Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 27:19
As in water face [answereth] to face, so the heart of man to man.
19. in water ] This rendering of A.V., which is retained in R.V. text, gives a good and pregnant meaning: As truly as the face seen in the water resembles the face of which it is the reflection, so truly does the heart of one man correspond to that of another in all the essential features of our common nature.
There is, however, another rendering, supported by many competent authorities and adopted in R.V. marg., viz.:
As water sheweth face to face,
So the heart sheweth man to man.
The meaning then will be that the heart, like the water, is the medium by which we behold the image of our fellow man, the mirror in which we see his character. He is to us what our heart makes him. We judge of others by ourselves. A sordid nature or ruffled temper, like turbid or unsettled water, will give a broken and distorted image: it cannot conceive the idea of true generosity or genuine worth. On the other hand a pure heart will give to its possessor a true perception not only of man but of God Himself (St Mat 5:8).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
As we see our own face when we look on the mirror-like surface of the water, so in every heart of man we may see our own likeness. In spite of all diversities we come upon the common human nature in which we all alike share. Others see in the reference to the reflection in the water the thought that we judge of others by ourselves, find them faithful or the reverse, as we ourselves are.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 27:19
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
Mirror of human nature
As a man looking into the water (used anciently as a mirror) sees an exact transcript of his own countenance, so every heart has, by nature, precisely the same moral character with every other unsanctified heart. Every child of Adam, till renewed by Divine grace, has, in view of Omnipotence and Omniscience, the same moral aspect. Notice some of the circumstances which have contributed to make men differ in their conduct who have by nature the same moral character. Grace has made a wide difference in men who were by nature alike. Difference in instinctive passions and affections makes men differ in their conduct. Some have not the talents for doing mischief that others have. Others have not the opportunities. One man may achieve less mischief than another because more restrained.
1. That all men have naturally the same moral character might be inferred from the similarity of origin, aspect, and general habits that belong to all ages and all nations of men.
2. We can hardly fix our eye on any individual or community of antiquity but we can find its exact resemblance in some individual or community with whose character we are familiar. Of this take as Scriptural examples the family of Adam and of Jacob; the characters of Balaam, and of Shimei, and of Joab, and of Jezebel.
3. There have prevailed in all ages and nations the same crimes, calling for the restraining influence of the same laws. Men have been at all times inclined to wrong their fellow-men of their property. The descriptions of depravity which applied to Israel, Babylon, Egypt, Syria, Sidon, and even Edom, apply with equal propriety to the men of this land.
4. Argue from the fact that the Bible has never become obsolete. It describes men of other periods, and the description suits the present generation. Remarks:
(1) We see one source of those corruptions of doctrine with which the world is filled. Men have determined that human nature has grown better. Having settled this point, they infer that the same Bible will not suit the different ages and nations.
(2) This subject justifies a kind of preaching as plain and pointed as anything found in the law of God, or in the communications of Christ and His apostles.
(3) The subject furnishes ungodly men with the means of knowing their own characters.
(4) We may argue, from this subject, that men must all pass the same second birth to fit them for the kingdom of God.
(5) We see why there need be but one place of destiny in the coming world for all the unregenerate. The little shades of difference that now appear in the ungodly are too insignificant to mark them out for distinct worlds. (D. A. Clark.)
They who are our associates in this world will most probably be our associates in the next
Bishop Patrick explains this proverb thus: A man may see himself, while he looks upon other men, as well as know other men, by considering his own inclinations. Bishop Hall says: He that looks into his friends heart sees there his own. The most mysterious thing in Gods work is the heart of man. The Eden of the human heart has been transformed into a wilderness of vile passions. Some restrain themselves more than others, and therefore there are different degrees of depravity in the world; and perhaps, by looking around us, we may find what rank we properly belong to, and what chance we have of escaping the wrath of God.
1. Let us ask ourselves who are our intimate friends and associates?
2. Let us compare ourselves with the dying. (John Collinson.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. As in water face answereth to face] All men’s hearts are pretty nearly alike; water is not more like to water, than one heart is to another. Or, as a man sees his face perfectly reflected by the water, when looking into it; so the wise and penetrating man sees generally what is in the heart of another by considering the general tenor of his words and actions.
“Surely, if each man saw another’s heart
There would be no commerce;
All would disperse,
And live apart.”
HERBERT.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The sense is either,
1. As the image of a mans face in the water answers to his natural face who looks into it; or, as in water one mans face is like anothers, the difference of mens faces being not there visible: so one man resembles another, either in the temper of his mind or body, in which many men are alike one to another; or in the corruption of his nature, in which all are alike. Or,
2. As a man may see his own face if he look into the water, which is natures looking-glass, or into any other looking glass; so a man may discern his own heart, if he look into those glasses whereby it discovers itself; if he examine his thoughts and inclinations, together with the general course of his actions. Or,
3. As the face of a man standing by the waters is visible not only to himself, but to others, by the shadow or image of it in the waters; so the heart of a man is in some measure discernible, not only to himself, but to others also, who observe his disposition and carriage.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19. We may see our characters inthe developed tempers of others.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
As in water face [answereth] to face,…. As water is as a looking glass, in which a man may behold his own face and another’s; or as the face in the water answers to the face of a man, and there is a great likeness between them. All things through water appear greater, as Seneca m observes, and so more clear and plain;
so the heart of man to man; one man’s heart may be seen and discerned in some measure by another, as by his countenance; for though, as the poet n says, “frontis nulla fides”, yet the countenance is often the index of the mind, though not an infallible one; wrath and anger in the breast may be seen in the face, as were in Cain’s; thus Jacob saw some resentment at him in the mind of Laban, and judged he had some design of mischief against him by the change of his countenance; also what is in the heart of man is discerned by what comes out of it, by his words, and also by his actions; yea, a man may know in a good measure what is in another man’s heart, by what he finds in his own: the word of God is a glass, or medium of vision, and like water, in which a man’s face is seen, through which a man sees his own heart; the law is a glass, in which an enlightened person sees not only the perfections of God, the nature of righteousness, but also his sin, and the sinfulness of it; this glass mother magnifies nor multiplies his sins, but sets them in a true light before him, by which he discerns heart sins, and sees and knows the plague of his heart; and the Gospel is a glass, wherein he beholds the glory of Christ, sees and can discern whether Christ is formed in him, and he has the grace of the Spirit of God wrought in his soul, as faith, hope, love, repentance, humility, self-denial, c. moreover, as the face seen in the water is similar to a man’s face, so the hearts of men are alike, not merely in a natural sense, see
Ps 33:15 but in a moral and spiritual sense the hearts of unregenerate men are alike, and answer to each other; for they are all equally corrupted, one and depraved; the heart of every man is desperately wicked; the imaginations of the thoughts of the hearts or wicked men, one and all of them, are only evil, and that continually; their affections are inordinately the same, they love and hate the same persons and things; their minds and consciences are all defiled; their understandings are darkened; their wills are averse to that which is good, and bent on that which is evil: and so the hearts of good men are alike; they have all one heart and one way given them; their experiences agree as to the work of grace and conversion; they are all made sensible of sin, the evil of it, and danger by it; they are all brought off of their own righteousness, and are led to Christ to depend on him alone for righteousness, pardon, and eternal life; they are partakers of the same promises in the Gospel, and have the same enemies to grapple with, and the same temptations, trials, and exercises from sin, Satan, and the world; and they have the same things put into their hearts, the laws of God, the doctrines of Christ, and the several graces of the Spirit of Christ; so that there cannot be a greater likeness between a man’s face and that seen in the water, than there is between the heart of one saint and another; the hearts of Old and New Testament saints, and of all in all ages and places, answer to one another. The Targum paraphrases it to a sense quite the reverse,
“as waters and as faces which are not like one to another, so the hearts of the children of men are not like one to another;”
and to the same sense are the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.
m Nat. Quaest. l. 1. c. 6. n Juvenal. Satyr. 2. v. 8.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
19 As it is with water, face correspondeth to face,
So also the heart of man to man.
Thus the traditional text is to be translated; for on the supposition that must be used for , yet it might not be translated: as in waters face corresponds to face (Jerome: quomodo in aquis resplendent vultus respicientium ), because ( instar ) is always only a prep. and never conj. subordinating to itself a whole sentence ( vid., under Psa 38:14). But whether , “like water,” may be an abridgment of a sentence: “like as it is with water,” is a question, and the translation of the lxx (Syr., Targ., Arab.), , … , appears, according to Bttcher’s ingenious conjecture, to have supposed , from which the lxx derived , sicut non pares . The thought is beautiful: as in the water-mirror each one beholds his own face (Luther: der Scheme = the shadow), so out of the heart of another each sees his own heart, i.e., he finds in another the dispositions and feelings of his own heart (Fleischer) – the face finds in water its reflection, and the heart of a man finds in man its echo; men are , and it is a fortunate thing that their heart is capable of the same sympathetic feelings, so that one can pour into the heart of another that which fills and moves his own heart, and can there find agreement with it, and a re-echo. The expression with is extensive: one corresponds to another, one belongs to another, is adapted to the other, turns to the other, so that the thought may be rendered in manifold ways: the divinely-ordained mutual relationship is always the ground-thought. This is wholly obliterated by Hitzig’s conjecture , “what a mole on the face is to the face, that is man’s heart to man,” i.e., the heart is the dark spot in man, his partie honteuse . But the Scripture nowhere speaks of the human heart after this manner, at least the Book of Proverbs, in which frequently means directly the understanding. Far more intelligible and consistent is the conjecture of Mendel Stern, to which Abrahamsohn drew my attention: , like water (viz., flowing water), which directs its course always forward, thus (is turned) the heart of man to man. This conjecture removes the syntactic harshness of the first member without changing the letters, and illustrates by a beautiful and excellent figure the natural impulse moving man to man. It appears, however, to us, in view of the lxx, more probable that is abbreviated from the original (cf. Pro 24:29).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
This shows us that there is a way, 1. Of knowing ourselves. As the water is a looking-glass in which we may see our faces by reflection, so there are mirrors by which the heart of a man is discovered to a man, that is, to himself. Let a man examine his own conscience, his thoughts, affections, and intentions. Let him behold his natural face in the glass of the divine law (Jam. i. 23), and he may discern what kind of man he is and what is his true character, which it will be of great use to every man rightly to know. 2. Of knowing one another by ourselves; for, as there is a similitude between the face of a man and the reflection of it in the water, so there is between one man’s heart and another’s for God has fashioned men’s hearts alike; and in many cases we may judge of others by ourselves, which is one of the foundations on which that rule is built of doing to others as we would be done by, Exod. xxiii. 9. Nihil est unum uni tam simile, tam par, quam omnes inter nosmet ipsos sumus. Sui nemo ipse tam similis quam omnes sunt omnium–No one thing is so like another as man is to man. No person is so like himself as each person is to all besides. Cic. de Legib. lib. 1. One corrupt heart is like another, and so is one sanctified heart, for the former bears the same image of the earthy, the latter the same image of the heavenly.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Mirror of the Heart
Verse 19 suggests that as a clear pool like a mirror reflects a likeness of the face, so the heart or mind of man reflects what is in man, Pro 12:5; Pro 23:7; Mat 15:19.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 27:19
A CORRECT LIKENESS
I. A mirror in which we may see the reflection of the hearts of others. All the knowledge that we have of our own personal appearance is gained by means of some reflecting surface. We can only look upon ourselves indirectly, and it is quite possible that every person who looks upon us has a juster conception of our appearance than we ourselves have. If there were no substances which could serve as mirrors, a man must always remain ignorant as to those peculiarities of feature which distinguish him from every other person on the face of the earth. But none are destitute of natures looking-glassthe stream or lake, or even a smaller quantity of water, will show a man what he is like as to his exterior. And by means of a medium we can gain much knowledge concerning the inner life of our human brothers and sisters. As we may gain a good idea of our own face by seeing its reflection in water, so we may form a fairly correct estimate of the feelings and hopes and desires of others by studying our own. After making allowance for many differences upon the surface dependent upon differences of temperament, and education, and circumstances, we shall be safe in concluding that in the depths of the human soul there are spots which form a common meeting-ground for all mankind.
II. A means by which we may gain the hearts of others. We cannot plead ignorance of the way to our brothers heart. We must not conclude, because in outward expression he differs from us, we have therefore nothing in common, no clue to what is passing within his breast. If we call to mind how we felt in like circumstances, or try to imagine how we should feel if we were in his place, we shall hardly fail to form some idea of his feelings, and shall therefore be able so to regulate our behaviour towards him as in some measure to supply his soul needs.
(There are other interpretations of this verse, for which we refer to the Comments.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Here is one of the foundations on which that rule is built of doing to others as we would be done by (Exo. 23:9.) One corrupt heart is like another, and so is one sanctified heart, for the former bears the same image of the earthy, the latter the same image of the heavenly.Henry.
The proverb may be regarded as expressing reciprocity of soul. It may mean this: that just as the water will give back to you the exact expression which you gave to itthe frown or the smile, the hideous or the pleasingso human hearts will treat you as you treat them. With what measure you mete it shall be measured to you again. This is truemanifestly true; kindness begets kindness, anger anger, justice justice, fraud fraud, the world throughDr. David Thomas.
In the world we see our own hearts embowelled; and there we can learn what ourselves are at the cost of other mens sins.Bp. Hopkins.
As in the outline water trembles, and is uncertain, so also are hearts. The lesson is: Trust not!Luther.
No man knoweth or showeth the spirit of a man, but the spirit of a man that is in him. The water, as a certain glass, somewhat dim indeed, but very true, representeth the countenance therein imprinted unto the countenance that beholdeth the same; even so the heart sheweth man to man; that is to say, the mind and the conscience of every man telleth him justly, though not perfectly, what he is, as whether he be good or evil, in Gods favour or out of the same; for the conscience will not lie, but accuse or excuse a man, being instead of a thousand witnesses. As water that is troubled representeth the visage amiss, so a troubled or polluted mind may sometimes wrongly shew to a man the estate wherein he standeth. But if the soul be not wholly corrupt and the conscience seared as with a hot iron, it will declare to a man his condition rightly, though not peradventure fully in all respects.Muffet.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
TEXT Pro. 27:19-27
19.
As in water face answereth face,
So the heart of man to man.
20.
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied;
And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21.
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold;
And a man is tried by his praise.
22.
Though thou shouldest bray a fool in mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain,
Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23.
Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks,
And look well to thy herds:
24.
For riches are not for ever;
And doth the crown endure unto all generations?
25.
The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself,
And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
26.
The lambs are for thy clothing,
And the goats are the price of the field;
27.
And there will be goats milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household,
And maintenance for thy maidens.
STUDY QUESTIONS OVER 27:19-27
1.
Elaborate upon the comparison in Pro. 27:19.
2.
What New Testament word from Greek is a parallel to Sheol in Hebrew (Pro. 27:20)?
3.
What does Abaddon mean (Pro. 27:20)?
4.
In what sense is the last statement of Pro. 27:21 true?
5.
What do bray, mortar, and pestle in Pro. 27:22 mean?
6.
Why such instruction as is found in Pro. 27:23?
7.
Illustrate Pro. 27:24 by Charlemagnes offspring.
8.
What is the point of Pro. 27:25?
9.
What is the meaning of the goats are the price of the field (Pro. 27:20)?
10.
Why did they not use cows milk like we do (Pro. 27:27)?
PARAPHRASE OF 27:19-27
19.
A mirror reflects a mans face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.
20.
Ambition and death are alike in this: neither is ever satisfied.
21.
The purity of silver and gold can be tested in a crucible, but a man is tested by his reaction to mens praise.
22.
You cant separate a rebel from his foolishness though you crush him to powder.
23, 24.
Riches can disappear fast. And the kings crown doesnt stay in his family foreverso watch your business interests closely.
25, 26, 27.
Know the state of your flocks and your herds; then there will be lambs wools enough for clothing, and goats milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.
COMMENTS ON 27:19-27
Pro. 27:19. See a man looking at himself in the water. It is almost as if he is talking to himself. Even so as people look at each other, it is almost as if a silent message is being sent between them.
Pro. 27:20. Sheol is the Hebrew word for the place of departed spirits (the same as Hades in Greek). Abaddon is the Hebrew word for destruction (the same as Apollyon in Greek;. Both forms of the latter are found in Rev. 9:11. Sheol and Abaddon are used together also in Job. 26:6 and Pro. 15:11. Just as death is personified here as never satisfied but always wanting more souls, so mans eyes are never satisfied. The more he has and sees, the more he wants. This fact is also mentioned in Ecc. 1:8. Heb. 2:5 uses this same language in describing the greediness of the Chaldeans.
Pro. 27:21. As silver and gold are tried by the art of the refiner, so is a mans heart by the praise he receives. If he feel it not, he deserves it; if he be puffed up by it, he is worthless (Clarke). Pulpit Commentary: As the processes of metallurgy test the precious metals, so a mans public reputation shows what he is really worth…As the crucible brings all impurities to the surface, so public opinion drags for all that is bad in a man, and he who stands this test is generally esteemed.
Pro. 27:22. Bray…mortar…pestlethese are strange words to our modern way of living. Whenever you put something into a container and pound or mash it with something in your hand, you are braying it, what you are braying it with is the pestle, and the container is the mortar. When our mothers used to mash potatoes by hand, that was the same figure, only we didnt use those words to apply to the action and the various pieces. This verse shows that no matter how you might beat on a confirmed fool, you cannot get rid of his foolishness. Consider the drunkard in Pro. 23:35 and Judah in Isa. 1:5 and Jer. 5:3.
Pro. 27:23. From here to the end of the chapter the material has to do with shepherding and agriculture except for the illustration in Pro. 27:24 that explains this present verse. This verse presents Hebrew parallelism in which the second statement is a restatement of the first. Whatever a persons business, he must tend to business, or he will have no business to tend. The shepherd was ever counting his sheep to be sure they were all with the flock. If any was sick, he immediately cared for it.
Pro. 27:24. Just as riches or the crown could not be taken for granted, neither could ones flock and herd. Todays ten wealthiest men in the world may not all be wealthy in a few years. Those who rule today may be overthrown tomorrow. So care and diligence must be watchwords even of a shepherd.
Pro. 27:25. One can see the diligence of the shepherd in providing food for his flock at the different seasons.
Pro. 27:26. This diligence pays off, for there is wool for the clothing, and from the sale of goats could the land be purchased for oneself.
Pro. 27:27. Additional reward for diligence: plenty of milk. They milked the goat whereas we milk the cow. On goats milk Geikie says, In most parts of Palestine goats milk in every form makes, with eggs and bread, the main food of the people.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(19) So the heart of man (answereth) to man.What is in our own hearts we find in others also. Whatever are the distinguishing features of our own characters we discover and elicit the same in others. The merciful, the generous, the devout, the pure, recognise the same qualities in others, and themselves feel and receive sympathy from such persons. So the evil, too, find themselves in harmony with those of like disposition.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. As in water face answereth to face Water was the first mirror, and a basin of pure water is the only reflector used by many in the East to this day.
So the heart of man to man The properties of human nature are common. We have substantially the same passions, affections, propensities, joys, sorrows, hopes, fears, motives, etc. So a man may reason from his own nature to that of others, and know others by himself. He may also judge himself, to some extent, by others. One heart corresponds to another.
Some find, also, this sense in the words: That as face answers to face in water, so a man ought to expect no other affections from men than those he expresses toward them. Love answers to love, hatred to hatred.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Pro 27:19. As in water, &c. Dr. Grey says, this should be rendered, As the water showeth the face to the face, so doth the heart the man to the man. The meaning is, that a man may know what character he deserves, as well by looking into his own heart, as he can tell what sort of a face he has by looking upon the water. Houbigant renders it, As faces are like faces, so the heart of one man to another.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 813
THE HEARTS OF MEN ALIKE
Pro 27:19. As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
THERE are many things which are justly considered as axioms, of the truth of which we are fully convinced, because they are the result of observation and experience: yet, being declared also by the voice of inspiration, they come to our minds with authority, and demand from us an unhesitating acquiescence. Such is the truth which we have just read from the Book of Proverbs. Any man conversant with the world, knows that human nature is, to a certain degree, the same in every age and in every place. But there are, amongst men, so many discrepancies arising out of incidental circumstances, and so many changes too in the same persons, that if the heart-searching God himself had not determined the point, we should scarcely have ventured to speak respecting it in terms so strong and unqualified as Solomon has used in the passage before us. His words, beyond all doubt, are true: but yet, if not well understood, they are capable of much misapprehension and perversion. In discoursing upon them, I will,
I.
Explain his assertion
It needs explanation: for if we were to take it as importing that all men in all circumstances manifest the same dispositions and desires, it would be the very reverse of what we see and know to be true. It is evident, that, though Solomon does not make any distinction, he does not intend to confound all persons in one common mass, and to affirm that, under all their diversified conditions, they are all alike: he supposes, that, amongst the persons so compared, there exists a parity, which may render them proper objects of comparison. He takes for granted, that there is in them a parity,
1.
Of age
[If we take men in the various stages of human existence, from infancy to old age, we know that there exists in them a vast diversity of sentiment. To imagine that amongst them all there should be found the same views, desires, and pursuits, would be to betray an ignorance and folly bordering on fatuity. Old men and children can no more be supposed to accord with each other in such respects, than light and darkness. Children must be compared with children; young men with youths; and old men with those that are advanced in years.]
2.
In character
[There is in the natural constitution of men a great difference. Infants at their mothers breast display an astonishing variety of character; some being mild, gentle, placid; others, on the contrary, being filled with the most violent and hateful dispositions. Education, too, will operate very forcibly on men, and lead them to habits widely different from each other. One who is brought up in the unrestrained indulgence of every vicious appetite, cannot be supposed to resemble one who has been well instructed in all virtuous principles, and subjected to all salutary restraints. Still less can the godly and the ungodly be supposed to agree. Divine grace puts men far asunder, and induces sentiments and conduct widely different from any that are found in unconverted men. In comparing these different persons, a due respect must be had to their several characters; or else our judgment concerning them will be extremely erroneous.]
3.
In condition
[What community of sentiment, generally speaking, can there be between a prince and a peasant? or what between an unlettered countryman and a sage philosopher? Take a man under the pressure of disease, poverty, disgrace; and what will you expect to find in him that accords with the feelings of one who is living in the fullest enjoyment of ease, and opulence, and honour? Look at even the same person, when, either in a way of elevation or depression, he is changed from the one condition to the other; and you will find in him, for the most part, a corresponding change of views and habits.
I say then, that, to apprehend our text aright, we must consider it as declaring, not that all persons, whatever their circumstances may be, are alike; but that all persons under the same circumstances, due allowance being made for any difference existing from constitution, age, education, habit and grace, will be found to bear a very strong resemblance to each other.]
Taking the assertion of Solomon in this qualified sense, I proceed to,
II.
Confirm it
The reflection of a countenance from water will bear a strict resemblance to him whose countenance it is. And a similar correspondence will be found between the hearts of men, who, according to the foregoing limitations, are fit objects of comparison. It will be found in all,
1.
Whilst in an unenlightened state
[All unenlightened men agree in this; they affect supremely the things of time and sense. In this also they agree; they disaffect things spiritual and eternal. Here we may range through all the gradations of men, from the prince to the peasant; and through all their ages, from infancy to old age; yea, and through all the different periods of time, from the beginning of the world to the present hour; and we shall not find so much as one differing from the rest, unless indeed a very few, who have been sanctified from the womb. The testimony of Almighty God is this: They that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; and they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be [Note: Rom 8:5; Rom 8:7.]. Here both of these points are asserted, with equal clearness, and with unquestionable authority. If the point be doubted, look for a person who, from his youth up, has shewn a superiority to the pleasures, honours, interests of this world, and sought his happiness in communion with God, and in the exercises of prayer and praise. Alas! not one such person will you find: the hearts of all have been in perfect agreement with each other, even as the face that is reflected, with the face that inspects the mirror.]
2.
When awakened to a sense of their perishing condition
[Let but the eyes of any one be opened to see his real state, and he will begin immediately to tremble before God. No sense of earthly dignity will uphold a man at that hour. Felix on the throne of judgment, and Belshazzar in his drunken carousals, become weak as other men; and betray the convictions of their mind, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Not the most obdurate sinners in the universe can any longer defy the arm of justice: the very instant they see themselves obnoxious to its stroke, their spirits sink within them. Even the murderers of our blessed Lord, whilst yet their hands were reeking with his blood, cry out in agony of mind, Men and brethren, what shall we do [Note: Act 2:37.]?
In another thing, too, they all agree: they all, without exception, seek, in the first instance, to conciliate Gods favour by some works of their own. They will repent; they will reform their lives; they will perform the duties which they have hitherto neglected; they will exercise benevolence to the utmost of their power: they will do any thing, if by any means they may recommend themselves to God as objects of his mercy. Those amongst them who have been somewhat better instructed will allow to Jesus Christ the honour of saving them; but still they must do something to entitle them to come to him, and to warrant their hope in him. None, in the first instance, see, nor, if they were instructed, would they approve, the Gospel method of salvation, simply by faith in Christ. To renounce every kind and degree of hope in themselves is, to their proud hearts, an act of humiliation, to which they cannot submit. They think, so entirely to set aside good works, is to disparage them, and to countenance a neglect of them; and therefore they cannot cast themselves wholly and entirely on the merits of a crucified Redeemer. This reluctance to glorify Christ is, indeed, overcome sooner in some than in others: and in this respect the publicans and harlots for the most part enter into the kingdom sooner than the Scribes and Pharisees [Note: Mat 21:31.], because they are sooner convinced that they have nothing of their own to rely upon: but in all is there the same tendency to establish a righteousness of their own, and a difficulty in being brought to submit to the righteousness of Christ [Note: Rom 9:30-33; Rom 10:1-3.].]
3.
When truly converted to the faith of Christ
[To every one, without exception, is Christ precious, even preciousness itself [Note: 1Pe 2:7. .]. Find one to whom he is not fairer than ten thousand, and altogether lovely [Note: Son 5:10; Son 5:16.]. You might as well look for one in heaven itself, as on earth. It is not possible to have tasted how gracious He is, and not love him, and serve him, and glory in him. Equally characteristic also of the believer is the love of holiness. Sin is no longer that pleasant morsel which they would roll under their tongue: it is hateful and abominable in their eyes: and they would gladly have it crucified within them. The divine image is that which they now affect; and after which they pant, as the hart after the water-brooks. In all, indeed, these marks are not alike visible, because all are not alike gracious; but in all, according to their measure of the gift of Christ, is this grace found: and if there be a professor of religion in whom it is not found, I hesitate not to say, that he belongs not to the class of whom I am speaking, but must take both his name and portion with the hypocrites. Of course, when I speak of the love of holiness, I comprehend it in all its parts, and consider it as extending equally to both the tables of the Law. The man who has a scriptural hope in the Lord Jesus Christ will not fail to purify himself, even as Christ is pure [Note: 1Jn 3:3.].]
Now this subject is not one of curious speculation; but of real use, of most important use,
1.
For our humiliation
[See the portrait of human nature as drawn in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. See it as again exhibited in the third chapter: There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way; they are together become unprofitable: there is none that doeth good; no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes. But it may be asked, What can these passages hare to do with the more moral part of the community? I answer, that whatsoever things the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law; (as every child of man is;) that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God [Note: Rom 3:10-19.]. Take this glass then, Brethren, and behold your own faces in it; and say, whether you have any reason for self-admiration and self-complacency? The true character of your hearts is this: They are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked [Note: Jer 17:9.]: and, if there be any superiority in the conduct of any, you owe it, not to the superior quality of your hearts, but to the preventing and assisting grace of God. And the best amongst you may look upon the vilest of the human race and say, Such an one might I have been, but for the grace of God!]
2.
For our consolation
[When under peculiar temptations, we are ready to think that there is no one like us, and that no one was ever tempted as we are. But there has no temptation taken any one of us, but what is common to man [Note: 1Co 10:13.]. And when we know this, it is a rich source of consolation to us. Not that the trials of others can do us any good: every man must bear his own burthen, whether it be greater or less: but, when a man supposes that he alone is subjected to any peculiar trouble, he is ready to imagine that he is an outcast from the Lord, and that there is no hope for him in God. The removal of this painful apprehension, however, raises him from his dejection, and emboldens him to maintain the conflict with all the enemies of his salvation. He will then chide himself, and say, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God [Note: Psa 42:11.].]
3.
For our encouragement
[If in the Scriptures we see what human nature is, we see also what divine grace is, and what it can effect in the heart of man. After a most horrible description given by the Apostle, of persons who were to be excluded from the kingdom of heaven, he says to the Corinthians, And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God [Note: 1Co 6:10-11.]. And the change wrought, on the day of Pentecost, on the murderers of our Lord, abundantly shews what may be expected by all who believe on him. The same holy joy shall animate their souls; and the same Almighty power renovate them after the divine image. It was to Christians scattered throughout the world that Peter said, Through believing in Christ, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving even now the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls [Note: 1Pe 1:8-9.]. What, then, may not we also expect, if we truly believe in Christ! Verily, as in water face answereth to face, so shall our hearts respond to the hearts of the primitive saints, in all that is good and great. Our victories shall be the same as theirs, as shall also be our triumphs and our joys. Let this encourage us to go forward in our heavenly way, expecting assuredly that we in due time shall see the good of Gods chosen, and rejoice in the gladness of his nation, and glory with his inheritance [Note: Psa 106:5.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 27:19 As in water face [answereth] to face, so the heart of man to man.
Ver. 19. As in water face answereth to face, &c. ] Men’s fancies differ as much as their faces: so the Chaldee interprets it. But they do better that give this sense, that in regard of natural corruption, all men look with one countenance, and have one visage; since “whole evil is in man, and whole man in evil,” neither by nature is there ever a better of us. In the heart of the vilest person we may see, as in a mirror, our own evil hearts. For as there were many Marii in one Caesar, so are there many Cains and Judases in the best of us. And as that first chaos had the seed of all creatures, and wanted only the Spirit’s motion to bring them forth, Gen 1:1-2 so there is a , a common seed plot of sin in us all; there wants but the warmth and watering of Satan’s temptations to make it bud. Eze 7:10 And though there were no devil, yet our naughty nature would act Satan’s part against itself; it would have a supply of wickedness, as a serpent hath poison, from itself; it hath a spring to feed it. Hence our Saviour chargeth his own disciples to take heed of surfeiting, drunkenness, and distracting carefulness Luk 21:34 – who would ever have suspected such monsters to lurk in such holy bosoms? And St Paul saw cause to warn so pure a soul as young Timothy to “flee youthly lusts,” 2Ti 2:22 and to exhort the younger women “with chastity”; thereby intimating, that while he was exhorting them to chastity, some impure motion might steal upon him unawares. Corruption in the best will have some flurts.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
man . . . man. Hebrew. ‘adam. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 27:19
Pro 27:19
“As in water face answereth face, So the heart of man to man.”
This is a wonderful axiom indeed. Still water serves as a mirror for one looking into it, reflecting one’s very likeness. The same thing is true in human relationships.
A grouchy, evil-spirited person evokes the same attitude in everyone he confronts; and the same is true of a happy and cheerful person.
Pro 27:19. See a man looking at himself in the water. It is almost as if he is talking to himself. Even so as people look at each other, it is almost as if a silent message is being sent between them.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
in: Jam 1:22-25
so: Gen 6:5, Psa 33:15, Mar 7:21
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 27:19. As in water face answereth to face As the image of a mans face in the water answers to his natural face who looks into it; or, as in water one mans face is like anothers, the difference of mens faces being not there visible; so one man resembles another not only in the regard of the corruption of nature, which is alike in all men, but also with respect to the tempers and dispositions of their minds, wherein likewise they frequently agree. Dr. Grey thinks the verse should be rendered, As the water showeth the face to the face, so doth the heart the man to the man. In which sense Castalio seems to have understood it, paraphrasing it thus: As a man may know what kind of a face he hath if he will look into the water, so he may know what kind of a man he is if he will examine his conscience. Another interpretation, adopted by some, is, A man may see himself, while he looks upon other men, as well as know other men, by considering himself, and that as certainly as he can see his own face in the water, or in any other mirror; there being little or no difference between one man and another by nature, but the difference being made by the grace of God.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
27:19 As in water face [answereth] to face, {h} so the heart of man to man.
(h) There is no difference between men by nature, only the grace of God makes the difference.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
If you want to see what your face looks like, look in a placid pool of water. If you want to see what a man is really like, look in his heart. That is, find out what he loves and values and you will know what kind of person he is. One’s thoughts reflect his or her true character. Jesus taught that what a person says reveals what is in his or her heart (Mat 12:34).