers, of the throne, looked longingly toward those pastoral scenes which he here describes. But, keen and shrewd man that he was, he must have known that contentment does not always find a home in the homestead, and that there may be as much disquietude of heart in the fields of the beautiful country as there is in the streets of the crowded city. We look for something more than an ordinary “pastoral” in these verses. We recognize in them a royal commendation of diligence.
I. THERE IS NEED OF DILIGENCE IN EVERY SPHERE. “Be diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” Pastoral prosperity demands the care and the labour of the shepherd or the herdsman, as well as do the transactions of princes and the affairs of state. It will be a poor season and a bad harvest if the farmer is dreaming all day long. It is true that kids and calves and lambs grow up “of themselves,” and that “the earth bringeth forth fruit of itself” (Mar 4:28); but it is also true that without watchful care on the shepherd’s part the flock will be sickly and small, and that without toil and skill on the part of the farmer the hay crop and the wheat crop will be quite disappointing. And so in everything. Whatever the sphere may be, diligence is the invariable condition of success. The man who will not take pains, who does not work and strive, who does not throw his strength and energy into his occupation, will soon find how great is his mistake.
II. DILIGENCE MUST BE CONCENTRATED IF IT IS TO BE REMUNERATIVE. (Pro 27:8.) A man that is everywhere but at home, who is interested in everybody’s business but his own, who can tell his neighbours how to improve their estate while his own is neglected, who has a hand in a hundred activities, may be exceedingly busy and (in his way) diligent; but he is not a “man of business,” and he does not show the diligence which yields a good result. Let a man know “his place” and keep it; and, while selfishness and narrowness of spirit are bad and blameful enough, it is needful for him to give his strength to his own sphere, his forces to his own fields.
III. A WISE DILIGENCE WILL BE WELL REWARDED.
1. It will procure domestic comfort (Pro 27:25-27).
2. It will lead to honour and reputation (Pro 22:29).
3. It will invest with power (Pro 12:24),
4. It will enrich with various kinds of human wealth (Pro 10:4; Pro 13:4; Pro 21:5).
Patient industry is the source of all the good which beautifies and brightens, which adorns and enlarges, human life.
IV. THERE IS A SERIOUS UNCERTAINTY AGAINST WHICH TO PROVIDE. (Pro 27:24.) You may be the son of a king, but the crown sometimes changes hands; dynasties are not immortal. You may have a large treasure at command, but the thief; who wears many guises and comes to us in many forms, may steal it away. Better depend on self-reliance than on such props as these; have the diligent hand at your side, and you will be able to defy the chances and the losses that come in the hour and in the way when we look not for them.
V. THERE IS ONE SPHERE IN WHICH DILIGENCE IS OF INESTIMABLE VALUETHE KEEPING OF OUR OWN HEART. With the most devout and the most sedulous care should we “keep” our spiritual nature, for from it flow the streams of life or death (see homily on Pro 4:23).C.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
b) Against vain self-praise and presumption
Chap. 27
(With an admonition to prudence and frugality in agriculture: Pro 27:23-27)
1Boast not thyself of to-morrow,
for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth.
2Let another praise thee and not thine own mouth,
a stranger and hot thine own lips.
3Stone is heavy and sand weighty;
the fools wrath is heavier than them both.
4Anger is cruel and wrath is outrageous;
but who can stand before jealousy ?
5Better is open rebuke
than secret love.
6Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
7The satisfied soul loatheth a honeycomb;
to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8As a bird that wandereth from her nest
so is a man that wandereth from his home.
9Oil and perfume rejoice the heart,
but the sweetness of a friend is better than ones own counsel.
10Thine own friend and thy fathers friend forsake not;
and into thy brothers house enter not in the day of thy calamity;
better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
11Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may know how to give an answer to him that reproacheth me.
12The prudent man seeth the evil (and) hideth himself;
the simple pass on and are punished.
13Take his garment, for he hath become surety for a stranger,
and on account of a strange woman put him under bonds!
14He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
let it be reckoned a curse to him!
15A continual dropping in a very rainy day
and a contentious woman are alike.
16He that will restrain her restraineth the wind,
and his right hand graspeth after oil.
17Iron sharpeneth iron;
so doth a man sharpen the face of his friend.
18Whosoever watcheth the fig-tree eateth its fruit,
and he that hath regard to his master is honored.
19As in water face (answereth) to face
so the heart of man to man.
20Hell and destruction are never full,
and the eyes of man are not satisfied.
21The fining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
but man according to his glorying.
22Though thou bruise a fool in a mortar
among grain with a pestle,
his folly will not depart from him.
23Thou shalt know well the face of thy sheep;
direct thy mind to thine herds;
24for riches are not forever,
and doth the crown endure forevermore?
25The grass disappeareth, and the tender grass is seen,
and the herbs of the mountains are gathered.
26Lambs (are) for thy clothing
and the price of thy field (is) goats;
27and abundance of goats milk for thy food, for the food of thine house,
and subsistence for thy maidens.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
Pro 27:4. is used here only in the Old Testament.
Pro 27:5. [ is regarded by Btt. ( 1133, 1 and n 3) as the 3d sing. fem. of the verb and not as the fem. of the adj.: the chief evidence being found in the participles following, which, according to Hebrew usage, more naturally follow a unite verb.A.]
Pro 27:9. [ we have one of the examples found in Hebrew in connection with words in wide and frequent me, in which the suffix loses all distinct and specific application; comp. in modern languages Monsicur, Madonna, Mynherr; etc.; therefore ones friend, a friend, and not his friend. Btt., 876, c. is regarded by Gesen., Fuerst, Dderlein, Dathe, etc., as a fem. of used collectively; the meaning in connection with is then, more than fragrant wood Btt. ( 643, ) pronounces all the examples cited in the lexicons for this use of the noun more than doubtful; and, as the exegetical notes show, nearly all commentators give to its ordinary meaning.A.]
Pro 27:10. [ is one of three nouns whose full and original form appears only in the stat. constr.; the Kri therefore points as though the absol. were used , while the Kthibh exhibits the form . See Green, 215, 1, e; Btt. 721, 8; 794, Decl. 4.A.]
Pro 27:11. [ an Intentional, or paragogic Imperf., connected to Imperatives by used as a final conjunction, in order that; Btt., 965, B, c. And let me=that I may.A.]
Pro 27:14., an Infin. abs. used adverbially, as in Jer 25:4; here on account of the pause written with instead of simple .
Pro 27:15. On the question whether is to be accented and explained as a 3d pers. Nithpael, or whether, with Kimchi, Norzi, and the most recent editors and expositors, we should point the form as Milel [with penultimate accent], and accordingly regard it as perhaps a voluntative Hithpael, with the of motion (therefore let us compare,), con-suit Bertheau, Stier and Hitzig on the passage. [Gesen., Rd. (Gesen. Thes., p. 1376, add. p. 114), Fuerst, etc. make the form a Nithpael; Btt. ( 474, 4, a and 1072, ) agrees with Hitzig in making it a simple Niphal with a different transposition of consonants, and argues at length for this view. Fuerst pronounces the form participial, in opposition to nearly all lexicographers and commentators who make it 2d sing. fem. Gessn. and some others, following Chaldee analogies, rendered, are to be feared. RDIGER (ubi supra) and most others render, are esteemed alike, or are alike. Comp. also Ewald, Lehrb. 182, d; Green, 83, c (2)..A.]
Pro 27:16. = , according to an interchange which is common of with . [In clause a we have a singular verb following a plural participle taken distributively as in Pro 22:21; Pro 25:13, etc.A.]
Pro 27:17. is best regarded, as Geier, Bertheau and Stier take it, as an Imperf. apoc. Hiphil from = to sharpen. Ewald, Elster, etc., needlessly take the first in clause a as a Hophal: (comp. the Vulg. exacuitur) and would have only the second recognized as a Voluntative Hiphil (to be pointed or . [Btt]. 1124, b insists that the Masoretic forms can be regarded as nothing but the ordinary adverb together, and that the pointing must be changed to ,, or ,. Green, 140, 1, makes it a simple Kal Imperf. Fuerst regards it as a Niphhal Imperf., no change of vocalization being required, although the more common form would be . Rd. (Thes. Gesen., Ind. pp. 6, 88) regards the form as an apoc. Hiphil. for the more common , used impersonally, one sharpens, men sharpen.A.]
Pro 27:20. The parallel passage Pro 15:11 (see notes on this passage) shows that instead of (or again instead of ) we should read with the Kri , or that we should a least assume a transition of this latter form into the former) in the way of lexical decay (as in for ). [Btt. ( 262, a; 233) notes this as a tendency in proper nouns, aided perhaps in the case before us by the following liquid.A.]
Pro 27:22. [ instead of the more regular , mimetically sharpened in its vocalization at the end of its clause. See Btt., 394, b; 493, 6.A.]
Pro 27:25. [ with Daghesh dirimens or separative, indicating the vocal nature of the Sheva. See, e.g. Green 24, b; 21G, 2, a.A.]
EXEGETICAL
1. Pro 27:1-6. Three pairs of proverbs, directed against self-praise, jealousy and flattery.
Pro 27:1-2. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, i.e., do not throw out with proud assurance high-soaring schemes for the future (Elster); do not boast of future undertakings as if they had already succeeded and were assured.For thou knowest not -what a day -will bring forth; i.e., what a day, whether it be today or to-morrow, will bring in new occurrences, is absolutely unknown to thee. Comp. Jam 4:13-15; also Horace, Od., iv. 7, Proverbs 17 : Quis scit an adjiciant hodiernze crastina summ Tempora Di superi?
[Who knows if they who all our fates control
Will add a morrow to thy brief to-day?
Theo. Martins Translation.]
and Seneca, Thyest. V. Pro 619: Nemo tarn divos habuit faoentes Crastinum ut possit polliceri[No one has had the gods so favorable that he can promise himself a morrow].With Pro 27:2 comp. the German Eigenlob stinkt, and Arabic proverbs like Not as mother says, but as the neighbors say (Fuerst, Perlenschnare, ii. 8), or Lot thy praise come from thy friends and kinsmans mouth, not from thine own (Meidani, p. 467.)
Pro 27:3-4.Stone is heavy and sand weighty, lit., weight of stone and heaviness of the sand. Hitzig fitly remarks with respect to the genitive combinations of this as well as the succeeding verse ( Cruelty of anger, etc.) The genitive relation holding a figure before our eye instead of developing it in a proposition, possesses nevertheless the value of a combination of predicate and subject. [So K., W., etc., while S. and others make the relation directly that of subject and predicate].The fools wrath, i.e., probably not: the vexation and anger occasioned in others by the fool (Cocceius, Schultens, Bertheau, [S.], etc.], but the annoyance and ill-humor experienced by himself, whether it may have originated in envy, or in a chafing against some correction that he has received, etc. Such ill-temper in the fool is a burden, heavier than stone and sand, and that too a burden for himself, but beyond this also for those who must besides suffer under it, whom he makes to feel in common and innocently his ill-will and temper.Anger is cruel arid wrath is outrageous, lit., cruelty of anger and inundation of wrath. With regard to the genitives, compare remarks above on vs. 3, a. For the expression overflowing of wrath or excess, outrageousness of wrath, comp. Isa 30:28; Isa 30:30; Dan 9:27; Dan 11:22. in clause b. often envy, is plainly jealousy, as in Pro 6:34-35, which passage is here to be compared in general.
Pro 27:5-6. Better is open rebuke (open, undisguised censure, honorably expressing its meaning) than secret love, i.e., than love which from false consideration dissembles, and does not name to ones neighbor his faults even where it should do so. Compare the , Eph 4:15, as well as the numerous parallels in classic authors (Plautus, Trinummus, I. 2, 57; Cicero, Ll. 25; Seneca, Epist. 25); and Meidani, 2:64: Love lasts long as the censure lasts, etc.Faithful (lit. true, coming from a true disposition) are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. , from the root , is if this be identical with , largus fuit, as is generally assumed, equivalent to plentiful (comp. ), in which case we must think of kisses liberally bestowed but faithless, or it may be kisses to be lightly esteemed (so Gesen., Umbreit, Bertheau, Stier [Fuerst, S., W.]) And yet it corresponds better with the parallelism, as well as with the exegetical tradition (Vulg., fraudulenta), to derive from an Arabic root , to stumble (, fallere, therefore falsus, false30 Ewald, Elster, etc.), or it may be from = in the sense of to missthus Hitzig,both of which modes of explanation give the idea deceptive, crafty, treacherous. With regard to the meaning compare, therefore, Pro 26:23.
2. Pro 27:7-14. Eight proverbs in praise of contentment, of friendship, prudence, etc.
Pro 27:7. A satisfied soul loatheth honeycomb. The verb literally means tramples, treads under feet, comp. Dan 7:19 : Jdg 5:21.With clause b compare the German proverb Hunger is the best cook; and also Sir 4:2.
Pro 27:8. So is a man that roameth far from his dwelling-place. As the preceding proverb is directed against a want of contentment in the department of food and drink, so is this against weariness of ones own home, against adventurous wandering impulses, and a restless roving without quiet domestic tastes. Comp. Ecclesiast. 29:28, 29; 36:28.
Pro 27:9. With clause a compare Psa 104:15; Psa 133:2 But the sweetness of a friend is better than ones own counsel. The sweetness of the friend is according to Pro 16:21 doubtless sweetness of the lips, the pleasing, agreeable discourse of the friend (lit. of his friend; the suffix stands indefinitely, with reference i.e., to every friend that a man really has; here with especial reference to the possessor of the ). See also the critical notes. The is best taken in the sense of comparison (with Jarchi, Levi, Cocceius, Umbreit, Stier): better than counsel of the soul, i.e., better than ones own counsel, better than that prudence which will help itself and relies purely on its own resources (comp. Pro 28:26). Ewald, Elster (in like manner also Luther, Geier, De Wette [K., N.], etc.,) render: The sweetness of the friend springeth from (faithful) counsel of soul, which is understood as describing the genuineness and the hearty honesty of the friends disposition. Bertheau gives a similar idea, except that he supplies in b from a the predicate with its object: The sweetness of a friend from sincere counsel maketh glad the heart (?); [this is very nearly the conception of the E. V., H., S., M.]. Hitzig following the of the LXX, amends so as to read: but the soul is rent with cares. [See critical notes for still other expositions of the phrase.]
Pro 27:10. Thine own friend and thy fathers friend forsake not. Whether one read with the Kri or with the Kthibh the stat. constr. of the emphatic form [or according to others the primitive formsee critical notes], in any even; together with the friend of the person addressed his fathers friend is also named, but as an identical person with the former, who, for that reason, has a value proportionally greater, and may so much the less be neglected, because he is as it were an heirloom of the family of long tried fidelity and goodness.And into thy brothers house enter not in the day of thy calamity. Hitzig, who explains the three clauses of this verse as originally separate propositions, only afterward forced together, fails to see a logical connection as well between a and b as between b and c. This is in fact in the highest degree arbitrary, for the common aim of the three members: to emphasize the great value of true friendship and its pre-eminence in comparison with a merely external relationship of blood, comes out to view as clearly as possible. The near neighbor is he who keeps himself near as one dispensing counsel and help to the distressed, just as the far off brother is he who, on account of his unloving disposition, keeps at a distance from the same. [Our commentators have in general agreed substantially with this conception of the scope of the verse.A.].
Pro 27:11. Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad, etc. Evidently an admonition of a fatherly teacher of wisdom addressed to his pupil (comp. Pro 1:8 sq.; Pro 22:21; Pro 23:15),perhaps of the same one to whom the wise counsel of the preceding verse in regard to conduct toward friends likewise belonged.That I may know how to give an answer to him that reproacheth me (literally, and so will I then return a word to my reviler ), i.e., in order that I, pointing to thy wise and exemplary conduct, nay be able to stop the mouth of him who reviles me, the responsible teacher. Comp. Psa 119:42; also Pro 127:5; Sir 30:2 sq.
Pro 27:12. In almost literal accordance with Pro 22:3.
Pro 27:13. Almost exactly like Pro 20:16 (comp. notes on this passage.)
Pro 27:14. He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice early in the morning. These words are directed against a friend who is flattering and profuse in compliment, but inwardly insincere; who, by his congratulations, hasty, and offered with boisterous ostentation, brings, instead of a real blessing to his friend, only a curse upon his house, at least in the general judgment of the people. For of them we must think, in clause b as those who are to reckon. For this last verb and its construction, reckoning something to some one, comp. Gen 15:6. [This insincere and untimely praise may be accredited to its giver as no better than a curse in his intention, or more positively it may be regarded as veiling an evil intent, and so threatening an actual curse to him who is its object.A.]
3. Pro 27:15-16. Two maxims concerning a contentious woman.A continual dropping in a very rainy day (according to the Arabic denotes a rain poured as if out of buckets, and so a pouring rain; moreover the word occurs only here), and a contentious woman are alike. Like this, only more concise, is Pro 19:13, b. [The peculiar force of this comparison to one who has been in the rainy season under the flat earthy roofs of Oriental houses, is commented on and illustrated, e.g., in Hacketts Scripture Illustrations, p. 85, and Thomsons Land and Book, I. 453. A.]He that will restrain her restraineth the wind ( literally to shut out, dam up, confine), and his right hand graspeth after oil, i.e., it grasps after something, encounters an object, seeks to retain something that is necessarily continually eluding it. [The idea of hiding her disagreeable and vexatious disposition from the view of others, which is expressed by the E. V., H., W.,. in both clauses, and by N. and M. in the, second, is less appropriate and forcible than that given in the version of our author, K., S., etc.A.]
4. Pro 27:17-22. Six proverbs against haughtiness, selfishness, a greedy eye, self-praise and folly.Iron sharpeneth iron, lit. iron to iron maketh sharp, or according to others, iron is made sharp by iron,see critical notes]. So doth a man sharpen the face of his friend. Whether we render by face, look, or (as Hitzig maintains) by edge, acies ingenii, the men tal keenness, in-either case the meaning is not: One enrages, provokes the other (Stier and in like manner Bertheau), but: One stimulates the other, polishes himself by mutual spiritual contact and friction with his fellow, contributes by such an interchange of ones own peculiarities with those of his fellow to the spiritual development of both (compare especially Elster and Hitzig on the passage). [Conference hath incredible profit in all sciences, observes Trapp. A man by himself, says Muffet, is no man, he is dull, he is very blunt; but if his fellow come and quicken him by his presence, speech, and example, he is so whetted on by this means that he is much more comfortable, skilful, and better than he was when he was alone. So most of our commentators, while Stuart, and Noyes with a qualification, would find the idea of provocation, not as though anger were even indirectly commended, but if men must enter into contest, let the antagonists be worthy of the strife (S.); an exposition far weaker as well as more unnatural than the ordinary one.A.].
Pro 27:18. With the general proposition in a comp. Pro 12:11; Pro 28:19.And he that hath regard to his master is honored. The honor which the master (i.e., any master whatever, and not God especially, the master of all, as Stier holds) confers upon his faithful servant resembles the fruit which the fig tree yields to the proprietor or tenant who carefully cultivates it. To regard one, colere aliquem, as in Psa 31:7; Hos 4:10.
Pro 27:19. As (in) water face (answereth) to face, so the heart of man to man. , an accusative of place: as in water, Ewald, 221. The meaning will be like that of Pro 27:17, somewhat such as this: As the mirror of the water reflects the likeness of ones own face, so ones heart is mirrored in that of his fellow, if one only has courage and penetration enough to look deeply into this (Ewald; comp. Stier and Bertheau). There is contained in this at the same time an admonition to the wise testing and examination both of ones own heart and that of our fellow-men; or, the recommendation of a comprehensive knowledge of men, to be gained by thorough knowledge of ones self. The Vulgate already gives essentially the right idea: Quomodo in aquis resplendent vullus respicientium, sic corda hominum manifesta sunt prudentibus; while several other ancient expositors, whom Elster to some extent follows, find expressed in the passage a relation too exclusively ethical, viz., that of arousing by love a reciprocal love, or that of the practical maxim, Si vis amari, ama [Love if you would be loved].Hitzig thinks that clause a must be the reading instead of : What a mole on the face is to the face, that is mans heart to man, viz., his disfiguring mole, his dark spot, his partie honteuse in the sense of Gen 8:21 (?). [Among our English expositors the mirror and the mirrored object have been somewhat variously understood; some retain while others dismiss the specific idea of reflection that is suggested by clause a. Muffet and Holden, e.g., make a mans own heart the mirror in which he may truly know himself; Wordsw. makes the mirror the hearts of others on whom we act; while the great majority make the reflected object the oneness, especially the moral oneness of human nature, as discoverable from any heart into which we may look (so e.g., Bp. Hall, Trapp, Lawson, Bridges, S. and M.)A.].
Pro 27:20. Hell and destruction are never full [i.e., not the world of the lost, but the world of the dead]. The meaning of clause b as indicated by this parallel in a cannot be doubtful. It relates to the really demoniacal insatiableness of human passion, especially the lust of the eyes; comp. 1Jn 2:16; Jam 3:6; and in particular Pro 30:16; Ecc 1:8.
Pro 27:21. With a compare the literally identical language in Pro 17:3 a.But man according to his glorying, i.e., one is judged according to the standard of that of which he makes his boast (the noun to be taken not in a subjective, but in an objective sense, of the object of ones glorying). If his boast is of praiseworthy things, then he is recognized as a strong, true man, etc.; if he glories in trivial or even of evil things, he is abhorred; comp. above Pro 27:2. Thus Ewald, Bertheau, Hitzig, [K.], while the majority (the LXX, Vulg., Luther, etc., also Umbreit, Stier, Elster, etc.), translate the second clause: so is man for the mouth of his praise, i.e., for the mouth of the one that praises him [testing the nature and worth of the praise that is bestowed]to which the figure in clause a can be made to correspond only by a considerably forced interpretation. [Here again among the English expositors who adopt this general idea, making the praise objective, there is diversity in carrying out the details. Is man the crucible or is he the object tested? N. and W. take the former view, according to which man tests or should test with careful discrimination the praise bestowed upon him; H., S. and M. take the other view, by which the praise is represented as testing him and disclosing his real character in the effects which it produces upon him.A.].
Pro 27:22. Though thou bruise a fool in a mortar among grain (grains of wheat; the word is used only here and in 2Sa 17:19), with a pestle, etc. The meaning of this proverb, which has at least its humorous side, is plain; lack of reason is to such a degree the very substance of the fool, is so intertwined in his inward and outward nature, that one might divide him into atoms without eradicating thereby this fundamental character of his. This idea is not so clearly connected with the preceding verse by its substance as by the similarity of the figures employed in the two (the crucible and the mortar); comp. Hitzig on the passage.
5. Pro 27:23-27. Admonition to a prudent and frugal economy in connection with agricultural possessions.Thou shalt know well (Z. make thyself well acquainted with) the face of thy sheep. The look of the sheep (comp. Gen 30:40), i.e., its condition and thrift.
Pro 27:24. For riches are not foreverviz., the supply of subsistence, on the abundant presence of which the good appearance of the flock depends above all things else.And doth the crown endure forevermore? The question introduced by this interrogative () expresses the idea of a very strong negation, standing as a climax to the preceding: and even the crown, the royal diadem, has no perpetual existence. The seems not to designate the metal of itself that composes the kings crown, but the kingly dignity and authority represented by it; the expression from generation to generation plainly indicates this. Hitzigs rendering is as trivial as it is contrary to the usus loquendi: that means grass, fodder (because it sometimes signifies the hair of the head, and may therefore designate the herbage as a hairlike ornament to the earth!).
Pro 27:25. The grass disappeareth, etc.; a reason for the admonition contained in the preceding verse, that one should be intent upon laying up ample supplies of nourishment for the flocks. The discourse passes over in Pro 27:25-27 to a richly diversified description of the beauty and abundance of rural nature, reminding us of Psa 65:10-13, but in its present connection having this aim,to show how Gods creation liberally rewards the labor bestowed upon it by the active and industrious landlord. Neither this concluding picture, nor the entire passage from Pro 27:23 onward can be interpreted in some allegorical way (with various ancient expositors, Schultens and Stier), and be applied to the conduct of the spiritual, pastoral office of the teacher of wisdom. As the utmost that is admissible this conception may have a place under certain conditions in the practical and homiletic treatment of the passage. [Wordsw. characteristically makes much of the secondary import of these verses.A.].
Pro 27:26. And goats (as) price for the field; i.e., goats of such value that for each one a piece of arable land might be exchanged.
Pro 27:27. Abundance also of goats milk for subsistence for thy maidens. (with which we must repeat from the preceding) and life is here equivalent to substance, nourishment. Female servants, maidens, waiting women, were wanting in no large household among the Hebrews, not even in the royal palace and the temple; comp. 2Sa 4:6; 1Sa 2:22 sq. Here we must naturally think first of shepherdesses, milkmaids, etc.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL, HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL
Modesty, contentment and prudence are the central ideas about which we may group the practical instructions of the section just expounded, if not in all their items at least in large measure. Especially may we throw under these categories what is said of the necessity of avoiding all vain self-praise, and of boasting in an inconsiderate extravagant way neither of our own prosperity nor of our neighbors (Pro 27:1-2; Pro 27:14; Pro 27:21); in like manner that which relates to the duty of moderation in ill temper and jealousy, in sensual enjoyments, in love of restless wandering and of sight-seeing (Pro 27:3-4; Pro 27:7-8; Pro 27:20); and not less, finally, the admonition which recurs in manifold transformations to a general prudence in life, as it should be exhibited in social and business intercourse with others, and in the diligent discharge of the domestic duties of ones calling (Pro 27:11; Pro 27:13; Pro 27:17-19; Pro 27:23-27). If so inclined we might reckon among those commendations of an all-embracing practical wisdom even the warning against the contentiousness of a bad woman (Pro 27:15-16), as well as the encomiums upon a genuine, unfeigned friendship, in Pro 27:5-6; Pro 27:9-10; and in these especially, and above all in the command (Pro 27:10): to regard the love of a true friend more highly than the bonds of relationship of blood,an injunction which reminds us of expressions in the New Testament, such as Mat 10:37; Mat 12:48-50, we might see the very climax, and the main theme of the discourse of wisdom which constitutes this chapter. Over against this counsel, to give to the love of a true friend the preference above all vain passions and selfish interests, we have presented in a significant way the evidence which establishes the sad truth, that the fool is not disposed at any price to let go his selfish, vain, arrogant nature (Pro 27:22), in connection with which fact allusion is made to the natural corruption of human hearts in general and to the necessity for their being given up to the delivering and renewing influences of divine grace (comp. Pro 27:11).
Homily on the chapter as a whole: Godliness with contentment is great gain (1Ti 6:6).Or, boast neither of thy prosperity, nor of thy deeds, nor of any earthly and human advantages whatsoever, but only of the Lord (1Co 1:31).Stcker: Of conceit and vain presumption as a first and main hinderance to the progress of true wisdom (comp. besides comments on chapters 28 and 29).Calwer Handbuch: Of the means of attaining true honor.
Pro 27:1-6. Melanchthon (on verse 1): That which is necessary and first demanded by our duty we must do before all else, conscientiously, and with appeals for divine help, lest in reliance upon our own strength or on foolish hopes we undertake needless and futile things.Starke: He walks the more cautiously who always considers that to-day may be the day of his death (Jam 4:13 sq.; Ecclesiast. 7:40).Comp. the New Years Sermon by Rhr (Sonntagsfeier, 1844, No. 15): The high and weighty import that each year of life has for us.[J. Edwards: Not depending on another day, is a different thing from concluding that we shall not live another day. We ought not to behave ourselves in any respect as though we depended on another day.Arnot: This proverb contains only the negative side of the precept; but it is made hollow for the very purpose of holding the positive promise in its bosom. The Old Testament sweeps away the wide-spread indurated error; the New Testament then deposits its saving truth upon the spot.A. Fuller (on verse 2): A vain man speaks well of himself; and Paul speaks well of himself. The motive in the one case is desire of applause; in the other justice to an injured character, and to the Gospel which suffered in his reproaches.Bp. Hopkins: The tongue is of itself very apt to be lavish when it hath so sweet and pleasing a theme as a mans own praise].Tbingen Bible: Self-praise is a sign of great pride, and must be in the highest degree offensive to the wise man when he has to hear it.Geier. (on verses 3, 4): If even the pious man may easily transgress in his anger, how much more easily the ungodly!Lange (on Pro 27:5-6): He who truly loves his neighbor is bound, when the occasion presents itself, to persuade, admonish and warn him; Psa 141:5; Gal 6:1.Wohlfarth (on Pro 27:5-6; Pro 27:9-10): Moral perfection the highest aim and blessing of true friendship.Von Gerlach: A rebuke before the whole world is better than a love that proves itself by nothing, that only flatters in connection with a neighbors faults.[Lord Bacon: This proverb rebukes the mistaken kindness of friends who do not use the privilege of friendship freely and boldly to admonish their friends as well of their errors as their dangers.]
Pro 27:8 sq. Melancthon (on Pro 27:8): Solomon here warns against our forsaking our lawful calling from weariness; Eph 4:1; 1Co 7:20.Luther (marginal comment on Pro 27:8): Let no assault drive thee from thy calling; hold fast, and God will make thee prosper.Lange: By discontent with ones position and calling one only doubles his need, and sins grossly against Gods holy providence.[Muffet: The wandering person is hated and despised by all; none honoreth his kindred, none regardeth his beauty, none careth for him, and none feareth to hurt him.John Howe (on Pro 27:10): If it be an indecency, and uncomeliness, and a very unfit thing, that is, contrary to the precept of studying whatsoever is lovely, and thinking of those things, to forsake my friend and my fathers friend, how much more horrid must it be to forsake my God and my fathers God!]Starke (on Pro 27:9-10): God is the best of all friends; strive with great care, that thou mayest obtain Gods favor and friendship, and thou mayest never lose them.Von Gerlach: Union of spirit with an old family friend from the father down is to be much preferred to mere relationship of blood.[T. Adams (on Pro 27:12): The fool goes, he runs, he flies; as if God that rides upon the wings of the wind should not overtake him, Haste might be good if the way were good, and good speed added to it, but this is the shortest way out of the way. He need not run fast: the fool may come soon enough to that place from whence he must never return].
Pro 27:14. sq. Luther (marginal comment or Pro 27:14): He who reproves much praises, and he who praises much censures; for they are not believed because they go too far.Tbingen Bible: Too much praised is half censured. Trust not the flatterer who praises thee to excess.[Bp. Hopkins: Let all thy reproofs be given as secretly and privately as throu canst; otherwise thou wilt seem not so much to aim a thy brothers reformation, as at his shame and confusion.Lord Bacon: Moderate praise used with opportunity, and not vulgar, is that which doeth the good.Arnot (on Pro 27:17): One half of the human faculties are framed for maintaining intercourse with men, and one half of the divine law is occupied with rules for regulating it].Melancthon: Let us recognize our weakness, and see that the individual man is ignorant of much, errs and stumbles, and. that God has furnished us men with the power of speech chiefly for this, that one may befriend another with counsel and instruction.Zeltner: The pious should arouse one another, and stimulate to all good works (Heb 10:24), and that too in all circumstances.Geier (on Pro 27:18): Faithful labor and diligence find at length their rich rewardif not from men, at least from God; Heb 6:10.
Pro 27:19 sq. Luther (marginal comment on Pro 27:19): As the outline in water trembles and is uncertain, so also are hearts. The lesson is: Trust not![Bp. Hopkins: In the world we see our own hearts unbowelled; and there we can learn what ourselves are at the cost of other mens sins].Luther (on Pro 27:21): He who loves to hear himself praised is easily deceived: for he proves thereby that he is a reckless man who values his honor above all right.Starke (on Pro 27:21): If thou art praised, let it serve thee as a test, a humiliation, and a profit.Lange (on Pro 27:22): The urging and chastisement of the law makes no one pious, and does not change the heart. The power of the Gospel must change and renew the hard heart.Von Gerlach: No outward cure helps at all where the inward part is obstinately corrupt.
Pro 27:23-27. Starke: Let every one labor diligently in his calling, let him indeed bring everything to counsel, and be thoroughly systematic in his actions.Geier: If it be important carefully to guard and to cherish silly sheep, oh, how much more Christs sheep, the souls which He has redeemed with His precious blood! Act 20:28.Wohlfarth: The husbandmans prosperity (a sermon for a harvest thanksgiving).Von Gerlach: To persevere is as needful as to acquire in every kind of possession.[Lawson: Gods bounty is a great encouragement to our industry].
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
DISCOURSE: 811
A CAUTION AGAINST DEPENDING UPON FUTURE TIME
Pro 27:1. Boast not thyself of to-morrow: for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
THE opinions of men are not less opposite to the mind of God in what relates to practice, than in the most mysterious doctrines of our holy religion. We are told, that the things of the Spirit are esteemed as foolishness by the natural man: and to what an extent they are so, is visible in the commendation universally given to a worldly spirit, and in the contempt poured upon heavenly-mindedness, as though it were the offspring of folly and enthusiasm. But in the judgment of God there is no truer mark of wisdom than to consider earthly things as transient and worthless, and to place ones-self continually as on the brink and precipice of eternity. To this effect Solomon speaks in the passage before us: in discoursing on which, we shall,
I.
Explain the caution here given
It is of great importance to distinguish between providing for to-morrow, and presuming upon to-morrow: the former is necessary for our very existence, since without it, the whole world would be in a state of stagnation: but the acting as if we were certain of another day, is the error against which we are cautioned.
Now we do this,
1.
When our affections are inordinately moved by present things
[If we feel eager desires after any earthly thing, so as to envy the possessors of it, and account the attainment of it necessary to our happiness; or, if we take such delight in what we do possess, as to forget that this world is not our rest, and that infinitely higher joys are prepared for us above; or if we grieve exceedingly on account of some loss we have sustained; we manifest that we have been promising ourselves many days, and even years to come: for, would a person be very solicitous about a vanity that he thought might very probably last but a day? Or would he so congratulate himself on a possession which he apprehended to be of such short continuance? or would he lay so much to heart the loss of any thing which he had expected to enjoy but a little time? We cannot but see that in proportion as he was impressed with a sense of the shortness and uncertainty of time, and its nothingness in comparison of eternity, his affections would be moderated towards every object of time and sense: he would rejoice as though he rejoiced not, and weep as though he wept not, and use every thing as not abusing it.]
2.
When we are but little interested about eternal things
[Every one knows that sin must be repented of; and that, if the guilt of it be imputed to us, we must perish. But this is not all; we must be born again and be made new creatures in Christ Jesus: and though this be not generally understood, every one has an idea that he must become religious before he die, if he would find acceptance with God in the world to come. Now if persons be deferring the great work of religion, whence can that delay arise but from their expectation of some more convenient season, when they shall execute their purposes of reformation and amendment? Or if they commit sin, whence can they be emboldened to do so, but from a secret confidence that they shall live to repent of it; and to rectify what they know to be amiss? Would any man deliberately do what he knows must be undone, or leave undone what he knows he must do in order to his eternal salvation, if he were assured that he had not one day more to live? And would not the probable nearness of death influence him in like manner in proportion as it was felt?]
The whole world standing greatly in need of this caution, we proceed to,
II.
Enforce it
The reason urged by Solomon commends itself immediately to our hearts and consciences:
1.
We know not what shall be on the morrow
[We are to-day perhaps enjoying all that our hearts can wish; our bodies are rigorous, our spirits gay, our friends numerous, our means of gratification greatly diversified, and accessible at all times. To-morrow we may be cast down from our pinnacle of happiness; our honour may be laid in the dust: we may be languishing on a bed of sickness; and deprived of all the comforts of life; and our reverse of fortune may be yet further aggravated by the loss of all our friends. The case of Job, if more recent instances were wanting, would sufficiently shew what may happen to us all [Note: Job 1. See, in spiritual concerns, the case of David. Psa 30:6-7.]. Shall we then be promising ourselves years of happiness in the enjoyment of earthly things, when we consider how unstable they are? Again: to-day we are sinning in expectation that we shall, at some future period, repent. To-morrow possibly we may, like Nebuchadnezzar, be deprived of reason; or, like Pharaoh, be sealed up by God under final impenitence. Now is it not madness to risk the salvation of our souls upon the hope of having every thing that can conduce to our eternal welfare continued to us to the latest period of our lives? Should we not rather set ourselves to redeem the present time, and to work while it is day, lest the night should come wherein no man can work [Note: Eph 5:16. Joh 9:4.]?]
2.
We know not whether we shall even live to see the morrow
[What man is there that has made a covenant with death, and an agreement with the grave so as to be assured he shall live another day? Has he this assurance from within himself, or from those around him, or from God? Not from within himself, since neither youth nor health is any security against the stroke of death: not from others, since physicians, however useful in their place, can afford us no help, when God shall call away our souls: not from God; for though he promised to protract Hezekiahs life for fifteen years, he has not engaged to preserve ours so many minutes. If, with the Rich Man in the Gospel we are saying, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, God may say to us, Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee [Note: Luk 12:19-20.]. Who then, that knows the uncertainty of life, will presume upon its continuance? Let us look at the many thousands who, though but lately they seemed us likely to live as ourselves, are gone into eternity, gone too, before they had prepared to give up their account to God; and surely we shall cry with the Psalmist, Lord, so teach us to number our days, that we may instantly apply our hearts unto wisdom [Note: Psa 90:12.]?]
This subject naturally leads us to address,
1.
The careless
[Is it not sufficient that God has exercised such long-suffering towards you, but will you still continue to provoke him [Note: Jam 4:13-16.]? O be wise, and consider your latter end. To-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts; lest while you are saying, Peace and safety, sudden destruction come upon you [Note: Heb 3:7-8; Heb 3:13. 1Th 5:3.].]
2.
The lukewarm
[Lukewarmness in religion is as odious to God as an utter neglect of it [Note: Rev 3:15-16.]. It is not by a round of formal duties, but a strenuous exertion of all your powers that you are to obtain the prize: for though heaven is the gift of God through Christ, it is bestowed on those only who labour for it [Note: Joh 6:27.]. Whatever then your hand findeth to do, do it with all your might [Note: Ecc 9:10.].]
3.
The zealous
[Endeavour to realize more and more the uncertainty of life, that, like the Apostle, you may die daily. And, as you know not but that on the morrow you may be numbered with the saints in glory, let nothing be deferred till to-morrow, which you can do for God to-day. Thus will death, however sudden, be welcome to you.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
CONTENTS.
The sacred writer in this chapter, is still prosecuting the proverbial method of instruction, and adopting various figures for conveying divine truths.
Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
The man that looks into the situation of men and things respecting human instability, will discover the beauty of this divine precept. Jas 4:13 . Christ hath given an important precept on this very ground. Mat 6:34 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
A Threefold Cord (for the First Sunday of the Year)
Pro 27:1
This is not a commonplace. Nothing in God’s Word is commonplace. Nothing inspired by the Holy Ghost could be commonplace. If you think it is a commonplace sentiment, I can tell you are commonplace. It is the deepest and truest philosophy of life. ‘Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.’ And it is the very best philosophy by which to stimulate us Christians for the beginning of the new year.
First of all, there is the possibility that before the year is done you and I may have passed away. It may be in the sweet hope of the spring when everything is budding forth, or it may be in the brilliant summer-time, or it may be in the sad autumn. I do not know. It is far better that we should not know. While we breathe before God let us be happy men and women. We do not know what a day may bring forth, and it is very much better that we should not. But if we are uncertain about this, we ought to be certain about our God. No uncertainty there. You must know Him. You must know in whom you believe, and trust Him to the uttermost. You must have no uncertainty about God. Your mind must be sure and steadfast made up. You must be able to say, like St. Paul, ‘I am ready when the call comes. I have fought my own fight, I have kept my faith, and I am ready as He was ready’.
It is on the first Sunday of the year that we should look to the rock from which we are hewn and to the pit from which we are digged. We should make our calling and election sure. And having done all we can, let us stand upon our feet, and let the countenance of God shine on our face uncertain about our days, but certain about our God. Look today straight up before the new year and say, ‘O Lord, in Thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded’. And so I want to give you just a Scriptural cord to bind you to your God a threefold cord, for it says a threefold cord cannot be broken.
I. The first part of the cord is this live by faith in the Son of God. You know where it comes from. Paul said, ‘He loved me and gave Himself for me. The life that I live, I live by faith in the Son of God.’ Then you become citizens, not of the moments, not of the hours, not of the days, not of the months, not of the years, not of the centuries, but citizens of Eternity. Live by faith in the Son of God, and the terrors of time will not affect you. Oh, how some men are terrified by the tomorrow! To them tomorrow is a terror; it whips and scourges them, holds them over the crater, and shows them the pit. To-morrow we may be ruined, our character gone. ‘I cannot face it; I know not what it may bring forth.’ What a mystery it is, this future! It is not only that God is a mystery, but you are a mystery, and a mystery to yourself. Live by faith in the Son of God, and then all things are yours things past, things present, and things to come.
II. The second twist in the cord to bind you is this Cast all your care upon God. Some of us hardly like to face the many cares. Civilization, instead of easing the burden of cares, only increases it. Then we have other cares which trouble us the difficulties, for instance, of this war, the difficulties of the Church, the difficulties amongst us. It is all natural. But here is my second point Cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. That is abandonment. The most beautiful thing you can say about death is this abandonment. You know nothing about the state after death, but you give yourself up: ‘Into Thy hands I commend my spirit’. And the most beautiful action of life is abandonment into the hands of God casting all your care upon God. It is the beautiful abandonment of life which is the best preparation for the abandonment of death, because, finding that the everlasting arms are round you, and that your God has not deserted you, it becomes a matter of experience, and you are not afraid to go. That is the way to learn to die.
III. And now another cord to make it strong ‘My times are in Thy hands’. Does God know what will happen to me this next year? Poor dear heart! of course He does. Does He know every little thing that will happen to me this new year? Yes, everything. There is no past or future with God. There is only one thing: the Eternal Now ‘I am’. God can never say of Himself, ‘I was and I shall be’. God is ‘I am’. He is the Eternal Now. When did He begin? From everlasting. When will He end? Everlasting. ‘From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God,’ It is sweet to think that He Who brought me into the world, Whose hands made me, Whose heart redeemed me, settled the time when I should come into the world. I also want Him to settle the time when I go out.
Think of our Lord Himself. How did He speak of the future? Did He say, ‘To-morrow at twelve o’clock?’ No. Great minds use great words. He said, ‘Hereafter’. That throws us forward right beyond temporal things. Sursum corda . Let your hearts go right up from the finite into the infinite Hereafter out of time into Eternity. As the great historian begins his work: ‘In the beginning God ‘ The Lord was never a pessimist. He could say to the people, ‘Hereafter’. It was the same Lord who said to the poor snubbed publican, ‘He is a son of Abraham’; the same Lord who said to the thief, ‘Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise’; and the same Lord who said, ‘Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man coming, and all the holy angels with Him’.
References. XXVII. 1. G. Salmon, Non-Miraculous Christianity, p. 218. F. E. Paget, Helps and Hindrances to the Christian Life, vol. ii. p. 231. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, p. 527. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ii. No. 94. XXVII. 3. A. Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture Esther, Job, Proverbs, etc., p. 279. XXVII. 7. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxi. No. 1227.
The Wandering Bird
Pro 27:8
I. You will note that the whole point of the rebuke lies in the emphasis we put on wandering. It is not the flying, it is the wandering bird that reads us a lesson on our discontent.
To all men come times when we must forward. The Christ-filled life has got its own ambition. The waters of God are not a stagnant pool. But all that earnest pressing forward, seizing new opportunities, taking the cross up all that stands separated as by the poles asunder from the fickle, restless, discontented spirit that is the spirit of the wandering bird.
II. Sometimes, of course, we do not know our place. I mean, we are almost certain this is not our place, and it is only afterwards we find it was. So when our dear Redeemer hung on Calvary, the whole world said, That is no place for God! And it has taken the centuries to teach us that the love of God came to its beauty there. It is not the place that makes the man: it is the man and his heart who make the place.
III. I have two thoughts to give you: ( a ) That as a bird that never wanders from her nest, so Jesus never wandered from His place. Through sun and tempest, through censure and through praise, in youth and manhood, in agony and death, Jesus was true to His redeeming work.
( b ) The true place of our deepest life is God. It is not self we are growing tired of self. It is not the world we can embrace the world; and ever, for the spirit, there is a beyond. It is when the roots of my being run down to the Divine; it is when, beneath all other facts for me, there lies the great fact of a living, moving God; it is when my life is hid with Christ in God, that my wandering spirit is in its proper place.
G. H. Morrison, Flood-Tide, p. 262.
References. XXVII. 10. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xlv. No. 2627. J. H. Hitchens, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxxviii. 1890, p. 108. XXVII. 17. J. Duncan, The Pulpit and the Communion Table, p. 211. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, p. 533. XXVII. 18. J. R. Popham, Sermons, p. 81. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix. No. 1118; see also vol. xlv. No. 2643. XXVIII. 1. W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, p. 537. XXVIII. 13. Ibid. p. 541. XXVIII. 14. Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. lii. No. 2971. C. J. Vaughan, Last Words in the Parish Church of Doncaster, p. 19. XXVIII. 26. H. E. Manning, Sermons, vol. iii. p. 92. XXIX. 1. W. Brooke, Sermons, p. 230. XXIX. 7. J. Guinness Rogers, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xlii. 1892, p. 279.
Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson
The Uncertainty of Tomorrow
Pro 27:1
What is “to-morrow”? Who can define it? Who can be certain as to its contents, or even as to its duration? Days are not counted by the hours that are within them, but by the work to which those hours are consecrated, or by the pain by which they are made memorable, or by the hopes which shine from them as new glories in life. Holy Scripture is very sensitive about our treatment of to-morrow. For example, in this case it is not to be boasted about that is to say, it is not to be pledged or mortgaged to our ambition: it is not to be treated as private property, as if we had a right to dispose of it: it does not in any sense belong to us: therefore we have no rights in it; we have to receive it as a gift and to use it in the spirit of faithful stewardship. There must be no vaunting as to time: we are simply to live according to the will of God, and to take our moments one by one as precious gifts to be used for the glory of the Giver. On the other hand, whilst we are not to boast about to-morrow, Jesus Christ is particularly emphatic in warning us not to be anxious about it. If we may not triumph in the light that is coming, neither are we to permit ourselves to be devoured by a canker in view of the possible obligations and burdens of the coming day. Observe, therefore, how strict are the exclusions: first, boasting is excluded; secondly, anxiety is excluded. We have seen in many instances how men have inflicted pain upon themselves by an unwise use of the time called “to-morrow.” One man said he had much goods laid up for many years; therefore he would take his ease, eat, drink, and be merry; but God said unto him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose things shall those be, which thou hast provided?” We can lay up the goods, but we cannot lay up the years; we can build the barn, but we cannot with certainty build the future; we should therefore understand by what limitations we are bound, and should work within those limitations with all thankfulness and energy.
By “to-morrow” we are not to understand literally the next twenty-four hours; we are rather to understand the future in general, it may be a day, or a week; it may be a year, or ten years. We fix within our own minds periods within which divine providences are to culminate, or within which warnings are to fructify, and because we have made a miscalculation we think that providence itself has been guilty of negligence. “If that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It is impossible to be too careful in defining what we may regard as “delay” on the part of God. We do not understand the word; we presume to be God ourselves when we thus lay bounds to the divine movement: a thousand years are in God’s sight but as yesterday when it is passed, or as a watch in the night. With God there is no time in our sense of the term. Until we rid the mind of the sophism that we can calculate and reckon justly, we shall be continually disappointing ourselves by fixing periods of fruition, and times for realisation of good or of evil. “Watch, therefore: for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Ignorance is as certain as knowledge. To know that we are ignorant may be the beginning of wisdom.
A wonderful part has been played by “to-morrow” in human life. It is not ours, as we have said, and yet we could not do without it; we have never seen it, yet it is necessary to us; but for the future, the past would be a great mockery, as but for the harvest the seedtime would be a period of toil and fretfulness. We may say that posterity has done nothing for us, but we thus speak ignorantly, for it is posterity that operates upon our thought like an inspiration, now stirring it with holy ambition, now chastening it with wise fear, now enriching it with abundant hope. What we are going to be to-morrow! To what triumph we are coming on the third day! We promise ourselves wondrous things in a year, in a century; then we shall see all mystery cleared up, then we shall prove how sagacious have been our foresight and our arrangements in respect of all the necessities of life. Within proper bounds, this action of the future is to be welcomed as an inspiration, but because of its preciousness we must beware lest it become a temptation. Men may put off until to-morrow what they ought to do to-day; then is to-morrow perverted and wasted, being no longer an inspiration, but the refuge of indolence and folly. The true preparation for to-morrow is a wise use of the present. He who prays well to-day shall sing well to-morrow. The only way in which earnest men can provide for to-morrow is by looking well to the immediate duty. Rest assured that if we are faithful to-day we shall not be left without comfort to-morrow. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, and sufficient unto the day is the joy thereof. God has made great promises to faithfulness, and he has not reserved his heaven as the only blessing, the blessing of an undefined and indefinable future; he promises a present heaven of satisfaction, consolation, and blessedness of every quality and degree: even now, night by night, we may hear the sweet voice of approbation saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” There is a sense in which the days are singular; that is to say, they are separate one from another, and within the limits of each is the judgment-seat set up, and men are tried as for good or evil behaviour; in another sense all the days are brought together into one solemn totality, and are treated under the designation of “life,” and upon the whole period of the existence is the divine judgment pronounced. Whether in the one case or in the other, whether in singularised days or in totalised life, the solemn rule holds good that the only way to prepare for the future is to take earnest heed to the present.
If we do not know what a “day” may bring forth, how can we know the universe? We must reason from the little to the great. As a matter of fact, we cannot tell what may happen within the next few moments; we live in the excitement of uncertainty, unless we live in the repose of faith. Such being the case, we may reason upward from the little to the vast, and may wisely say to ourselves, If we cannot tell what a day may bring forth, what do we know of what is hidden in the depths of eternity, in the counsels of the Infinite, in the whole purpose of the living God? Ought we not to be humble, docile, expectant? If we knew to-morrow and the next day, if we could read the volume of the next half-century, if we could with certainty forecast the occurrences of the next hundred years, we might encourage ourselves in the belief that we could comprehend more perfectly the decree and purpose of God, we might presume upon our knowledge, and carry it to a point involving a species of divinity: but we are beaten back at the very first: we cannot see through the next door that is shut upon us; we cannot see beyond the walls of our own retreat: so therefore we are taught humility, whether we will accept the lesson or not; we are bowed down in our frailty, we are made consciously ashamed of our ignorance, and how boastful soever our temper, we are obliged to confess that we cannot tell with certainty what will occur on the morrow.
Out of this lesson should come an instruction larger than itself. The result of this realisation of fact should be the cultivation of a right spirit in regard to time and development, and the whole mystery of futurity. Ours should be a spirit of dependence; we should say, If the Lord will, we will do this or that. We should take nothing into our own hands as if by prescriptive and inalienable right; we should remember that our breath is in our nostrils, that we are as a wind that cometh for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Again and again we should remind ourselves that we all do fade as a leaf, and that we have nothing that we have not received; out of this abasement comes legitimate and final exaltation; without a consciousness of such abasement we see nothing as it really is, our hearts are perverted by ingratitude, and we exclude the light from the whole area and scope of our life. Whilst we are in a state of abasement it by no means follows that we are in a state of despair; on the contrary, we are exhorted to hope continually in God, and to be assured that he who made yesterday his tabernacle will not leave to-morrow like a vacant temple. A right reading of the past will rekindle the lamp of hope. How has God dealt with us? What was his care of us in six troubles? When the night was long, how fared it with us? Did any star gleam through the gloom? Did any whispered song assail us in the darkness? Was any friend raised up to us as if with suddenness? Recalling all the holy past, we will sing of the goodness of the Lord whilst we have our breath, and to-morrow shall be as this day, and more abundant, not because of our wisdom and foresight, but because of the infinite lovingkindness of the Lord. Living in this spirit, the future has no burden for us, no sting, no cloud of judgment. Come with it what may, the Lord himself will bring it with his own hand, and delivered by that hand even the trials shall be blessings, even chastisement shall be for the purification of our souls. To live in this spirit is to escape the solitude and desolation of conscious orphanhood, and to live in the very smile and within the very embrace of God.
Whether we are nominally religious or not, we are confronted by the unknown, the incalculable. Close the Bible, yet we cannot shut out the mystery of to-morrow; renounce all metaphysical religion, yet there is a practical religion which we cannot escape, the religion which comes of superstition, uncertainty, mingled hope and fear, the struggle of various sentiments: all this disennobles our vaunting ambition, and brings us to the lowest levels of humiliation. The proudest man is bound to acknowledge that he is as ignorant as the meanest creature of the secret which to-morrow will reveal. It might be supposed that if we closed the Bible, and abandoned the sanctuary, we should escape all mystery, and should be enabled to enjoy a land all light and all simplicity. Facts are against this false theory. Without a Bible, without a conscious spirituality, without a religious reading of life present and to come, there remain a thousand mysteries, dark, troublous, tormenting, charged with the very spirit of fear, animated by the very spirit of mockery. He who has no religion may have no faith, but he has infinite credulity: he who believes on the living God and regards himself as a little child, created that he might be developed, instructed, and perfected in wisdom and goodness, may have little credulity, but he has living faith; he will hear the word, “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass,” not as an idle sentiment, but as a profound and practical philosophy. The Christian has no “to-morrow” as a fear: he has an everlasting to-morrow as to the hope of growth, progress, and advancement in all capability and faculty for divine service. Woe to the man who has so used his yesterday as to have no hope of to-morrow! Blessed be the man who so uses the present as to divest the future of all terrors!
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
XXIV
OTHER PROVERBS OF SOLOMON AND THE APPENDICES
Pro 25:1-31:31
The title of the section, Pro 25:1-29:27 , is found in Pro 25:1 : “These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.” Perowne says,
This title is interesting as affording a proof that revival of literary activity accompanied the revival of religion and of national prosperity which marked the reign of Hezekiah. Hezekiah himself was a poet of no mean order (Isa 38:9-12 ); and “the men of Hezekiah” were doubtless a body of scribes engaged under the direction of the king in literary labors. But beside this, this brief title is one of those “fragments of history,” which, as Professor Sayce has shown, “have been illuminated by the progress of oriental research,” and “the importance and true significance of which can now be realized for the first time.” This title points, he thinks, to the existence of a royal library in Jerusalem, into which these proverbs, never before edited, were now gathered and “copied out” and similar to the libraries which are now known to have existed in the cities of Babylonia and Assyria. The vassalage of Judah to the king of Assyria in the reign of Ahaz had necessarily led to the introduction of Assyrian culture into Jerusalem. Ahaz himself had led the way. In the court of the palace he had erected a sundial, a copy of the gnomons which had been used for centuries in the civilized kingdoms of the Euphrates and the Tigris. But the erection of the sundial was not the only sign of Assyrian influence. The most striking feature of Assyrian and Babylonian culture was the libraries, where scribes were kept constantly employed, not only in writing and compiling new books, but in copying and re-editing older ones. The “men of Hezekiah” who “copied out” the proverbs of Solomon performed duties exactly similar to the royal scribes in Nineveh.
It would be a profitable exercise to note all the varieties of stanza, and to select a number of the most beautiful proverbs found in this section, and then compare Pro 25:7 with Luk 14:8-10 as an example of the New Testament elaboration of a proverb, but these matters must be left to the Bible student to be worked out for himself. The author recommends an earnest reading and careful study of this wonderful section of the proverbs of Solomon.
The collection of proverbs in Pro 30 is ascribed to a philosopher, or teacher, named Agur, the son of Jakeh, and is addressed by him to Ithiel and Ucal, presumably his scholars or disciples. The name Ithiel occurs again as that of a Benjamite in Neh 11:7 . Ucal as a proper name is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament. Horton says, Whoever Agur was, he had a certain marked individuality; he combined meditation on lofty questions of theology with a sound theory of practical life. He was able to give valuable admonitions about conduct. But his characteristic delight was to group together in quatrains visible illustrations of selected qualities or ideas.
The following is a brief analysis of Pro 30 :
The chapter, which is highly interesting and in some respects unique, on which account it may have been selected out of other similar literature for publication as an Appendix to this book, consists of a Title, or note of authorship (Pro 30:1 ), followed by a prologue, in which in a spirit of deep abasement, which is the spirit of true wisdom, the author confesses his own utter ignorance in view of the great questions which offer themselves for solution. The study of nature makes it clear that there is a God; but who can tell Who and What He is (Pro 30:2-4 )? Only by revelation can He be known; and in that revelation, held sacred from all admixture, man finds Him and is safe (Pro 30:5-6 ). To the God thus found and trusted the writer turns with a two-fold prayer that he may be in himself a real and true man; a prayer that in his earthly lot he may have the happy mean, removed from the temptations which belong to the extremes of poverty and riches (Pro 30:7-9 ). Then, after an isolated proverb of the familiar type (Pro 30:10 ), another peculiarity of this Collection, which may have been a further reason for its being appended to the Book of Proverbs, is introduced. A series of five “numerical proverbs,” or “quatrains,” as they have been called, groups of “four things,” with a single proverb inserted between the second and third groups (Pro 30:17 ), brings the Collection to a close with the exception of one final proverb at the end of the chapter (Pro 30:32-33 ). CAMBRIDGE BIBLE
It is very interesting to note in this chapter Agur’s prayer (Pro 30:7-9 ), the four insatiable things (Pro 30:15-16 ), the four inscrutable things (Pro 30:18-20 ), the four intolerable things (Pro 30:21-23 ), the four wise little things (Pro 30:24-28 ) and the four stately things (Pro 30:29-31 ), all of which have their lessons for us. There are several fine isolated proverbs here (Pro 30:10-11 ; Pro 30:14 ; Pro 30:17 ; Pro 30:32-33 ), each with its own lessons.
Pro 31:1-9 has King Lemuel for its author. This is just another name for Solomon. Taking the chapter as a whole, the following is a good, brief analysis:
1. Salutation (Pro 31:1 )
2. Maternal admonitions (Pro 31:2-9 ).
3. Characteristics of a worthy woman (Pro 31:10-31 ).
From the salutation we learn that King Lemuel was the author of Pro 31:1-9 which is the oracle taught him by his mother. This is a fine example of maternal influence. There can be no finer compliment to a good mother than the effect of her life and teaching finding expression in the conduct and writings of her children.
The maternal admonitions in Pro 31:2-9 are expressions of the desire of a true mother’s heart for her children. The warning here concerning strong drink with its results in the lives of kings and princes might be good advice for kings, princes, governors, and others in high positions today. It will be noted that the admonition here relative to strong drink is immediately connected with the admonition concerning women and it does not require an extensive observation now to see the pertinency of these warnings. These are twin evils and wherever you find one of them you find the other also. It is not to be understood that there is sanction here of strong drink as a beverage, but rather the medicinal use of it as in the case of Paul’s advice to Timothy to take a little wine for the stomach’s sake. It may also be noted here that righteous judgment is unjoined and this, too, is always in danger at the hands of those who indulge in strong drink.
The passage, Pro 31:10-31 , is an acrostic, or alphabetical poem, and a gem of literature. This passage is the picture of a worthy woman. In the Cambridge Bible we have this fine comment:
The picture here drawn of woman in her proper sphere of home, as a wife and a mother and the mistress of a household, stands out in bright relief against the dark sketches of woman degraded by impurity, or marred, by imperfections, which are to be found in earlier chapters of this Book (Pro 2:16-20 ; Pro 5:1-23 ; Pro 5:7 ; Pro 22:14 ; Pro 23:27-28 , and Pro 11:22 ; Pro 19:13 ; Pro 21:19 Corruptio optimi pessima. We have here woman occupying and adorning her rightful place, elevated by anticipation to the high estate to which the Gospel of Christ has restored her. It is an expansion of the earlier proverbs: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord” (Pro 18:22 ). The ideal here set forth for the woman is fine and represents her at her best and most influential business, viz: that of making a home.
QUESTIONS
1. What is the title of the section, Proverbs 25:1-29:28, and of what is it a proof?
2. What are the varieties of stanza found in this section?
3. What kinds of parallelism are found in this passage?
4. Give ten of the most beautiful proverbs found in this section, showing their application.
5. What proverbs in this section are elaborated in a New Testament parable?
6. Who were Agur, Ithiel, and Ucal and what may be remarked especially of Agur?
7. Give a brief analysis of Pro 30 .
8. What is Agur’s prayer?
9. What are the four insatiable things according to Agur?
10. What are the four inscrutable things?
11. What are the four intolerable things?
12. What are the four wise little things?
13. What are the four stately things?
14. Who was King Lemuel?
15. Give a brief analysis of Pro 31 .
16. What do we learn from the salutation?
17. What are the maternal admonitions in Pro 31:2-9 and what do you think of them?
18. What can you say of the passage, Pro 31:10-31 ?
19. According to this passage what is the picture here of a worthy woman?
20. What do you think of the ideal here set forth for the woman?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
Pro 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Ver. 1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. ] That is, Of what thou wilt do hereafter, Exo 13:14 , marg. in quovis tempore postero. See 1Sa 28:19 Jas 4:14 . He a was a wise man, that being invited to a feast on the next morrow, answered, Ex multis annis crastinum non habui, For these many years I have not had a morrow day to promise for any business. But what luxurious fools were those Sybarites, that intending a feast, did use to invite their guests a whole year before! b
For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
a Petrarch, lib. iii. Memorab. ad finem.
b Aelian.
c Nescis quid serus vesper vehat. Hinc Hebraei eventa appellant “filios temporis.”
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Proverbs Chapter 27
The group of counsels before us in chapter 27: 1-6 is levelled at self-confidence, which takes the place of dependence on God, the first principle of the life of faith which the enemy seeks to annul, whether for earth, in Messiah’s kingdom by-and-by, or for heaven as with Christians. Yet we need also to be on guard against folly and ill feeling, and to welcome the plain truth as real kindness.
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knewest not what a day may bring forth.
“Let another praise thee and not thine own mouth, a stranger and not thine own lips.
“A stone [is] heavy and the sand weighty; but a fool’s vexation [is] heavier than them both.
“Wrath [is] cruel, and anger outrageous; but who [is] able to stand before jealousy?
“Open rebuke [is] better than hidden love.
“Faithful [are] a friend’s wounds; but an enemy’s kisses are profuse.” vv. 1-6.
Very vivid is the word in Jas 4:13-16 in its appeal to beware of similar boasting. “Go to now ye that say, To-day and to-morrow we will go into this city and spend a year there, and trade and make gain, yet that know not what [shall be] on the morrow. What [is] your life? For ye are a vapour, appearing for a little while, and then vanishing away; instead of your saying, If the Lord will, and we live, we shall also do this or that. But now ye glory in your boastings: all such glorying is evil.” In these moral matters both the Old Testament and the New bring in the Lord to judge and displace self.
Then again the Old Testament saint knew quite enough of his failure and of his need of sovereign grace to banish high thoughts of himself, and to attribute every right word to God. How inconsistent to sound his own praise! how becoming to be silent as to any good on his part. If a stranger praised him, it was more than he deserved. Here too the New Testament reveals the truth more deeply in Christ for lowliness of mind, esteeming one another as more excellent than ourselves, not as a sentiment but as a living truth of faith.
There is however the other side to try our hearts. We can not, ought not regard “a fool’s vexation” with complacency, but feel its grievous impropriety. “A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty,” little as its particles be. But that, groundless as it is, exceeds both in its dead weight and intolerable unbecomingness.
Nor has one to face before God such frivolous complaints only, but also the cruelty of wrath and the outrageousness of anger; for surely the sun ought not to set on either outburst or reserve in this way. But there is another evil feeling still more unworthy and dangerous: “Who is able to stand before jealousy?” Let us look up for grace to value anything good in another, and the more if conscious that we claim not that particular good ourselves. To allow jealousy in ourselves, or to let others insinuate it, is to give room to the great enemy.
It is the property of real love, to prove its activity; if it abide hidden when called to speak or work according to the heart, it betrays self rather than true affection. Even if there is a faultiness, love is bound to give “open rebuke.” Indifference passes for much in this world, but it is the reverse of love, and cares for self, when it hides to spare danger and yet pretends affection.
A friend’s wounds, on the contrary, are faithful, for God’s will is thus done, even though misunderstood and resented for a while. An enemy betrays himself by the very profuseness of his kisses. God is not in such a display, but too often no more than partisanship in a human cause.
The group before us in verses 7-13 pursues the warning against dangers from our own selves, as well as from without.
“The full soul trampleth on (or, loatheth) a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
“As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so [is] a man that wandereth from his place.
“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so the sweetness of a man’s friend from hearty counsel.
“Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; and go not to thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: better [is] a neighbour near than a brother far off.
“My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
“A prudent [man] seeth the evil [and] hideth himself; the simple pass on [and] suffer for it.
“Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and hold him in pledge [that is surety] for a strange woman.”
Whatever be the means of one who fears God, self-indulgence is unworthy of one who now lives in a scene where we have the poor always with us, and many and sudden reverses to call forth special compassion. What a lesson for the Christian when on the two occasions the Lord fed the multitude miraculously, it was on barley loaves and small fishes. How far from show or appetizing! And the prayer taught the disciples to ask for “sufficient bread.” The full soul is unworthy of His name, and the honeycomb he loathes convicts him of following the Lord of glory afar off. It is happy when one is hungry enough to relish every bitter thing put before us by our God and Father.
When God pronounced Cain a fugitive and a vagabond because he slew his righteous and accepted brother, well for him to have heeded the word of the Lord, but there is no such call for one ordinarily. The family is the place appointed as the rule in the world as it is. Even the bird owns the attraction of her nest. Wandering from either is a picture of wretchedness.
God has constituted the earth and man, that the very desert does not refuse to produce unguent and perfume, which singularly refresh the heart when depressed, not merely there but in lands where abundance reigns. But no less sweet-is the hearty counsel from one’s friend.
Yet more should one make of one’s own friend, of one’s father’s friend also, in a world of forgetfulness. Nevertheless, in the day of one’s calamity, it is unwise to rush for sympathy, even to one’s brother. A neighbour near one is apt to prove better than a brother afar off. Claim irritates; love is free and holy.
When a son walks wisely, what joy to a parent’s heart! It is the best answer to the reproach which watchfulness must expect from such as are lax.
Prudence sees evil beforehand and hides from it; the simple is blind, goes forward and suffers.
None should become surety unless he be prepared to lose; and this, true in case of a man, is still more dangerous for a strange woman.
Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)
Boast not, &c. Compare Jam 4:13-16.
thyself . . . thou. Second person.
thou knowest not. Illustrations: Jonathan (1Sa 23:17. Compare Pro 31:2); Abner (2Sa 3:9, 2Sa 3:10. Compare Pro 3:27); Ben-hadad (1Ki 20:3-31. Compare Pro 27:11); Ahab (1Ki 22:26, 1Ki 22:27, 1Ki 22:34-37); Haman (Est 5:12; Est 7:1, Est 7:10); Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:30, Dan 4:31-33); the rich fool (Luk 12:20).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Chapter 27
Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring foRuth ( Pro 27:1 ).
Very good. This is, of course, the idea is taken up in the New Testament book of James. He said, “Go to now, ye who say, ‘Tomorrow we’ll do this and that and the other.'” He said, “You should rather say, ‘If the Lord wills, tomorrow we will do this, that and the other.’ Because you really don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. It’s all in God’s hands. You don’t even know if you’re going to be here.”
Jesus speaks about the man who said, “What am I going to do? I’m increased with goods. I have need of nothing and all. I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger and so forth that I may hold all of my goods.” And the Lord said unto him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required” ( Luk 12:20 ).
So don’t boast of tomorrow what you’re going to do. “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for you don’t know what the day is going to bring forth.” Also Jesus tells us that we are not to worry about tomorrow, taking anxious thought for tomorrow. What I’m going to eat, what I’m going to drink, what I’m going to wear. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. So don’t be all worried or concerned about tomorrow or don’t boast about tomorrow what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. You don’t know what God has in mind for you.
Next proverb is a very good one.
Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips ( Pro 27:2 ).
Don’t go around praising yourself.
A stone is heavy, the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy? ( Pro 27:3-4 )
Now wrath is cruel enough. Anger is outrageous. But man, someone who’s envious, how, who can stand before him? How totally devastating envy can be.
Open rebuke is better than secret love ( Pro 27:5 ).
And this next one also. So powerful.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of the enemy are deceitful ( Pro 27:6 ).
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
The full soul loatheth a honeycomb ( Pro 27:7 );
You know, if you’re full even something as sweet as honey just is… I’m so full I don’t want anything.
but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: and so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel ( Pro 27:7-9 ).
Oh, how great it is to have a friend who will come in and give you honest counsel. There are many people who ostensibly seek counseling. That is what they are ostensibly seeking. But in reality they are not seeking counsel. They say they are seeking counsel. They come and say, “Oh, I want to talk to a counselor.” Under the guise of desiring to be counseled. But in reality, they don’t want counsel.
Quite often I have people come to me, and they say, “Oh, I need to talk to you.” And I try to explain to them that I have very little time that isn’t taken up with something. You see, in the early church they had problems that rose as the church began to grow. Because the people were bringing their complaints to the apostles and they were saying, “Our widows who are following the Hellenistic culture are being discriminated against by the men who are distributing the church’s welfare program.” And the pressure was to get Peter and John and those guys to come and to stand there as the widows would come in and apportion them out so that the thing would be equal.
And so the elders said, “Hey, let’s appoint men that are filled with the Holy Spirit, men of good report, men who are honest, to oversee this distribution of the church’s welfare in order that we might give ourselves continually to the Word of God and to prayer.” So they appointed godly men, Stephen, Philip and others, to oversee the distribution of the church’s welfare program in order that they might be free to do the things that God had called them to do. That is, of waiting upon the Lord in prayer, in the study of the Word, that they might be able to instruct the whole body of Christ.
Now it is wonderful that here at Calvary Chapel we’ve been able to establish priorities. And in the establishing of the priorities, God really hasn’t called me as a counselor. He hasn’t gifted me as a counselor. I don’t have the patience to be a counselor, nor do I have enough understanding. God has called me to minister the Word. It would be very easy, the pressure is on me to fill up my whole calendar from nine o’clock Monday morning till eight o’clock Friday night solid with counseling appointments one after another. There are that many people who call who need to talk to me. It’s urgent. It’s desperate. So that I would have absolutely no time for my family, no time for the Word of God, no time for prayer, no time for waiting upon the Lord, so that when I stood up in front of you, I’d have nothing to say.
So God has established the various priorities. And people sometimes they’ll come to me, “Oh, I need to talk to you.” Well, we have counselors here at the church. “Oh, well, I talked to them.” Wait a minute. If you talked to them, then why do you want to talk to me? Probably because they didn’t agree with what you wanted to hear, you know. They didn’t say the things you want to hear. So you’re hoping to find someone that’s going to say the thing that you want to hear. Well, that isn’t true counseling. And you’re not really seeking counsel if you’re only seeking confirmation for the dumb things you want to do. You’re not really looking for counsel, you see.
And so many people who ostensibly are seeking counsel are only seeking confirmation in the actions that they have decided upon. They really don’t want real counsel as such. Yet hearty counsel is a wonderful thing. It’s like perfume.
Thine own friend [verse Pro 27:10 ], thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go to thy brother’s house in the day of your calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother that is far off ( Pro 27:10 ).
Now this assumes, of course, that your brother is way down some place and better to just go to a neighbor or to a friend for help than go across to the country to your brother. Neighbor that is near is better than a brother that is far off.
My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproaches me. A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished ( Pro 27:11-12 ).
We had basically the same thing in the twenty-second. But you remember these are proverbs that were gathered together by Hezekiah’s men, and in gathering them they did repeat some that were declared earlier.
Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman ( Pro 27:13 ).
That also was an earlier Pro 20:16 .
He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him ( Pro 27:14 ).
That is the guy that’s still in the sack, man. I don’t want any blessings at five in the morning, you know. “I just called you up to give you a blessing, brother.” Well.
In Bible college we used to have a guy that roomed in the room next to mine. And he won some kind of contest in Los Angeles years ago, a singing contest, and won a scholarship to some voice school to train him for opera. And so he was always using his operatic voice. And he had some peculiar idiosyncrasies beside that. And we used to give him this proverb because he would wake up early and decide to storm heaven with his prayers and just so loud. He was so loud; you can’t believe how loud. This guy did have a voice. I mean, he was loud. And used to always, “Well, bless the Lord.” Just really put the whole thing into it. So. You do that early in the morning and it really doesn’t come across as a blessing. It comes across as a curse.
A continual dropping in a rainy day is like a contentious woman ( Pro 27:15 ).
It could be irritating and annoying, I would imagine.
Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind ( Pro 27:16 ),
That would be the contentious woman.
and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself. Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend ( Pro 27:16-17 ).
We sharpen each other.
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man ( Pro 27:18-19 ).
Like looking into a clear pool of water and seeing your reflection.
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied ( Pro 27:20 ).
Very important proverb. “Hell and destruction never full, the eyes of a man.” If a man is bent towards chasing, bent towards running around, he’ll never be satisfied. His eyes are never satisfied. Always looking for a new conquest. Never satisfied.
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise. And though thou shouldest pound a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him ( Pro 27:21-22 ).
Can’t beat it out of him.
Now the next five are coupled together.
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds: For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens ( Pro 27:23-27 ).
So the idea is diligence in looking over your own welfare, keeping your own flocks and herds. “
Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary
Pro 27:1. Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
Let us never boast of future days and years, or what we mean to do when we come to any age, or what shall be our position when we grow gray. Let us never boast of anything in the future, for we cannot tell what even a day may bring forth.
Pro 27:2. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
For he who praises himself writes himself down a fool in capital letters.
Pro 27:3. A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fools wrath is heavier than them both.
One might endure almost any sort of labour sooner than have to live with one who is perpetually and foolishly angry.
Pro 27:4. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
Envy is a snake in the grass. Christians, beware of envy. You will, perhaps, be tempted to have it in your heart when you see another Christian more useful than you are, or when some Christian brother seems to have more honour than you have. Ah, then! cry to God against it. Never let this venomous reptile be spared for a single moment. The best of men will find envy creeping over them at times; it may be envy of the wicked who are rich. We must seek to overcome that at once. And even envy of the best of men, what is it but covetousness and hatred, and a breach of two commandments? God save us from it!
Pro 27:5. Open rebuke is better than secret love.
That I should love my fellow-man is a good thing; but to have love enough to be able openly to rebuke his faults, is a very high proof of affection, and far better than secret love that is silent when it ought to speak. And yet, how many persons there are who are very angry with you if you give them an open rebuke, and how many there are who are foolish enough to prefer secret love to open rebuke, though they have Solomons wisdom to teach them better! Our Lord Jesus Christ has a secret love to his people, yet he never spares them the open rebuke when he knows that it will be good for them.
Pro 27:6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Beware of the flattering world, believer; beware of the flattering devil, and of the cozening of the flesh. When things go smoothly with you, there may be the greatest danger. Whatever you do in times of storm, keep a good look-out when the sea is calm and the sky is clear.
Pro 27:7. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
The full soul loatheth (even that luscious thing) an honeycomb. No true preaching will go down with him who is full of himself, full of his own importance. Unless there shall be many of the flowers of rhetoric in the discourse, he will not listen to sound doctrine. But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. Happy hunger is it when the soul hungereth and thirsteth after righteousness. Then there are no hyper-critical observations about the ministers delivery, and no carping at words and phrases. It is spiritual food that the soul seeks, and if it can get that, though it may not be to its taste in every respect, there will be a sweetness in it that will make it like a honeycomb.
Pro 27:8-9. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a mans friend by hearty counsel.
The Orientals were wont to smear their faces, and especially their hair with ointment and perfume, and those who came near them were pleased with the scent. When you can get a little conversation, especially upon points that help towards godliness, with those of a like frame of mind with you, when you can have sweet communion and fellowship with the people of God, then it is that your hearts are rejoiced as with ointments and perfumes.
Pro 27:10. Thine own friend, and thy fathers friend, forsake not;
Have but few friends, but stick closely to them. Above all, cleave closely to that Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. If he be thine own Friend, and thy fathers Friend, never forsake HIM. Forsake all the world for him, but let not all the world induce thee to forsake him.
Pro 27:10. Neither go into thy brothers house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.
It is very sad that it should be so; but, sometimes, our nearest relatives are the farthest off, and those who ought to help us the most help us least. Many a man has had kindness shown to him by his neighbour, who was but a stranger, when he has had little or no kindness from his own relatives. But there is one Brother into whose house we may always go. So near of kin he is to us, and so loving of heart, that he never thinketh a hard thought of us; but, the more we ask of him, the more delighted he is with us, and is only grieved with us because we stint ourselves in our prayers.
Pro 27:11. My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.
A good son is his fathers honour. If any say of such-and-such a man that he is a bad man, yet, if his children walk orderly, he can answer the slander without speaking a word. Would a bad man have brought up his children in that way? Would they be walking in the fear of God if he had not walked in that way himself? So the sons of God ought to seek, by their consistency, to keep the name of their Father clear of reproach. The consistency of our conduct should be the best answer to the accusations of the infidel.
Pro 27:12-13. A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished. Take his garment that is surety for a stranger,
He that taketh surety is sure, but he that goeth surety for another, and especially for a stranger, will smart for it, perhaps to the day of his death.
Pro 27:13-14. And take a pledge of him for a strange woman. He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.
There are some men who always use such sweet words; they are so fond of you that they are up early in the morning to give you their praise, and they continue all day pouring out their flattering unction. Such blessings as these are a curse, and the wise man will loathe these parasitical people who will see no faults, or pretend that they do not see any, but will always be extolling mere trifles as though they were the sublimest virtues. A sensible man is not to be overcome by this flattery.
Pro 27:15. A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.
When there is a little leak in the roof, and the rain keeps dropping through, it is very uncomfortable; but it is ten times more comfortable than it is to have to dwell with a contentious woman.
Pro 27:16. Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.
That is to say, if a man put sweet ointment on his hand, the smell of it would soon be perceived; so, if a woman be of a contentious, angry, quarrelsome disposition, her contentiousness will be discovered, there is no hiding it.
Pro 27:17. Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
Hence the usefulness of Christian association, and hence also the evil of sinful company, for one sinner sharpens another to do mischief, just as one saint encourages another to righteousness.
Pro 27:18-19. Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
If I look into water, I see the reflection of my own face, not another mans; and if I look into society, I shall probably see men like-minded with myself. How is it that a drunken man always finds out drunken men? How is it that lascivious men always have a bad opinion of the morality of other people? How is it that hypocrites always think other people hypocrites? Why, because they can see the reflection of their own faces. When a man tells me that there is no love in the Church of God, I know it is because he sees his own face, and knows that there is no love in it. You will generally find that men measure other peoples corn with their own bushels. They are sure to mete out to others according to their own measure; and they thus unconsciously betray themselves.
Pro 27:20-21. Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
Many a man, who can bear adversity, cannot bear prosperity. The worlds censures seldom do a Christian any harm, but it is the breath of applause that often gives us the scarlet fever of pride.
Pro 27:22. Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
No troubles, no afflictions, can of themselves make a fool into a wise man. The sinner remains a sinner, after all providential chastisements, unless sovereign grace interposes.
Pro 27:23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Be not slothful in business; and, above all, let the Christian be diligent to know the state of his own heart.
Pro 27:24-27. For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.
Those who are diligent generally prosper, and they who are diligent in spiritual things shall have all that their souls need. They shall be clothed with the robe of righteousness, they shall be well fed, and shall be satisfied. May the wisdom of these proverbs be given to us in daily life, that we may be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves; but, above all, may heavenly wisdom be given to us in all spiritual things, to the praise of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
Fuente: Spurgeon’s Verse Expositions of the Bible
Pro 27:1
Pro 27:1
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
This is another proverb that receives emphasis in the New Testament (Jas 4:13 ff). See our comment there.
Pro 27:1. Jas 4:13-16 is an elaboration upon this verse: Come now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. But now ye glory in your vauntings: all such glorying is evil. The rich fool in the parable was boasting himself of tomorrow (The ground of certain rich men brought forth plentifully: and he reasoned within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have not where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry Luk 12:16-19) when actually he had no tomorrow (God said unto him, Thou foolish one, this night is thy soul required of thee-Luk 12:20). Pulpit Commentary: He boasts himself of tomorrow who counts upon it presumptuously, settles that he will do this or that, as if his life were in his own power, and he could make sure of time. This is blindness and arrogance.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Verse Pro 27:5. This proverb takes for granted the need for rebuke, and by ‘love that is hidden” is meant a love which fails to rebuke.
Verse Pro 27:14. There is nothing more calculated to arouse suspicion than profuse protestations of friendship.
Verses Pro 27:15-16. These must be read together. The first part suggests the persistence and wearisomeness of a contentious woman; the second part the inability to hinder her.
Verse Pro 27:21. There are three interpretations of this proverb. First, that you may know what a man is by the way he bears praise. Second, that you may know what a man is by the things he praises. Third, that a man who treats praise as the fining pot treats silver and gold purges it of unworthy substance.
Verses Pro 27:23-27. A brief proverbial discourse setting forth the advantages of a simple agricultural life over a life spent in amassing wealth.
Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible
Hearty Counsel
Pro 27:1-22
The keyword in this paragraph is friends, Pro 27:6; Pro 27:9-10; Pro 27:14; Pro 27:17; Pro 19:1-29. Friends, according to the original sense of the Hebrew word, are those who delight in each others companionship. Either they are useful to each other because the one possesses gifts that the other lacks, or they have certain tastes in common.
It is in friendship that we get to know ourselves, as a man sees his face in the mirror of calm water, Pro 27:19. We unfold to each other; our friend elicits traits of which we were hardly aware. Our sympathy and tenderness are drawn forth by our friends troubles, as our laughter flashes out to awaken or to answer his high spirits. We shudder to think what cold and undeveloped beings we should be without the sharpening of friendship, Pro 27:17. How sweet human friendships are! Pro 27:9. Why not find equal confidence and sweetness in the greatest Friend of all? Of course, there is a friendship which is wholly hypocritical and worthless. Such a friendship is marked by loud and ostentatious demonstration. See Pro 27:14. Ponder Christs offer, Joh 15:14-15.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Proverbs 27
Procrastination is a snare that often results in ruin. The first verse of this chapter solemnly warns every reader against this error.
27:1
The present is given man in order that he may plan wisely for the future. To defer until tomorrow what should be attended to today is a sad mistake that has destroyed untold thousands. The old Spanish proverb says, The road of by and by leads to the house of never, while another trite saying reads, The road to hell is paved with good intentions. The English are fond of quoting, Procrastination is the thief of time; and it is likely that every nation has some maxim intended to remind one of the warning of our verse. Yet, how prone we all are to leave for tomorrow matters that should be settled at once!
In nothing is this matter of procrastination more evident than in regard to the great question of the salvation of the soul. Again and again Scripture impresses on men the importance of an immediate settlement of this matter of tremendous consequence. To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord (Heb 3:7-8; 2Co 6:2; Isa 1:18). These are but a few of many such calls to urgent decision.
Yet what is more common than to find people putting off a final settlement, like Festus, until a more convenient season, which in many instances is never found! The uncertainty of health, reason, and of life itself all loudly cry, Boast not thyself of tomorrow.
Pharaoh said tomorrow when he should have said today, and the morrow found his heart as hard as a millstone, beyond the reach of repentance or concern (Exo 8:10).
If the reader is unsaved, let me remind him of five important reasons why he should not delay in coming to Christ.
First-Every day spent in sin is a day lost. The only true life is that which is lived for God. Those who are saved always regret not having turned to the Lord earlier; they find true joy and peace in the path of the just, which shines ever brighter and brighter to the perfect day.
Second-Every day spent in procrastination is adding to the terrible number of things you can never undo. It is often forgotten by the young that even though saved and forgiven at last, the consequences of their sins will never be blotted out. We have an influence on others today for good or ill and a future change of ways may never utterly destroy that influence. Sin leaves its effect on our minds and bodies-an effect that lasts through all time. A father meaning to impress this fact on his son told him to drive a handful of nails part way into a clean, smooth post. With great delight the lad did as he was bidden. Now, my boy, said the father, draw them out. This was soon successfully accomplished. Now take out the holes, was the next command. Why, father, exclaimed the child, that is impossible! So we may think of the forgiveness of our sins as a drawing out of the nails; but, let us never forget that the marks remain. Therefore the wisdom of ceasing at once to do what can never be undone.
Third-It is possible that at any moment conviction of sin may pass away from the troubled soul and that God may cease to speak to you by His Holy Spirit. Many a man or woman has, by long resisting the Holy Ghost, reached a point where, like Pharaoh, the heart refused to respond to further entreaties or warnings. Such people are often said to be gospel-hardened, and the designation is all too correct.
Fourth-Before tomorrow, Death may claim you for his prey. Even as you read these lines, he may be feeling for your heart-strings. David said, There is but a step between me and death (1Sa 20:3); and so it is with any of us. Before tomorrow, sinner, your lips may be silent, your heart be still, your form be cold, and your soul in Hell!
Last of all, you should not forget that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. He may return from Heaven to call all His redeemed away (according to 1Th 4:13-18) before you lay down this book. No event has to transpire, no prophecy to be fulfilled before that great and solemn moment arrives. In such an hour as ye think not (Mat 24:44), the day of grace may be brought to a close, and the days of vengeance begin for all who have rejected, or merely neglected, so great a salvation.
Knowing not what a single day may bring forth, it is surely wise to turn at once to God, admitting your sins and trusting His grace!
27:2
Self-praise always indicates poor nurturing and a lack of realization of proper conduct. If others praise you, go on humbly looking to God to keep you in a spirit of meekness and lowliness; for you know far more about your own failings than any other can. Boasting in your attainments or abilities is obnoxious and opens the door to severe criticism. See the men of Ephraim and Manasseh (Jos 17:14-15).
27:3
A fools wrath is so heavy because of its unreasonableness. He will listen to no explanations and will view with malice and suspicion all attempts to appease him. Better far to leave such a man to himself than to argue with him, for he is incapable of sound judgment. Treat an angry fool as Hezekiah commanded his nobles to act towards Rab-shakeh (Isa 36:21).
27:4
The anger referred to in the previous verse s a brief tempest of the mind, a passing emotion. It is to be dreaded while it lasts; but jealousy is to be feared far more, for it lingers when all outward evidence of it has disappeared. Jealousy is cruel as the grave (Song of Solomon 8:6). See the brothers of Joseph (Genesis 37).
27:5-6
True love will lead me to be faithful to my brother even when his steps are declining from the path of moral virtue. While avoiding a fault-finding spirit, I will seek to recover his soul if he has gone astray. In so doing, I may have to wound him, but such pains are faithful. Reproof in grace is better far than love kept concealed, which forbids my drawing his attention to his faults. An enemy may lavish kisses and tokens of affection at such a time, overlooking the evil and bolstering the wrongdoer up in his unrighteous cause, but they are deceitful evidences of love, like the kiss of Judas. How faithful was Paul to Peter and Barnabas and to the beloved Galatians, dear as all assuredly were to him (Galatians 1 and 2).
27:7
The verse has been paraphrased as follows: The pampered glutton loathes even luxurious food; but he who is really hungry, will eat even indifferent food with a high relish. Hunger stimulates appetite and enjoyment for what would otherwise be despised. To many, the Word of God is one of these bitter things; but when the soul is hungry it becomes sweet as honey. See the little books eaten by Ezekiel and John (Eze 3:1-4; Rev 10:9-10).
27:8
The Lord has given to every man his work, and we may also say to every man his place. But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him (1Co 12:18). He who fills his appointed niche in dependence on the Lord and maintains his proper place will find rich blessing. But as a bird that wanders from its nest exposes itself to danger and suffering, so is it with him who turns away from his sphere.
Looking at it in another way, we may apply the principle to life within the church. God would have all His children gather together in the peerless name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He who wanders from the joy and blessedness of this fellowship because of imagined insults or any other cause is like a homeless bird that has forsaken its nest. See Demas (2Ti 4:10).
27:9-10
In a warm, dry atmosphere and an enervating climate like that of Palestine, it is very soothing and invigorating to be anointed with oil. Sweet and stimulating perfumes are employed to rouse the inactive sensitivities and bring welcome refreshment. Loving, solicitous counsel on the part of a true friend is as refreshing and stimulating to the soul as oil and perfume are to the body. Happy is the man who has a friend to advise him in this way. David found such a friend in Jonathan.
When grief and calamity fall suddenly, it is far better to have a tried friend like this to turn to, than to be dependent on relations, however near, who may lack the heart and affection of a close companion. Time and distance are powerful forces for the weakening of family ties, as many have learned to their sorrow. Each should know that Friend who sticks closer than a brother! See notes on Pro 17:17 and 18:24.
27:11
The obedience and careful behavior of a wise son reflects positively on his solicitous parent. If the child is willful and disobedient the father will be reproached for not properly training his offspring. The admonition is important for us as sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. By walking worthy of Him who hath called us, we will glorify our Savior-God and Father before men. How often do wicked men reproach Him for the follies of His children! Davids sin caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, and therefore the child of Bathsheba had to die (2Sa 12:14).
27:12
This verse is a repetition of Pro 22:3. See previous notes. In this proverb we read a warning to the unsaved. How great must be the concern of the God you are neglecting that He reminds you again of the importance of considering your future and hiding yourself in Christ before judgment comes and it is too late. If you pass carelessly on to your well-deserved doom after this second warning, What wilt thou say when He shall punish thee? (Jer 13:21)
27:13
This too is a repetition of an earlier proverb (20:16). It is not mere chance that caused the friends of Hezekiah to repeat several of Solomons wise sayings in this way. It is rather Gods way of bringing to our attention the importance of the instruction they contain. He who neglects such abundant wisdom is truly guilty and deserves no sympathy when he has to reap as he sowed.
27:14
There is a vein of easily perceived irony in these words. One who declares his affection beneath ones window, with loud tones early in the morning, when the object of his attentions is resting, is utterly obnoxious and his blessing becomes instead a curse. Blatant unsolicited words of praise are always to be dreaded. They generally demonstrate insincerity of heart and a lack of sensitivity that is most repugnant to a quiet, humble person. The Italians say, He who praises you more than he is wont to do, either has deceived you, or is about to do it. See Absalom and the men of Israel (2Sa 15:1-6).
27:15-16
See notes on Pro 21:9,19. No better comment could be written on the first of these verses than Dr. Thompsons description of a Palestine rainstorm. He says: Such rains as we have had thoroughly soak through the flat earthen roofs of these mountain houses, and the water descends in numberless leaks all over the room. This continual dropping-tuk, tuk-all day and all night, is the most annoying thing in the world, unless it be the ceaseless chatter of a contentious woman. He who endeavors to hide the fact that such a disagreeable person shares his home is like one who tries to hide the wind or who seeks to keep people from detecting the fragrance of perfume when his right hand is covered with it. Ahasuerus considered Vashti as having offended in this way when she shamed him before all his nobles by defying his command (Est 1:10-20).
27:17
By friction, one iron instrument is sharpened and polished when rubbed with another; so we may be a help to each other by interesting and profitable exchange of thought. A recluse is always a very one-sided man. He who would be a blessing to others must mingle with them that he may learn to understand their needs and their sorrows. He may gain much wisdom by their superior knowledge or virtues. Among Christians, fellowship one with another is precious indeed and becomes increasingly sweet as the days grow darker. How profitable to Timothy was the association with Paul (2Ti 3:10-11).
27:18
Even as the caretaker of the fig tree would be entitled to enjoy its fruit, so faithfulness in our appointed service has its rewards. Let the Christian remember that his Master is in Heaven, and that he who honors and obeys Him in this the day of His rejection, will be honored when the day of Christ has come. Meantime let him labor on, strong in faith, giving glory to God, and the harvest is sure, as with the hard-working farmer of 2Ti 2:6.
27:19
Of all mirrors, clear water is perhaps the most primitive. As the reflection portrays the face of him who is looking into it, so does one mans heart reflect anothers. There is no difference. Men may seem to differ through hereditary characteristics, education, or the lack of it, environment, or experience; yet the fact remains that all have the same evil corrupt heart which is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. No one has ground for boasting over another. All are sinners needing a Savior.
Therefore, to show a man his sinfulness, I only need to describe in a measure the evil of my own heart; he is likely to think someone has privately informed me as to his faults and I am exposing him publicly! Often men have reasoned this way when some faithful preacher was declaring the terrible sinful nature of every human being!
It is a blessing to remember that since all are sinners alike, a Savior has been provided for all. See the no difference gospel as expounded by the Holy Spirit in Rom 10:5-13.
27:20
This verse helps to seal the truth of the previous one. In this all men are the same. The natural heart will not permit the eyes to be satisfied. There is in man an insatiable capacity likened to Hell. Let man accumulate as he may, he still yearns for more. This is the great lesson of the book of Ecclesiastes. There we find a man with a heart so large that all the world could not fill it. In the Song of Solomon, on the other hand, we have an object so great that the heart cannot hold it; the cry goes up, I am sick of love (Song of Solomon 2:5). It is Christ alone who can meet every craving of the soul and more than satisfy all who find in Him the object of their deepest affections. See Pro 30:15-16.
27:21
There is no hotter crucible to test a man than when he is put through a fire of praise and adulation. To go on while being slandered, clinging to the Lord and counting on Him to clear ones name is comparatively easy, though many weaken in such circumstances. But to humbly pursue the regular course of ones life, undisturbed and unaffected by applause and flattery marks a truly godly man.
Hundreds have thrived spiritually when going through adverse circumstances, but have failed grievously in prosperous times. Gideon becomes a warning to all who are in danger of pride resulting from unmerited praise (Jdg 8:22-27).
27:22
Folly is bound up in the heart of the fool and after long years of willfulness it becomes part of his very being. To beat him as one beats grain in a mortar will not deliver him from his wickedness. In childhood the correction properly administered might have had good effect (22:15). But having permitted his character to develop itself, it is now too late to seek to eradicate the foolishness by corporal punishment. Nor will moral persuasion effect the desired result, for the fool is deaf to all entreaties and cares for nothing but doing his own pleasure. It is a dreadful state to be in. God alone can awaken such a one to a sense of his guilt and his danger and turn him from his folly. See Jer 13:23.
27:23-27
A shepherds faithful service results in suitable provision for himself and those dependent on him. Wealth is fleeting and riches soon pass away. See note on Pro 23:4-5. Therefore the importance of earnest persistent effort and careful adherence to duty. Even a crown does not last forever. Dynasties rise and fall in this world of changes. But he who plods on, conserving his resources and wisely attending to the care of his flocks will have both food and clothing; what more does the wealthiest enjoy?
We also may see in these verses a picture of pastoral care among the sheep and lambs of Christs flock. Christ told Peter to feed His lambs and shepherd His sheep. Wherever He has implanted the pastors heart this will be the result. A loving shepherd will look well to the state of the flock; not, however, with a view to pecuniary profit, nor as lording his position over his flock, but out of pure love for the members of Christ.
Nor will he be without reward. It is sure to come in the end, even though he does not labor for it. When the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away (See 1Pe 5:1-4). In Jacobs defense to Laban we are reminded of what this shepherd service may mean if carried out conscientiously (Gen 31:40).
Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets
Pro 27:17
I. The character of true friendship. It should be simple, manly, unreserved, not weak, or fond, or extravagant, nor yet exacting more than human nature can fairly give. It should be easy, too, and cheerful, careful of little things, having also a sort of dignity which is based on mutual respect. Perhaps the greatest element of friendship is faithfulness.
II. Like the other goods of life, friendship is commonly mixed and imperfect, and liable to be interrupted by changing circumstances or the tempers of men. The memory of a friendship is, like the memory of the dead, not lightly to be spoken of or aspersed.
III. Christian friendship is another aspect of the ideal, though in some respects different. For the spirit of a man’s life may be more or less consciously Christian. That which others regard as the service of man he may recognise to be the service of God; that which others do out of compassion for their fellow-creatures he may also do from the love of Christ. And so of friendship: that also may be more immediately based on religious motives, and may flow out of a religious principle. “They walked together in the house of God;” that is, if I may venture a paraphrase of the words, they served God together in doing good to His creatures. Human friendships constantly require to be purified and raised from earth to heaven.
IV. Some among us have known what it is to lose a friend. Death is a gracious teacher. The thought of a departed friend or child, instead of sinking us in sorrow, may be a guiding light to us, like the thought of Christ to His disciples, bringing many things to our remembrance of which we were ignorant; and if we have hope in God for ourselves, we have hope also for them. We believe that they rest in Him, and that no evil shall touch them.
B. Jowett, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xxi., p. 218.
The particulars in which this similitude lies seem to be the following: (1) sameness of nature, iron with iron; (2) mutual action by the friction of the one piece of iron on the other piece of iron; (3) the result of this application of the two similar substances one to the other-the imparting of a finer polish and a sharper edge. To this is compared the effect of friendly social intercourse: “So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Iron with iron; man with man. Iron with iron; man-in the intercourse, the exchange, and in the mutual friction and operation of mind upon mind-with man: and the result the improvement of both.
I. God made man a social being. This social principle is one of the great gifts of God, for which we ought to be deeply thankful, and which we ought to improve for the great and benevolent ends for which God imparted it. We are designed to live not as so many separate, isolated individuals, but as those who, bound together by the God who made us by the ties of a common nature, a common human intelligence, a common relation to the common Father of all; are to be interested in, and helpful to, one another in the service of God, and in promoting the well-being of one another, of society, and of the human race.
II. Scripture points out besides this common principle which should unite the human race one particular and individual friendship. The benevolence which is due to all may take, and must take, and so should take, in many cases, a particular direction, not lessening our benevolence by the confinement of it, but by giving it a more particular direction, affording opportunity for its being more fully exercised than it can be in the wider sphere.
III. The social, indeed, has its dangers; and these are carefully to be guarded against. Therefore let me add one word: the truly Christian social. God appointed the social for the purpose here stated: for sharpening, not for blunting and dissipating; for the improvement, not for the deterioration, of the mind; for edification, not for destruction.
IV. Let us see from this the importance of well-formed friendship. He whom we admit into our friendship we admit into the formation of our character.
J. Duncan, The Pulpit and Communion Table, p. 211.
These words express what one friend should be to another: a whetstone to give keenness to the edge of his energy. And this use of friendship, valuable under all circumstances and in all undertakings that belong to earth, does not lose its value in the service of Christ. In that service, more than in any other, the conviction of a true heart and thorough sympathy close at hand is the greatest help that any man can have. But it is undeniable that friendship is too often made the stepping-stone to the worst falls.
I. God has mercifully hedged round most sins with many barriers. (1) There is, first, the barrier which while it lasts is so very powerful, and when it has once been broken down can never be set up again: the barrier of ignorance. A friend teaching his friend the way to sin is the most shocking use of friendship that can be imagined; and yet it is not uncommon, not uncommon from mere thoughtlessness-the thoughtlessness of the soul that, having plunged into evil, thinks little of seeing another plunge after him. (2) The second barrier in the way to evil is shame. And if a friend takes away the first, how still more often does he help to take away the second. (3) A third barrier is the affection that we feel for parents, for home, for those natural friends whom God’s providence has given us. And this, too, a friend is better able than any one else to break through. A friend can supply us with another affection near at hand to take the place of that distant affection on which we are turning our backs.
II. It is sometimes, but not often, the duty of a true friend openly to find fault with his friend. And when that duty comes, a servant of Christ must not be so cowardly as to flinch from it. But the occasion is very rare. In most cases all that is wanted is to hold to the right, and you will do more towards holding your friend to the right than by all manner of exhortations. Friendship, and sympathy, and cheerful example might help us more than any teaching in the world to grow up soldiers and servants of Christ, and to fight His battle when we were grown up.
Bishop Temple, Rugby Sermons, 1st series, p. 139.
References: Pro 27:17.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 342. Pro 27:18.-Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xix., No. 1118, and My Sermon Notes: Genesis to Proverbs, p. 195. Pro 27:21-27.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 244. Pro 27:23.-Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. i., p. 242; Spurgeon, Evening by Evening, p. 355. Pro 27:24.-New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses, p. 230. Pro 28:1.-Parker, Pulpit Notes, p. 285; W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 348. Pro 28:1-13.-R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. iii., p. 255. Pro 28:13.-W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 2nd series, p. 353; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 85; R. D. B. Rawnsley, Sermons in Country Churches, 3rd series, p. 270; New Manual of Sunday-school Addresses, p. 38.
Fuente: The Sermon Bible
V. INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN TO SOLOMON
In the three chapters which follow 27-29 we find the change we have noticed before. These proverbs are addressed to a person and the phrases My son and the personal address, thou, thy and thyself, are again used in these chapters. Like the previous sections, so here we find instructions which were given to Solomon.
CHAPTER 27 Instructions and Warnings
The opening proverb warns against procrastination. No one can be sure of what the next day may bring forth.True wisdom is not to trust the future day, for it may never come, nor are we to dwell in the past. While it is today we must live and act and leave nothing undone which can be done today. How true this is of salvation which is offered for today–now is the day of salvation. How many have been lost forever by procrastination, by thinking a more convenient time would come. Well has one said, The thief which cheats us of our days and beggars us of our wealth is the specious thought that tomorrow belongs to us. The illusion is as old as the world, but is today as fresh and powerful as ever. Jam 4:13-17 gives the same lesson. In the second verse we find a warning as to self-praise. Self-praise is one of the worst forms of pride, that pride which another proverb states Pro 16:18-33 goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Open rebuke is better than secret love and faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful Pro 27:5-27. A wise man welcomes open criticism and rebuke, though such rebuke may wound, yet being given by the faithfulness of a friend, it is far better than the deceitful kisses of a flattering enemy. The 14th (Pro 27:14) verse may be linked with these statements. He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse unto him. Insincerity lurks behind such loud, pharisaical protestations of friendship.
A great truth is given in Pro 27:19 : As in water face answereth face, so the heart of man to man. The still pool of water was mans first mirror. Gazing in it the face is reflected. As truly as the face seen in the pool is like the face which the water reflects, so truly does one mans heart reflect the others. Though there may be culture, education and a certain refinement, underneath each human being there is the same corrupt, fallen human nature.
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
Boast: Psa 95:7, Isa 56:12, Luk 12:19, Luk 12:20, 2Co 6:2, Jam 4:13-16
to morrow: Heb. to morrow day
thou: 1Sa 28:19
Reciprocal: Gen 17:23 – circumcised Gen 27:2 – I know not Exo 8:10 – To morrow Lev 8:32 – General Jos 4:10 – hasted Jdg 19:9 – to morrow 1Ki 19:2 – to morrow 1Ki 20:11 – Let not him Est 5:12 – to morrow Job 1:13 – when Psa 119:60 – made Pro 3:28 – General Act 12:4 – intending Heb 3:7 – To day Jam 4:16 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Making the Most of Life
Pro 27:1-27
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
God has given to each of us a life freighted with many privileges and with many opportunities. There is a little verse in the New Testament which reads: “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” We need to know how to redeem every moment, and to make the best of each day, as it is passing by. We have five observations taken from the opening verses of today’s chapter.
1. The brevity of life. Pro 27:1 tells us, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” There are many Scriptures which suggest to us the shortness of life. One Scripture speaks of life as “the grass * * which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven.”
Life may be compared to a passing cloud, which flits across the horizon, above our heads, and then disappears.
Life may again be compared to a dream, or a summer’s day. For a little while it seems full of joy and of gladsome visions, and then we wake up but to find it gone.
Life is like a ship on sea. It starts on its way, when it leaves port, while every day it hastens to its destiny. If life is short, we certainly need to use it as it passes.
2. The uncertainty of life. This is suggested for us in the latter half of our verse. “Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” We can only see one step ahead. No man knoweth what the future may hold. We know neither the sorrow nor the joys, the pains nor the pleasures, around the next shore line. There may be accidents, or diseases or what not. Surely, our vision at best is brief. The whole world sometimes wakes up to find itself suddenly thrust into war. The storm breaks unannounced. The earthquake comes unexpected.
3. Buying up the time. If life is short, we want to occupy while we may. We have no time to waste in idle lounging. When a certain king was dying, he offered the doctor fabulous wealth for a few more days of life. This, the doctor had no power to give. Life seems very precious when it is gone. Some one has pictured “opportunity” as a fleeing man, bald upon the back of his head, and with but a tuft of hair upon his forehead. In other words, you must take opportunity as it appears if you would grasp it.
4. Men who put off their salvation are not wise. We can remember how Felix said, “Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Agrippa afterward said, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Neither the one nor the other, so far as the records go, ever came to Christ.
He who puts off his salvation may never find the time to be saved. The truth is God only calls us one time; and now is that time. It is written, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation”!
5. Christians who delay service. There is another little Scripture which reads, “As thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone.” If we have any word to say, any warning to utter, let us do it now. One day we entered the office of an outstanding lawyer and we saw the three words, “Do It Now,” in a beautiful frame upon his desk. He told us that they were his motto.
When we went to South America there were two words that we heard so frequently. The words were “Ha amanha.” The words translated, are, “There is a tomorrow.” It seemed to us that this was a reminder that they would never do anything today, that they could do tomorrow. They forgot that tomorrow may never come.
I. WOUNDS VS. KISSES (Pro 27:6)
Our verse reads: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
1. The blessings of the rod. The Bible says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son.” Pro 27:5 in our chapter says, “Open rebuke is better than secret love.” When a friend wounds another, he does not do it to destroy. He does it to aid.
We have read of how God did tempt, or test Abraham. However, God’s testings to Abraham, were sent in order that he might mount higher.
The temptations of Satan are given to cast us down, to overwhelm us, and lay us low. The temptings of a friend are always given to lead to something better. We all know that, “whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth.” True love does not fail to see the faults of a friend.
2. The curses of vain praise. Our verse says that “the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Our minds go immediately to Judas and his kiss. His kiss was a kiss of betrayal. Under the guise of affection, he sought to deliver his Lord into the hands of His enemies.
Sometimes young people approach others with fullsome praise, for no other reason than to lead them to their ruin. When Caesar saw Brutus, his trusted and familiar friend, drawing a dagger to slay him, it quite vanquished him.
We need to weigh carefully and wisely the plaudits of this world. It is far better to have one that we love to stand, with his arm around us, and wound our pride; than to have one who despises us, talk glibly but vainly with praise.
The world will put on its best face when it seeks to lead some unsuspecting life into its clutches. The woman of sin, who has no other purpose save the destroying of some youth, will approach him with fair words.
This is the way the Word of God puts it: “Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed him.” A little further we read, “With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.” It is of this that the Spirit warns us when He says in our verse, “The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
II. PLENTY AND PENURY (Pro 27:7)
“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” The words bring before us two phases of life: the one, that of a soul hungry and famishing; the other, of a soul filled with every good thing.
1. The bane of abundance. There are many, of course, who have the idea that money is the root of every blessing. God, however, says that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” Then God adds, “Which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
The difficulty with those who have riches lies in the fact that they expect their riches to satisfy them. However, “He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” More than that, the rich are, somehow, in danger of turning away from the Lord.
The rich young ruler went off rejecting the Son of God, for the simple reason that his heart’s affections were set upon his wealth. The farmer whose barns were overfilled said: “I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; * * eat, drink, and be merry.” Down from the blue, God spoke saying, “Thou fool”!
2. The blessings of hunger. We would hardly go to the empty larder in order to find blessings. We would hardly think that hunger would be a steppingstone to plenty; and yet, so it often is. Did not Jesus say, “Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.”
Here is another expression; “Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.” The Lord also said, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” Again he said, “Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the Kingdom of God.” “Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.”
The Laodicean Church boasted its riches, saying, “I * * have need of nothing.” The Lord said quickly, that they were “miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.” If hunger will drive us unto God, unto His fullness, unto His riches that never fail, then let that hunger come.
III. THE WANDERER (Pro 27:8)
Here is a striking verse: “As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.” There is much in the Bible about the backslider. The Book of Jeremiah particularly emphasizes the one who wanders away from God. The story is given in part as follows: “Thou hast * * scattered thy ways to the strangers, under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith the Lord.”
Thus it was that Jeremiah thundered forth his Lamentation, and wrote, “How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people?” The Prophet says of backsliding Israel, “She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. * * Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper.”
There is nothing sadder than the story of a youth who wanders away from his home. We are all familiar with the Prodigal Son. It was the love of the world that caught him. He went out into the far country to get pleasure but he got pain. He went out to live riotously, and he fed the swine. He went out full, but came back empty.
God pity the wanderer. When David turned aside and went after Bath-sheba, did he rejoice? Nay, for two years his bones waxed old with their roaring all the day. When Peter wandered from the Lord he went out, and wept bitterly.
There is no pleasure when a bird wandereth from her nest, or when a man wandereth from his place. Home is the place of security, and of safety, as well as joy and pleasure.
IV. TRAPS BY THE WAY (Pro 27:12)
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
1. The snares which are set for the downfall of youth. The Bible says “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, * * should shine unto them.”
The trap, or snare which Satan places to catch the youth, are never seen, but lie hidden away under the pleasures of this world, under the deceitfulness of riches, under the praise and the flattery of human lips.
It is written, “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace.” The devil is too wise to set forth the dangers of his pathway. He paints them with rosy hues, and delightful colors. Satan goes about as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He is but deceiving us, for he is, in truth, “a roaring lion, * * seeking whom he may devour.”
The Bible speaks of those “who are taken captive by him at his will.” The man or the woman who allows himself or herself to become ensnared by the devil, is called “simple,” by the wise man. The “prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself.”
Abraham looked afar off. He saw, with the eye of faith, the burning of Sodom. Lot, on the other hand, had a circumscribed vision, and walked into Satan’s snares. He pitched his tent toward Sodom, and there he was soon entrapped.
2. The great deliverance. If any young man, reading these words, finds himself in Satan’s traps, let him lift up his voice unto Jesus Christ. Of Him it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me * * to preach deliverance to the captives, * * to set at liberty them that are bruised.”
V. THE REWARDS OF THE RIGHTEOUS (Pro 27:18)
“Whosoever keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.”
1. An example in farming. The expression, “keepeth the fig tree,” carries with it the idea of faithful husbandry. If you go by the farm of the sluggard, you will find his walls are falling down, his hedges are broken; while the weeds, destroy his planting. No farmer expects to reap a harvest unless he tills the soil. There is, however, not alone the sowing of the seed, and the cultivating of plants.
We can pass from the life of the farmer, to any other sphere. Take for instance, the shepherd. Pro 27:23 says: “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.” We dare not leave everything to take care of itself, We must be faithful. Have you not read, “Seest thou a man diligent in business? he shall stand before kings.” Have you not read that a good soldier should; endure hardness?
2. The example applied to spiritual living. Does not God seem to be using the natural and true laws of harvest, to set forth the spiritual laws of increase and rewards? Christ has said, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
He who took his talent, and wrapped it in a napkin, shall receive nothing of the Lord. The Apostle Paul said, “So run, that ye may obtain.” The incorruptible crown shall be given only to those, who have laid aside every weight; who have kept their bodies under and brought them into subjection.
Let us, from this hour, forget the things behind, and press unto the things which are before. Let us begin now to lay up for ourselves treasures in Heaven.
The Apostle John speaks of some who will be ashamed from before the Lord, at His Coming.
The Apostle Peter urges that we give diligence to add to our faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; and etc. His call for this “adding” is that we may obtain an abundant entrance unto the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul stretched every nerve, as he pressed toward the prize of the up-calling of God in Christ Jesus. Shall we not follow the examples of these early saints? If we would have fruit in abundance in our eternal inheritance, We must “keep our fig tree.”
VI. THE FOLLY OF RICHES (Pro 27:24)
“For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?” Relative to riches we wish to present two lines of thought.
1. The riches which perish. Our key text says very plainly, “Riches are not for ever.” We suppose that most of the readers are familiar with the words of Ecclesiastes. This Book describes everything that a man may have under the sun. It particularly sets forth the vanity of riches under the story of Solomon’s own accumulations. None other was as rich as he. He made great works, he builded houses, he planted vineyards, he made paradises and orchards.
Solomon instituted his own irrigation system. He had servants and maidens in abundance. He had great possessions in every way. He gathered silver and gold, and the peculiar treasures of kings and provinces. Solomon had his own theatricals; his own singers and musicians. These men played on musical instruments of all sorts. The truth is that there was no joy which wealth could afford that was kept from Solomon.
However, when he looked on all that his hands had wrought, he cried, “There is no profit under the sun.” He even said, “I hated all my labour * * because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me.”
The richest man of the world stood viewing all of his wealth, and said, “As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hands.” Do you marvel that our key verse says, “For riches are not for ever; and doth the crown endure to every generation?” Do you marvel that Solomon, who in the Spirit wrote these words, bitterly despaired of his own life? The truth is that everything he had, was left behind.
2. The riches which live forevermore. There is another side to the story of riches, which we wish to present. Jesus Christ told us how we could lay up our treasures in Heaven. In order to do this, of course, we must be able to place them here where they will make friends to receive us into everlasting habitations. Riches kept by the owners thereof, will be kept to their hurt. Riches squandered in riotous living, will bring nothing but sorrow and loss; riches, however, employed in the propagation of the Gospel to the ends of the earth, or, in the caring for of the needy and impoverished, will be riches safeguarded unto the ages of the ages.
He who is rich toward himself may be poor toward God. He who is poor toward himself, and rich toward God, will meet his riches beyond the skies. If we save our life we will lose it; if we lose it for Christ’s sake, we will find it.
VII. HELL’S CAPACITY (Pro 27:20)
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
1. Hell is the end of an ungodly life. We have been speaking thus far about how to make the most of life. We have brought out God’s warning about squandering life, and God’s blessings that protect and seal life.
We slipped beyond the present world, and have discovered the rewards that lay beyond this life for the obedient and faithful. Now we come to the other side, under the expression, “Hell and destruction are never full.”
Does the man who follows after sin and sinful pleasures realize that he is being led, blindfolded, toward the pit of the abyss? Does he realize that he is going after the goddess of pleasure, or of riches straightway, “as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks”?
Does the wicked stop to consider that he is “as a bird hasteneth to the snare, and knowest not that it is for his Hie”? Does he not know that the gaping mouth of hell is open to receive him, and that hell is never full? God has written, “the wicked shall be turned into hell.”
2. Once more we see that hell is the end of a misspent life. A sinner who lives carelessly, thoughtlessly, in his sins, is like a ship driven on a wild and stormy sea rushing on to its destruction. Hell is like a ravenous beast, devouring its prey. It is like the mighty deep swallowing up its victims. Hell is a bottomless abyss.
Even now you can call to mind the story of the two sirens, who, with their beautiful music and enchantments, allured the seamen who passed their way into the meshes of despair. Satan is ever alert, the world is ever awake, the flesh is ever ready to call young men and young women from the paths which lead to God. The broad way and the wide gate always lead to destruction.
AN ILLUSTRATION
Let us who would make the most of life, beware lest we live for self:
Some people find it very hard to see over their own doorstep with the naked eye. The real story of their lives is this:
“I had a little tea party
This afternoon at three
‘Twas very small-
Three guests in all-
Just I, Myself, and Me.
Myself ate up all the sandwiches,
While I drank up the tea.
‘Twas also I who ate the pie
And passed the cake to Me.”
Their interest is pretty much confined to what happens within their own four walls, in their own little town or their own church. Now to be interested in one’s church is a good thing. But one who is interested in his own church only is never able to do very much for that church. He is worth far more to his own local church when his interest extends beyond it, when he has something like the feeling which Jesus had when He looked out over the multitudes and was filled with compassion for them. “The light which shines farthest shines brightest at home” and the man whose heart is filled with interest and sympathy for people at a distance from him has a heart all the more ready to take upon it the burdens of things nearest.-The Continent.
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
Pro 27:1. Boast not thyself of to-morrow Of any good thing which thou purposest to do, or hopest to receive to-morrow or hereafter; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth What may happen in the space of one day to hinder thy designs or expectations. The day is said to bring forth what God, by his almighty power and providence, either causes or suffers to be brought forth or done in it. The wise man, says Melancthon, here teaches us modesty; and prohibits those two great vices, confidence in ourselves, or any thing we have; and rashly undertaking unnecessary things, out of a foolish hope they will succeed according to our desires. Wise and good men will only meddle within the bounds of their calling; and will also depend on God for his blessing; but they will not attempt things without just cause, presuming they can carry them as they please.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 27:2. Let another man praise thee. A man is sometimes compelled to speak of himself. But modesty often prefers speaking in the third person; as St. John, who says, that disciple whom Jesus loved. St. Paul, grievously mauled by the Jews at Corinth, says, I knew a man about fourteen years agosuch an one was caught up into the third heaven. It is a mans works, not his tongue, which memorializes his worth.
Pro 27:5. Open rebuke is better than secret love. For it is secret love brought into action, and seasonably exercised to save us from harm. The wounds of a friend soon heal, but the caresses of an enemy convey a subtle poison to the vitals.
Pro 27:6. The kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Perhaps he had Joabs kiss to Abner in his eye when he wrote this proverb.
Pro 27:7. The full soul loatheth an honeycomb. Here the poor have pleasures which the rich do not often taste. They relish their food when they come from the field; and sleep, shunning the palace and kingly couch, courts a residence in the hovels of the poor. So providence provides happiness for every class of men.
Pro 27:8. As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place. Since the general peace of 1816, England has been overrun with men and women wandering about, which marks a defective state of society. A vagrant, being unknown, has lost his moral and civil obligations of social order. Their own parishes injure others, by driving out the poor in search of bread.
Pro 27:15. A continual dropping, through the thatch on a rainy day, and a scolding wife alike drive the husband from his house. Scolding is a pernicious habit, it betrays the ignorance and naughtiness of the heart, and requires to be vanquished by the most judicious management. But who is sufficient for the task?
Pro 27:17. Iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. When we recognize the face of an old friend, we recollect the endearments of former life; and we want to know all the adventures of interest since we saw him. We anticipate a thousand pleasures we shall yet enjoy in his company. How much more so in religious society where friends are more pure, and where the hopes are immortal; and how much more so in heaven where we meet to part no more, and where we shall see the Lord with open face, who loved us, even unto death? Horace says,**** Ergo fungar vice cotis, acutum reddere qu ferrum valet, exsors ipsa secandi. Ars Poet. 5:304. Whether you cut yourself or not, sharpen and make me cut, then I shall hope to return the favour.
Pro 27:23. Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks. Servants do their duty better, when the master performs his.
Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 27:1-22. A collection of aphorisms on various subjects.
Pro 27:3. cf. Sir 22:14 f. The comparison suggests that vexation is out of place. It is the fool that is a bore, not his anger.
Pro 27:4 a Lit. ruthlessness of wrath, torrent of anger, or wrath is ruthlessness, anger a torrent.
Pro 27:6. profuse: a doubtful translation of an obscure Heb. word, although Mat 26:49 (viz. the force of in ) is quoted in support. AV deceitful depends upon an emendation following the Lat.
Pro 27:8. Cheyne finds a reference to the Exile. Toy allows only a general reference to home-sickness.
Pro 27:9 b. The Heb. is untranslatable. It may be a scribal corruption of Pro 27:7 b. The LXX reads but the soul is rent by misfortunes, which yields a better sense than Toy grants, if Pro 27:9 a be taken as a description of the pleasures of prosperity.
Pro 27:10. Three unconnected lines. It is impossible to restore the original form.
Pro 27:12. cf. Pro 22:3.
Pro 27:13. cf. Pro 20:16.
Pro 27:14. Probably an ironical reference to fulsome public flattery as more injurious than beneficial to its object.
Pro 27:15. cf. Pro 19:13.
Pro 27:16. Corrupt. RV connects it with the preceding couplet. The force of Pro 27:16 b is that the woman of Pro 27:15 is as difficult to restrain as slippery oil. This is the traditional Jewish exegesis. The LXX disconnects it from Pro 27:15, and renders The north wind is a bitter wind, but by its name is called well-omened.
Pro 27:19 a. The lit. rendering, As water face to face, gives no sense. LXX has As faces do not resemble faces, so do not the minds of men. Probably we should read, As face to face, so mind to mindi.e. possibly an Oriental equivalent of quot homines tot sententi.
Pro 27:20. cf. Pro 15:11.
Pro 27:23-27. A short poem of five couplets dealing with the value of cattle to the farmer; cf. a somewhat similar fragment of agricultural wisdom in Isa 28:23-29.
Pro 27:25. cf. Amo 7:1 f. The stages indicated are: (a) the regular hay harvest (in Amos appropriated for taxation), (b) the after growth, (c) the produce of the mountain pastures, which was also stored by the careful farmer.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
HERE THE SUBJECT matter is completely changed. No longer is the outside opposition of the enemy found, but any dangers now considered are those arising from the state of our own hearts. This third section therefore is that of the sanctuary, though the language here may veil this somewhat; yet it is the inner state of the soul with its proper refuge in the presence of God that is here indicated. This is plainly the Leviticus section, where the holiness of God’s presence leads to honest, real self-judgment and rejoicing in that which is good.
“Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
How common is this spirit of procrastination! We so easily neglect what ought to be done now, assuring ourselves (or others) that we shall do it without fail in the future. But tomorrow comes and goes, and it is still undone. The honest energy of faith is needed to strike sharply at this lax indolence, to put us on our feet; to have done now what ought to be done. Only the present is ours: the future we know nothing about: let us act while we have the time.
Certainly we know this is of supreme importance in regard to the salvation of the soul. The child puts it off: as a young man he puts it off: in the middle age the same: in old age he is hardened beyond concern, in great numbers of cases. But if we neglect but one day, how can we know what may transpire to render our case hopeless? What of the Lord’s coming; or death; or the possibility of incurable illness which could leave the mind unable to make such decisions? This then is a case where one must take himself firmly in hand, and at least rule in the sanctuary of his own heart.
“Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”
This verse has close connection with the first, both of which deal with the matter of a man’s proper self-control. These two verses form the first section of the chapter, and may be characterized as integrity or singleness of heart. A single heart does not exalt self, but the Lord. Even gross unbelievers are contemptuous of a braggart. Let us not trust ourselves to talk about our own accomplishments: they are certainly no more than we ought to have done. If they are worth advertising, usually there will be someone else to do it; but at any rate, the believer is to live as under the eye of God, not as answerable to men. If the charred wick of the lamp is not trimmed, its once-bright light will become dim and smoky.
But the second section (verses 3 to 6) speaks of conflict and of help.
“A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both.”
The child of God must expect such opposition, but it cannot but weigh upon him, as did the oppression of Egypt upon Israel. Notice that here it is the effect of a fool’s wrath upon others that is considered. By means of this a believer may find out what his real, inward state is. Persecution will bring out what is actually in us. Like the stone or the sand, is it just too heavy to bear? Or do we find the strength of God sufficient to enable us to bear it?
But verse 4 goes yet a little further:
“Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous: but who is able to stand before envy?”
It is fully admitted that wrath is cruel. and anger outrageous, though this gives no excuse for retaliation in the same spirit: in such a case we should lower ourselves to the same sinful level. We ought to be able to stand in the face of this. But who does not know that envy is a greater aggravation? Who is able to stand before it? Who can restrain himself at such a time from impatience and self-righteous indignation? But let us observe that it is not said that no one can stand: rather it is posed as a question. Certainly one who is in real communion with the Lord will not he caught by this subtle attack of the enemy; but mere confidence in the flesh will always be defeated. Envy will assume countless forms of opposition. more underhand than wrath and anger, and so persistent as to weary its victims. Therefore, only constant communion with God will protect us.
“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
When wrong is present, wisdom will seek to bring the help that meets the wrong. Secret love may wink at the evil, but this is not the true love of God: it is no help to the guilty party. Candid open rebuke in a spirit of kindness, not of mere censure, is both honesty and goodness. It may wound to some degree, even when done in a lowly, friendly way, but even the offender should recognize faithfulness in this, and if he rightly takes it to heart, his wounds will heal well. Moreover, it may lead him to love the wise reprover. Again, this kind of work, to be rightly done, requires true self-judgment and communion with God.
The third section of the chapter (verses 7 to 12) is that of sanctification, and it will be seen that motivating influences are most prominent here.
“The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”
Naturally, this is so evident and elementary an observation, that it should direct us to expect a far more important spiritual significance. Reprovingly, the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians, “Now ye are full, now ye are rich” (1Co 4:8). They were satiated with earthly advantages, pride, self-complacency. It is the very spirit of Laodicea – “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing” (Rev 3:17). No longing of the heart for an absent Lord and Master, but such a feeding upon the trash of this world that the precious, sweet ministry of the Spirit of God is loathed. But, “blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled” (Mat 5:6). This is the true character of the Child of God in a barren world. And when it is so, “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness” ( Psa 107:9).
Moreover, “every bitter thing is sweet.” Is it not true that when the soul hungers and thirsts after God, then even the bitter trials and experiences of the wilderness are turned into sweetness? Wonderful indeed are the ways of God. The very judgments of God, bitter to the belly, yet because fulfilling the truth of prophecy, are sweet to the taste of the man of God (Rev 10:8-10).
“As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.”
The hungry soul will not be a wanderer from God’s place for him, for he thirsts for the Living God with a singleness of heart that will not turn aside after other interests. But wandering feet follow a wandering heart. If we depend on material reasoning, we may think that farther fields look greener, and thus by following our own thoughts may easily wander as a bird from the explicit truth of the Word of God, which sets every believer in the body of Christ, as He pleases. How much better to know His mind, and firmly stand where He has set us! This is a true “sanctuary of strength.”
“Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: and the sweetness of one’s friend is the fruit of hearty counsel” (New Trans.).
We are so created that fragrant odors have a peculiarly pleasing effect upon us, and this is certainly intended to teach us that the Creator Himself takes delight in that which is spiritually fragrant. Ointment is plainly symbolic of the worship of the heart, as Mary’s anointing of the feet of the Lord Jesus shows (Joh 12:3). Moses was commanded to make an ointment of precise amounts of various ingredients. It was not to be poured upon man’s flesh, nor was it to be imitated in any way (Exo 30:22-33 ). Its use was for the anointing of the priests and the vessels of the tabernacle, that sphere in which was expressed the worship of Jehovah alone. This is followed by instructions as to the making of perfume, and this too was entirely for God: it was not to be imitated. God can neither share His glory with man, nor can He allow anything similar to worship to be accorded to any creature (Exo 30:34-38). The spices whether in the ointment or the perfume speak of the many fragrances of the Person of Christ, delightful to the heart of God. The oil added for the ointment speaks of the living operation of the Spirit of God. In our verse then, worship is the subject of the first part. Is this not followed by communion? “The sweetness of one’s friend is the fruit of hearty counsel.” Candid whole-hearted taking counsel together will have effects that are sweet. How deeply true in reference to communion with God, and true also where there is honest, hearty confidence among the saints of God.
“Thine own friend, and thy father’s friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother’s house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.”
True friendship does not change. Personal feelings will often ruin a friendship when such feelings are allowed to dominate. But let us not be guilty of forsaking a friend if he should leave, at least let us not cause a separation. How precious a character is constancy, fidelity, faithfulness! In this case, while a brother spoken of here is of course a natural relative, the “friend” speaks not of natural relationship, but of another relationship willingly assumed, and therefore applicable to spiritual fellowship. Shall we dare to forsake saints whose fellowship God has given us, just because of personal feelings, irritations, jealousies? – or merely because we desire easier circumstances or more congenial fellowship? But unwavering stability will require proper self-judgment and exercise of soul: it is not natural nor mechanical.
Moreover, if calamity should befall us, wisdom does not look for comfort from a mere natural relative, “a brother far off.” we all know the tendency for families to draw apart, so that in time any proper understanding between brothers is lost. This painful fact is how strong a witness that merely natural relationships are not stable, nor lasting. “A neighbor that is near
” is better, – that is, of course, when one has the proper character of a neighbor. Compare Luk 10:36-37. Certainly this is intended to teach us the nearer relationship of those who are born of God, whose comfort, help, encouragement is on a basis of faith and of true understanding; just as the Lord Jesus acknowledged no relationship but that of “these which hear the Word of God, and do it” (Luk 8:21). Of course, if a brother is also a “brother in the Lord,” this makes all the difference.
“My son,be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.”
The child of God surely hears a higher voice than that of his natural parent in this admonition; and if, naturally, the conduct of the child reflects upon the parent, who feels it according to its character, how evidently so for the child of God and his Father in Glory! John could say, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth” (3Jn 1:4). Paul urges Timothy, “Thou therefore my child, he strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2Ti 2:1). If men dare to reproach God, as indeed they do, taking advantage of every failure of His children, to do so; how good if a wise, consistent walk on our part, is a clear answer to such charges!
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
The wisdom of true sanctification is apparent here; but it is the Word of God that is able to make wise (2Ti 3:16). It warns the sinner of impending judgment, and if he is wise he will take refuge in the blessed shelter of Divine grace, the atoning death of the Lord Jesus, the only shelter from the wrath of God against sin. And as to the dangers of the Christian path, the snares of Satan, threats against personal faith and godliness, cunning attacks upon the truth of the Church of God, the child of God ought not to be ignorant, but by acquaintance with Scripture should foresee the grave dangers that threaten him and take refuge in the truth provided of God.
“The simple” here are those unaware because ignorant, and punishment is the result of this ignorance. For it is our fault if we neglect the Word of God, which would enlighten us. Ignorance is no excuse when God has given us His Word, and we have ignored it. Have we no heart to listen when our God and Father speaks? If so, we can only expect to reap the results of not listening.
Now verses 13 to 16 form the fourth section, dealing with testing in a strange and contentious world.
“Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.”
If we are deceived by a stranger, we must be prepared to bear the responsibility for being deceived. If one is willing to be surety for a stranger, then we are told here that we ought to be sure that he bears the consequences if the stranger proves unreliable. He who gives a letter of commendation must be held fully responsible for it.
The garment speaks of the character or reputation of the individual, and hence in commending another I must be prepared to involve my own reputation in so doing. And lest it should be thought we should be more lenient where a woman, the weaker vessel, is concerned, we are just as strongly warned as to “a strange woman.” She may be as false and deceitful as any man and first appearances are never to be trusted. This is certainly no less true in spiritual matters than in temporal affairs.
“He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.”
To rise early in the morning in order to spend time quietly in prayer and communion with God, is of deepest blessing; but to disturb others by loud, unbecoming flattery of a friend will bring a curse. If, in verse 13, we are not to be deceived by strangers, in verse 14 it is not the business of the Christian to advertise his friends.
“A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.”
This has been considered to be a dropping through a leaking roof, which is not uncommon in a land of flat roofs if rain should be unusually heavy. Only those who have experienced it know how irritating and wearying this can be. But such is the character of an argumentative woman. She is out of her place, not displaying the godly qualities of submission and of a meek and quiet spirit. This kind of contention is to have no place in the assembly of God: it is of the world. Timothy is strongly warned against allowing any such spirit among the saints of God.
“Whosoever will restrain her restraineth the wind, and his right hand encountereth oil” (New Trans.).
It is no small matter to restrain one who is contentious: mere human power is not sufficient for it, but if we make use of the power of God, He can surely restrain even the wind. This is good work which can be done only by the living presence of the Spirit of God. The right hand is the hand of power and the encountering of oil is the proving of the power of the Spirit of God (the oil) in a living way through these severe testings of the wilderness path. How much better is this, and how much more sound and real than the emotional excitement and entrancing experiences of ecstatic joy that many today avidly seek as though this were the filling of the Spirit of God! Let us not be deceived by this empty froth, but enjoy the sound, solid, blessed energy and liberty of the Spirit in practical living for God. When filled with the Spirit, Paul solemnly silenced the unholy contentions of Elymas the sorcerer (Act 13:6-12); and Stephen, facing the contentious, angry Jewish council, bore most blessed witness to the glory of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God (Act 7:55-60).
The fifth section of our chapter is confined to verses 17 and 18, and speaks of recompenses, the reaping of what is sown.
“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” Fellowship will always have results. Just as an iron file sharpens an iron cutting edge, so the interchange of thoughts between friends will sharpen the other in a way that will show in his countenance. It is true in mere natural knowledge: the more it is exercised, the more it will bring results. Let it be so then among Christians in regard to the knowledge of God and the truth of His Word. True Christian fellowship in exchange of the truths we have learned from God will sharpen saints in keener, more sensitive joy in the Lord and usefulness in service to Him. If we desire results, we must practise what brings results.
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honored.”
The fig tree speaks of the nation Israel; and a Jew whose love for the nation led him to seek the blessing of his nation, would himself be blessed through this. Just so, if the child of God today cares for the church, the body of Christ, and for its proper interests, he himself will reap proper spiritual benefit. This is good service to our Master, in reference to His interests, “waiting on the Master,” and it cannot but result in honor for the servant. Seeking our own honor will on the other hand result in our dishonor.
Verses 19 to 22 form the sixth section, so necessary just at this point as a precautionary warning against any confidence in the labor of mere man; for while all true labor for the Lord brings results, yet confidence must be consistently in the Lord and not in man’s achievements. The section then is a simple and candid exposure of man and his vanity.
“As in Water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.”
Water will act as a mirror to reflect a man’s face just as it is. The Word of God is likened to water (Eph 5:26) and in this I see the reflection of my own heart, answering to the heart of all mankind. The deceitful motives and ways of men as exposed in Scripture are but a true reflection of my own heart, and every heart of man.
“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”
Elsewhere we are told, “the eye is not filled with seeing.” Covetousness seems to be continually awakened by what the eye sees, and it requires stern self-judgment to restrain this natural impulse of our hearts. It is a disease of all mankind, and here likened to the insatiable devouring of mankind by sheol and destruction, – sheol being the state of the disembodied spirit after death. As death continually feeds on mankind, with never an intermission, laying the body low in destruction and dismissing the spirit into the realms of the unseen, with only mourning and depression, so man’s eyes feed on all they can see, with never a satisfying, living, vital result. All is transient and vain. How transcendently above and beyond all this is the blessed revelation of God in the Person of His Son, concerning which the child of God can say with a full heart: “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake with Thy likeness.” But this is not the subject of the section we are considering.
“The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; so let a man be to the mouth that praiseth him” (New Trans.).
As silver and gold is tried by intense heat, so a man is tried by means of being praised by men’s lips. Let him remember the two previous verses, and human praise will not puff him up. We shall not be deceived bymere flattery if we remember the simple honest fact of what we are. In silver being mentioned, is there not here the reminder of our being redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, a work for us infinitely precious; while gold symbolizes the glory of God, which, if it delights our hearts, will drive from us all desire for our own glory.
Verse 22 sums up the hopelessness of man’s condition, if he chooses to remain a fool, ignorant of the grace of God, a stranger to new birth.
“Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.”
The mortar was a vessel in which wheat was pounded with a pestle, to remove the husks to make it edible. The true child of God is likened to wheat (Mat 13:30; Mat 13:38) and the wheat must be sifted, the Lord allowing even Satan to do this work sometimes (Luk 22:31). But if a fool is put in company with the saints of God, and pounded with the trials that ought to remove all dross, this will still not remove his folly from him. Environment and training will not decide an issue like this.
“Ye must be born again.” Only a real work of God in the soul will accomplish true and permanent results.
The seventh section is in every way a contrast to the sixth, for its subject is sufficiency and rest. Is it not simply because only the number one is added, – that is, God? His work accomplishes the complete change.
“Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.”
Because mere man’s work is vanity is no reason to be slothful in the Lord’s work. Faith in the Living God and diligence go together, for in this there is no vanity: “your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Pastoral, shepherd care is implied in our verse, of course, and however feeble the day in which we live, the need of souls should draw out the unflagging labor and concern of our own hearts.
“For riches are not forever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?”
Time for labor in natural things is limited, and natural wisdom takes advantage of the present. How true, too, in the things of God! We have only the present to labor for the Lord, to acquire for Him what will please Him in the day of rewards. “Occupy till I come,” He says, for then there will be no delaying of the account.
“The hay is removed, and the tender grass showeth itself, and herds of the mountains are gathered in” (New Trans.).
This too shows the evanescence of the present, that though our lives are but as a vapor, come and gone, as the grass and the hay, yet there is something gathered, and fruit that is brought forth for the Lord in this brief span of our lives here, will be of lasting value long after the history of our lives is past. “Your fruit shall remain” (Joh 15:16). Blessed indeed that the believer’s life is not all vanity and vexation of spirit. God’s work in his soul will bear much fruit.
“The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of a field.”
Care for souls, young and tender as they may be, will work for our own benefit, as the wool of the lambs is clothing for the shepherd, and as the price of goats sufficient to buy property. There is of course here the reminder of sacrifice, the lamb a type of the Lord Jesus in His quiet submission in death for us, the real means of clothing us in the eyes of God. The goat speaks of Him in substitution for us, a propitiation “for the whole world,” that is, “the field,” which has been purchased by His death. Compare Mat 13:44; 1Jn 2:2. Not that the world is redeemed, but redemption is available for it, and all who receive the Lord Jesus receive the eternal benefits of this great work.
“And there is goats’ milk enough for the food of thy household, and sustenance for thy maidens” (New Trans.).
The goats’ milk of course speaks of the sufficient nourishment, as a result of the sacrifice, for the individual, for his household, and for other dependents, – serving maidens. For faith cannot but consider the welfare of others: and here the calm confidence of faith and the devoted energy of faith are beautifully combined. It is a scene of tranquil prosperity and rest.
Fuente: Grant’s Commentary on the Bible
27:1 Boast not thyself of to {a} morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
(a) Do not delay the time, but take the opportunity when it is offered.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
3. Virtues and vices 27:1-22
Many of the analogies in this pericope deal with virtues and vices that are characteristic of the wise and the foolish.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
CHAPTER 28
LIVING DAY BY DAY
“Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth.”- Pro 27:1
“The grave and destruction are never satisfied; and the eyes of men are never satisfied”; and LXX adds, “An abomination to the Lord is he who sets his eye, and undisciplined men uncontrolled in tongue.”- Pro 27:20
“Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof, so he that waits on his Lord eats of the honor.”- Pro 27:18
HERE is a wholesome lesson for us. We are to trust no future, however pleasant; we are to dwell in no past, however honorable. Life consists of a present, given to us day by day; this is our whole wealth; squandered, it cannot be recovered; neglected, it withers as a leaf. Titus, the Roman Emperor, would say in the evening, when he had omitted his duties or failed in his purposes, Perdidi diem, “I have lost a day”;-yes, that lost day is lost forever; other days may come, but not that one; the duties of that day may be performed afterwards or by other hands, but still the day is lost, because it passed away empty. The thief which cheats us of our days, and beggars us of our wealth, is the specious thought that tomorrow belongs to us. The illusion is as old as the world, but is today as fresh and powerful as ever. We have to shake ourselves free of a spell, and awake out of a dream, to see that when tomorrow comes it is already today.
We only begin to live in any true and satisfactory sense when we have learnt to take each day by itself, and to use it as if it were our last, and indeed as if it were our all; dismissing the thought of tomorrow as a mere phantom which forever evades our grasp. Life is a mosaic, a large work shaping on the wall or in the dome of some vast cathedral which eye hath not yet seen; and it can only be effectually wrought if, with minute and concentrated care, the little piece of colored glass which we call Today is duly fixed into its bedding and fitted exactly to its immediate neighbors. “Why do you work with such intensity?” the great artist was once asked; “Because I work for eternity,” was the answer. And that is why each day is of such importance: that is why each day demands all our thought and care: eternity is made up of days, and the present day is all of eternity that we can ever possess.
It is well for us then each morning to take the day fresh from Gods hands, and at once to throw our whole soul into it, and to live it with a pure intensity, a sense of solemn and joyful responsibility.
“Oh, Day, if I squander a wavelet of thee,
A mite of my twelve-hours treasure,
The least of thy gazes or glances
(Be they grants thou art bound to or gifts above measure),
One of thy choices or one of thy chances
(Be they tasks God imposed thee or freaks of thy pleasure), –
My Day, if I squander such labor or leisure,
Then shame fall on Asolo, mischief on me.”
But it may be said, Is not this the life of a mere butterfly? Is it not the mark of a prudent man to work with his eye on the future, -“Prepare thy work without, and make it ready for thee in the field, and afterwards build thine house”. {Pro 24:27} Is it not just what we have to complain of in the foolish man that he ignores tomorrow, -“A prudent man seethe the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and suffer for it?” {Pro 22:3, Pro 27:12}
Here is an apparent contradiction which requires reflection. And the difficulty increases when we remember that most worthy works are the labor of years: an architect lays his plans for a great building which he can hardly hope to see finished in his own lifetime; an author spends days and months and years in the preparation of materials, and must depend on the uncertain future for a time to shape them into a book: a statesman, in proportion as he is wise, avoids what is called a hand-to-mouth policy, and lays his plans with his eye on distant possibilities, well knowing that his immediate actions are liable to misunderstanding, and may prove to be a complete failure unless the opportunity is accorded him of realizing his far-reaching schemes. And, in the same way, youth is spent in education which derives all its value from the expected years of manhood, and all the days of a good life are necessarily a preparation for that which is to come after: we must study in order that we may teach; we must train ourselves for duties which will come upon us, as we may reasonably suppose, in some distant future. Yet our tomorrow is unknown; we are not to boast ourselves of it; we cannot tell what a day may bring forth, and must therefore live only to bring forth, and must therefore live only in today.
Now the solution of this difficulty leads us to one of the profoundest of all spiritual truths. It is this: No life can be worth anything at all apart from the Eternal God, and faith in Him. Life cannot be really lived if it is merely “a measure of sliding sand” taken “from under the feet of the years.” Our swift days cannot be effectually and wisely used unless we are linked with Him who embraces in Himself the past, the present, and the future. Our work, whatever it may be, cannot be rightly done unless we are, and know ourselves to be, in the great Taskmasters sight. The proper use of each day can only be made if we are confident that our times are in His hands; only in this quiet assurance can we have composure and detachment of spirit enough to give our whole strength to the duty in hand. We must be sure that the Master Artist knows the whole mosaic, and is ordering all the parts, before we can surrender ourselves to the task of putting todays piece into its place; we must have complete faith in the Architect who is designing the whole structure, before we can have our mind at leisure from itself to chip our block of stone or to carve our tiny gargoyle. We can only live in the present, making the most of that which is really ours, on condition that we have God as our Future, relieving us of all anxious care, and assuring to us just strength for today.
Thus our text has an implied contrast, which we may draw out in this way: “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth”; but boast thyself in God all the day long, {Psa 44:8} for thou knowest that He will bring forth righteousness, wisdom, and love continually.
Now let us follow out some of the consequences of this spiritual attitude. Examine the condition of these restless human hearts all around us without God. They are all toiling for tomorrow. Here is one making money, as it is called; he is looking forward to laying aside so many thousands this year; in a few more years he hopes to realize a round sum which will relieve him from the necessity of toil and of further money-making. His eye is set upon that goal. At last he reaches it. Now his desire should be satisfied, but no, “Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and the eyes of man are never satisfied.” {Pro 27:20} He does not stay a night at the desired goal; he is off before sunset.; all the strain and the fret must be faced over again. Or look at the boundless ambition which possesses godless men; honors achieved only whet their appetite for more. We need not assume that the ambition is unworthy; all we have to notice is its insatiability; in politics, in literature, in art, in social distinction, it is like Sheol and Abaddon, -a maw that ever opens; a gulf that can swallow anything and everything, yet never be filled. The LXX addition seems to regard this uncontrolled desire as the mark of deficient culture; and, spiritually speaking, no doubt it is. Men without God are always uncultured; they have not found the center of their being, they have not procured the keystone to their accumulated knowledge, and it is, in consequence, not an arch through which they can travel to any goal, but a confused pile which blocks the way. These desperate strivings and loud-tongued, undisciplined desires are an abomination to the Lord, because they mar His mighty plan and introduce disorder where He intended order, discord where He intended harmony, deformity where He intended beauty. They are the work of egoism instead of theism.
It is needless to dwell upon the heart-sores and the disappointments which fall to the lot of the people whom we are thinking of. What ghastly mockery the morrows on which they counted prove to be! In some lonely and rocky island, girdled by the moaning of the dreary seas, and cut off from all the interests which gave to life its excitement, egotism ends its days. Or it is on some restless couch, surrounded by all the outward trappings of wealth and power, that the dying spirit cries, “My kingdom for an inch of time!” The man who by his brilliant genius has drawn all his generation after him passes, bearing “through Europe the pageant of his bleeding heart,” to a hopeless grave. The woman who has achieved the end of her ambition, ruling the courts of fashion, the acknowledged queen of salons, ends her days with a sense of frustration, cynical in her contempt for the world which was foolish enough to follow and admire her.
But, on the other hand, here is one who boasts himself in God.
“Lord, it belongs not to my care,”
is the language of his spirit,
“Whether I die or live;
To love and serve Thee is my share,
And that Thy grace must give.”
The first thing that strikes you in him is his perfect peace. His mind is stayed on God. The future has no terrors for him, nor has it any joys. God is all in all to him, and God is his now. His treasure is in possession, and moth and rust do not corrupt it, nor can thieves break through or steal. To say that he is contented seems too mild a term for so positive and joyous a calm. But in contrast with the discontent which prevails everywhere outside of God, it is worthwhile to dilate on this passive virtue of contentment. That endless worry about little things has ceased; he is not annoyed because someone fails to recognize him; he is not affected by the malicious or scandalous things which are said about him; he is not anxious for human recognition, and is therefore never distressed because others are more courted than he is: he knows nothing of that malignant passion of jealousy which is worse than the cruelty of wrath arm the flooding of anger; {Pro 27:4} he does not want wealth and he does not dread poverty. He says:-
“Some have too much, yet still do crave; I little have, and seek no more:
They are but poor though much they have, And I am rich with little store:
They poor, I rich; they beg, I give;
They lack, I leave; they pine, I live.”
When we have entered into this Divine content and are made by our absolute trust in God free from care for the future, it is wonderful how quick we become to see good in apparent evils. To the world this is so incredible that it suspects insincerity, but there is nothing more sincere and more real. A poor child who was blind found the greatest blessing in the affliction, saying, “You see, I can give more to the Missionary Society than the other children, because I can knit in the dark, and have not to spend money on candles.” You go to one of Gods children expecting to find him broken down and rebellious under some great and undeserved calamity, but you find that he has discovered a blessing in the loss before you get there, and is actually rejoicing, or at any rate he is replying to all provocations, “The Lord gave and the Lord took away: blessed be the name of the Lord.” He is afflicted, but you cannot think of him as afflicted, for “all the days of the afflicted are evil, but he that is of a cheerful spirit hath a continual feast.” {Pro 15:15}
Yes, it is that illusive and imaginary morrow that robs us of our peace; it is the misgiving, the anxious care, the dark foreboding. But when we put God our Father in place of the morrow, and know that He comprehends and sees all that we have need of, the peace which passes all understanding settles down upon our spirit, and steals into our eyes, and breathes on our lips, and men perceive even in us why our Father is called “the God of Peace.”
The second thing which strikes us in those who have learnt to make their boast in God rather than in the morrow is the service which they render to their fellows. This is not only because they are able to turn their undivided attention to the duty which lies nearest, and to do with all their heart what their hand finds to do, but the very spirit of serenity in which they live is a constant help and blessing to all who, are around them. It may have been given to, you to come into contact with such a soul; in his presence your restlessness dies away, it seems as if your burning brow had been touched with a soothing hand; perhaps “with half-open eyes you were treading the borderland dim twixt vice and virtue,” and that quiet spirit seemed like a clear shaft of the dawn revealing where you trod; perhaps you were heartbroken with a great sorrow, and the restfulness and confidence of that strong soul gave you an indefinable consolation, hope broke into your heart, and even joy. In receiving that help from what the man was rather than from what he gave, you became aware that this was the highest service that any human being can render to another. It is a great thing to succor the physical and material sufferings of men; it is a greater to bring them clear truths and to give them some stimulus and guidance in the intellectual life; but it is greatest of all to communicate spiritual sustenance and power, for that means to bring souls into actual and conscious contact with God.
One of the noblest examples of this service to humanity is furnished in the life and the writings of St. Paul. His personal presence became the new creation of that ancient heathen civilization, and countless individual souls were, through the inner life which he presented, brought to a complete change and made new creatures in Christ. His writings have been, ever since he died, a constant source of life and strength to many generations of men. He has been misunderstood, “the ignorant and unstedfast have wrested” what he wrote, but none the less he has been to the Church a perpetual regenerator, and, as a great writer of our own day has declared, “The doctrine of Paul will arise out of the tomb where for centuries it has lain covered; it will edify the Church of the future; it will have the consent of happier generations, the applause of less superstitious ages.” Now what is the secret of this power? It is given in his own words, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” {Php 1:21} He was able to fling himself with that passionate temerity into the present duty, he was able to preach the word with that victorious vigor in season and out of season, just because the whole burden of the unknown future was rolled away from him, and he, more than any man that ever lived, understood what it is to live just for today.
Every Christian may possess the same secret; it is the open secret of the Sermon on the Mount; as our gracious Lord told us, we may be as the lilies of the field and as the birds of the air, without anxiety or misgiving, knowing that our Heavenly Father cares for us. It is not given to us all to be great philanthropists, great reformers, great preachers, but it is put within the reach of all to render to others the sweet service of abiding always in trustful and loving submission to Gods will, and of shedding upon all the light of our peace.
And this leads us to notice one last feature of this true spiritual life. It has an honor of its own, though it is not an earthly honor; it has a, reward, though it is not a material reward, “Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof, and he that waiteth on his master eats of the honor.” {Pro 27:18} That is a saying which can only apply in a very modified degree to earthly service and human masters. How many loyal servants of kings have been deserted by their lords at the critical moment, and left to eat the fruit of disgrace and ignominy! But the saying applies in its fullness to our Master Christ and His service. Think of the Christian life under this simple figure: it is like the careful cultivation of the fruit tree. He is the Vine. Our sole concern is to keep in touch with Him, to sit at His feet, to watch for His fruit, to see that no other concern disturbs the quiet relation of perfect loyalty and devotion to Him. Our aim is not to do our own business or seek our own ends, but to be sure that we are always awake to His purposes and obedient to the demands which He makes upon us. It is not ours to reason why, but it is ours to do at all costs whatsoever He bids us do today. We have nothing to do with tomorrow; we have no responsibility for the fruit, for no fruit-bearing power lies in us. All we have to do is to keep the fig tree. Now when we abide in this concentrated and whole-hearted devotion to our Master, -when for us to live is Christ, -then honor comes to us unsought, but not unwelcome. The fruit of service is to the taste of the true servant the highest honor that he can imagine. We need no apocalyptic vision to assure us. His word is enough, confirmed as it is by a constant and growing experience. The servants of our Lord already stand before Him, holding in their hands the talents which they have gained for Him; already they hear His gracious “Well done,” and the sound of it is more musical in their ears than all the acclamations of their fellow-creatures. This is their honor; what could they have more? They are counted one with Christ; they shared His travail, and now they share His satisfaction and his joy.
And thus those who make their boast in God, and do not boast of the morrow, find that the morrow itself becomes clear to them in the light of His countenance; they do in a sense know what it will bring forth: it will bring forth what they desire, for it will bring forth their Fathers will; it will bring forth the victory and the glory of Christ. “Henceforth ye shall see Him coming in the clouds of heaven.” Is not that enough? When our hearts have learnt to hanker only after Gods will, to desire only Christs victory, they may boast themselves even of tomorrow; for tomorrow holds in its bosom an assurance of blessing and joy.