P
R O V E R B S
CHAP. III.
This
chapter is one of the most excellent in all this book, both for argument to
persuade us to be religious and for directions therein. I. We must be constant
to our duty because that is the way to be happy, ver. 1-4. II. We must live a
life of dependence upon God because that is the way to be safe, ver. 5. III.
We must keep up the fear of God because that is the way to be healthful, ver.
7, 8. IV. We must serve God with our estates because that is the way to be
rich, ver. 9, 10. V. We must hear afflictions well because that is the way to
get good by them, ver. 11, 12. VI. We must take pains to obtain wisdom because
that is the way to gain her, and to gain by her, ver. 13-20. VII. We must
always govern ourselves by the rules of wisdom, of right reason and religion,
because that is the way to be always easy, ver. 21-26. VIII. We must do all
the good we can, and no hurt, to our neighbours, because according as men are
just or unjust, charitable or uncharitable, humble or haughty, accordingly
they shall receive of God, ver. 27-35. From all this it appears what a
tendency religion has to make men both blessed and blessings.
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Communion
Conferred by Wisdom.
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1 My son, forget not my law; but let thine
heart keep my commandments: 2 For length of days, and long life,
and peace, shall they add to thee. 3 Let not mercy and truth
forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine
heart: 4 So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the
sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
We are here taught to live a life of communion with God; and without
controversy great is this mystery of godliness, and of great consequence to
us, and, as is here shown, will be of unspeakable advantage.
I. We must have a continual regard to God's precepts, v. 1, 2.
1. We must, (1.) Fix God's law, and his commandments, as our rule, by which we
will in every thing be ruled and to which we will yield obedience. (2.) We
must acquaint ourselves with them; for we cannot be said to forget that which
we never knew. (3.) We must remember them so that they may be ready to us
whenever we have occasion to use them. (4.) Our wills and affections must be
subject to them and must in every thing conform to them. Not only our heads,
but our hearts, must keep God's commandments; in them, as in the ark of
the testimony, both the tables of the law must be deposited.
2. To encourage us to submit ourselves to all the restraints and injunctions
of the divine law, we are assured (v. 2) that it is the certain way to
long life and prosperity. (1.) It is the way to be long-lived. God's
commandments shall add to us length of days; to a good useful life on
earth, they shall add an eternal life in heaven, length of days for ever
and ever, Ps. xxi. 4. God shall be our life and the length of our days,
and that will be indeed long life, with an addition. But, because length of
days may possibly become a burden and a trouble, it is promised, (2.) That it
shall prove the way to be easy too, so that even the days of old age shall not
be evil days, but days in which thou shalt have pleasure: Peace shall they
be continually adding to thee. As grace increases, peace shall
increase; and of the increase of Christ's government and peace, in the
heart as well as in the world, there shall be no end. Great and growing
peace have those that love the law.
II. We must have a continual regard to God's promises, which go along with his
precepts, and are to be received, and retained, with them (v. 3):
"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee, God's mercy in promising,
and his truth in performing. Do not forfeit these, but live up to them, and
preserve thy interest in them; do not forget these, but live upon them, and
take the comfort of them. Bind them about thy neck, as the most
graceful ornament." It is the greatest honour we are capable of in this
world to have an interest in the mercy and truth of God. "Write to
them upon the table of thy heart, as dear to thee, thy portion, and most
delightful entertainment; take a pleasure in applying them and thinking them
over." Or it may be meant of the mercy and truth which are our duty,
piety and sincerity, charity towards men, fidelity towards God. Let these be
fixed and commanding principles in thee. To encourage us to do this we are
assured (v. 4) that this is the way to recommend ourselves both to our
Creator and fellow-creatures: So shalt thou find favour and good
understanding. 1. A good man seeks the favour of God in the first place,
is ambitious of the honour of being accepted of the Lord, and he shall find
that favour, and with it a good understanding; God will make the best of him,
and put a favourable construction upon what he says and does. He shall be
owned as one of Wisdom's children, and shall have praise with God, as one
having that good understanding which is ascribed to all those that
do his commandments. 2. He wishes to have favour with men also (as Christ
had, Luke ii. 52), to be accepted of the multitude of his brethren (Esth.
x. 3), and that he shall have; they shall understand him aright, and in his
dealings with them he shall appear to be prudent, shall act intelligently and
with discretion. He shall have good success (so some translate it), the
common effect of good understanding.
III. We must have a continual regard to God's providence, must own and depend
upon it in all our affairs, both by faith and prayer. 1. By faith. We must
repose an entire confidence in the wisdom, power, and goodness of God,
assuring ourselves of the extent of his providence to all the creatures and
all their actions. We must therefore trust in the Lord with all our hearts
(v. 5); we must believe that he is able to do what he will, wise to do
what is best, and good, according to his promise, to do what is best for us,
if we love him, and serve him. We must, with an entire submission and
satisfaction, depend upon him to perform all things for us, and not lean to
our own understanding, as if we could, by any forecast of our own, without
God, help ourselves, and bring our affairs to a good issue. Those who know
themselves cannot but find their own understanding to be a broken reed, which,
if they lean to, will certainly fail them. In all our conduct we must be
diffident of our own judgment, and confident of God's wisdom, power, and
goodness, and therefore must follow Providence and not force it. That often
proves best which was least our own doing. 2. By prayer (v. 6): In
all thy ways acknowledge God. We must not only in our judgment believe
that there is an over-ruling hand of God ordering and disposing of us and all
our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ourselves to him
accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design any thing but what we are
sure is lawful. We must ask his advice and beg direction from him, not only
when the case is difficult (when we know not what to do, no thanks to us that
we have our eyes up to him), but in every case, be it ever so plain, We must
ask success of him, as those who know the race is not to the swift. We
must refer ourselves to him as one from whom our judgment proceeds, and
patiently, and with a holy indifferency, wait his award. In all our ways
that prove direct, and fair, and pleasant, in which we gain our point to our
satisfaction, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways
that prove cross and uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we
must acknowledge God with submission. Our eye must be ever towards God; to him
we must, in every thing, make our requests known, as Jephthah uttered all
his words before the Lord in Mizpeh, Judg. xi. 11. For our encouragement
to do this, it is promised, "He shall direct thy paths, so that
thy way shall be safe and good and the issue happy at last." Note, Those
that put themselves under a divine guidance shall always have the benefit of
it. God will give them that wisdom which is profitable to direct, so that they
shall not turn aside into the by-paths of sin, and then will himself so wisely
order the event that it shall be to their mind, or (which is equivalent) for
their good. Those that faithfully follow the pillar of cloud and fire shall
find that though it may lead them about it leads them the right way and will
bring them to Canaan at last.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD,
and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and
marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the LORD
with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out
with new wine. 11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;
neither be weary of his correction: 12 For whom the LORD
loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
We have here before us three exhortations, each of them enforced with a good
reason:--
I. We must live in a humble and dutiful subjection to God and his government (v.
7): "Fear the Lord, as your sovereign Lord and Master; be ruled in
every thing by your religion and subject to the divine will." This must
be, 1. A humble subjection: Be not wise in thy own eyes. Note, There is
not a greater enemy to the power of religion, and the fear of God in the
heart, than conceitedness of our own wisdom. Those that have an opinion of
their own sufficiency think it below them, and a disparagement to them, to
take their measures from, much more to hamper themselves with, religion's
rules. 2. A dutiful subjection: Fear the Lord, and depart from evil;
take heed of doing any thing to offend him and to forfeit his care. To fear
the Lord, so as to depart from evil, is true wisdom and understanding
(Job xxviii. 28); those that have it are truly wise, but self-denyingly so,
and not wise in their own eyes. For our encouragement thus to live in
the fear of God it is here promised (v. 8) that it shall be as
serviceable even to the outward man as our necessary food. It will be
nourishing: It shall be health to thy navel. It will be strengthening:
It shall be marrow to thy bones. The prudence, temperance, and
sobriety, the calmness and composure of mind, and the good government of the
appetites and passions, which religion teaches, tend very much not only to the
health of the soul, but to a good habit of body, which is very desirable, and
without which our other enjoyments in this world are insipid. Envy is the
rottenness of the bones; the sorrow of the world dries them; but hope and
joy in God are marrow to them.
II. We must make a good use of our estates, and that is the way to increase
them, v. 9, 10. Here is,
1. A precept which makes it our duty to serve God with our estates: Honour
the Lord with thy substance. It is the end of our creation and redemption
to honour God, to be to him for a name and a praise; we are no other way
capable of serving him than in his honour. His honour we must show forth and
the honour we have for him. We must honour him, not only with our bodies
and spirits which are his, but with our estates too, for they also are
his: we and all our appurtenances must be devoted to his glory. Worldly wealth
is but poor substance, yet, such as it is, we must honour God with it, and
then, if ever, it becomes substantial. We must honour God, (1.) With our
increase. Where riches increase we are tempted to honour ourselves (Deut.
viii. 17) and to set our hearts upon the world (Ps. lxii. 10); but the more
God gives us the more we should study to honour him. It is meant of the
increase of the earth, for we live upon annual products, to keep us in
constant dependence on God. (2.) With all our increase. As God has
prospered us in every thing, we must honour him. Our law will allow a
prescription for a modus decimandi--a mode of tithing, but none de
non decimando--for exemption from paying tithes. (3.) With the
first-fruits of all, as Abel, Gen. iv. 4. This was the law (Exod. xxiii.
19), and the prophets, Mal. iii. 10. God, who is the first and best, must have
the first and best of every thing; his right is prior to all other, and
therefore he must be served first. Note, It is our duty to make our worldly
estates serviceable to our religion, to use them and the interest we have by
them for the promoting of religion, to do good to the poor with what we have
and abound in all works of piety and charity, devising liberal things.
2. A promise, which makes it our interest to serve God with our estates. It is
the way to make a little much, and much more; it is the surest and safest
method of thriving: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. He does
not say thy bags, but thy barns, not thy wardrobe replenished, but thy
presses: "God shall bless thee with an increase of that which is for use,
not for show or ornament--for spending and laying out, not for hoarding and
laying up." Those that do good with what they have shall have more to do
more good with. Note, If we make our worldly estates serviceable to our
religion we shall find our religion very serviceable to the prosperity of our
worldly affairs. Godliness has the promise of the life that now is and
most of the comfort of it. We mistake if we think that giving will undo us and
make us poor. No, giving for God's honour will make us rich, Hag. ii. 19. What
we gave we have.
III. We must conduct ourselves aright under our afflictions, v. 11, 12.
This the apostle quotes (Heb. xii. 5), and calls it an exhortation which
speaks unto us as unto children, with the authority and affection of a
father. We are here in a world of troubles. Now observe,
1. What must be our care when we are in affliction. We must neither despise it
nor be weary of it. His exhortation, before, was to those that are rich and in
prosperity, here to those that are poor and in adversity. (1.) We must not
despise an affliction, be it ever so light and short, as if it were not worth
taking notice of, or as if it were not sent on an errand and therefore
required no answer. We must not be stocks, and stones, and stoics, under our
afflictions, insensible of them, hardening ourselves under them, and
concluding we can easily get through them without God. (2.) We must not be
weary of an affliction, be it ever so heavy and long, not faint under
it, so the apostle renders it, not be dispirited, dispossessed of our own
souls, or driven to despair, or to use any indirect means for our relief and
the redress of our grievances. We must not think that the affliction either
presses harder or continues longer than is meet, not conclude that deliverance
will never come because it does not come so soon as we expect it.
2. What will be our comfort when we are in affliction. (1.) That it is a
divine correction; it is the chastening of the Lord, which, as it is a
reason why we should submit to it (for it is folly to contend with a God of
incontestable sovereignty and irresistible power), so it is a reason why we
should be satisfied in it; for we may be sure that a God of unspotted purity
does us no wrong and that a God of infinite goodness means us no hurt. It is
from God, and therefore must not be despised; for a slight put upon the
messenger is an affront to him that sends him. It is from God, and therefore
we must not be weary of it, for he knows our frame, both what we need and what
we can bear. (2.) That it is a fatherly correction; it comes not from his
vindictive justice as a Judge, but his wise affection as a Father. The father
corrects the son whom he loves, nay, and because he loves him and
desires he may be wise and good. He delights in that in his son which is
amiable and agreeable, and therefore corrects him for the prevention and cure
of that which would be a deformity to him, and an alloy to his delight in him.
Thus God hath said, As many as I love I rebuke and chasten, Rev. iii.
19. This is a great comfort to God's children, under their afflictions, [1.]
That they not only consist with, but flow from, covenant-love. [2.] That they
are so far from doing them any real hurt that, by the grace of God working
with them, they do a great deal of good, and are happy means of their
satisfaction.
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The
Excellency of Wisdom; Happiness of Those Who Find Wisdom.
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13 Happy is the man that findeth
wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the
merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the
gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than
rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto
her. 16 Length of days is in her right hand; and in
her left hand riches and honour. 17 Her ways are ways of
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. 18 She is
a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one
that retaineth her. 19 The LORD
by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the
heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the
clouds drop down the dew.
Solomon had pressed us earnestly to seek diligently for wisdom (ch. ii.
1, &c.), and had assured us that we should succeed in our sincere and
constant pursuits. But the question is, What shall we get by it when we have
found it? Prospect of advantage is the spring and spur of industry; he
therefore shows us how much it will be to our profit, laying this down for an
unquestionable truth, Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, that true
wisdom which consists in the knowledge and love of God, and an entire
conformity to all the intentions of his truths, providences, and laws. Now
observe,
I. What it is to find wisdom so as to be made happy by it.
1. We must get it. He is the happy man who, having found it, makes it his own,
gets both an interest in it and the possession of it, who draws out
understanding (so the word it), that is, (1.) Who derives it from God.
Having it not in himself, he draws it with the bucket of prayer from the
fountain of all wisdom, who gives liberally. (2.) Who takes pains for
it, as he does who draws ore out of the mine. If it do not come easily, we
must put the more strength to draw it. (3.) Who improves in it, who, having
some understanding, draws it out by growing in knowledge and making five
talents ten. (4.) Who does good with it, who draws out from the stock he has,
as wine from the vessel, and communicates to others, for their instruction, things
new and old. That is well got, and to good purpose, that is thus used to
good purpose.
2. We must trade for it. We read here of the merchandise of wisdom, which
intimates, (1.) That we must make it our business, and not a by-business, as
the merchant bestows the main of his thoughts and time upon his merchandise.
(2.) That we must venture all in it, as a stock in trade, and be willing to
part with all for it. This is that pearl of great price which, when we have
found it, we must willingly sell all for the purchase of, Matt. xiii. 45, 46. Buy
the truth, (Prov. xxiii. 23); he does not say at what rate, because we
must buy it at any rate rather than miss it.
3. We must lay hold on it as we lay hold on a good bargain when it is offered
to us, which we do the more carefully if there be danger of having it taken
out of our hands. We must apprehend with all our might, and put forth our
utmost vigour in the pursuit of it, lay hold on all occasions to improve in
it, and catch at the least of its dictates.
4. We must retain it. It is not enough to lay hold on wisdom, but we must keep
our hold, hold it fast, with a resolution never to let it go, but to persevere
in the ways of wisdom to the end. We must sustain it (so some read it),
must embrace it with all our might, as we do that which we would sustain. We
must do all we can to support the declining interests of religion in the
places where we live.
II. What the happiness of those is who do find it.
1. It is a transcendent happiness, more than can be found in the wealth of
this world, if we had ever so much of it, v. 14, 15. It is not only a
surer, but a more gainful merchandise to trade for wisdom, for Christ, and
grace, and spiritual blessings, than for silver, and gold, and rubies. Suppose
a man to have got these in abundance, nay, to have all the things he can
desire of this world (and who is it that ever had?), yet, (1.) All this would
not purchase heavenly wisdom; no, it would utterly be contemned; it cannot
be gotten for gold, Job xxviii. 15, &c. (2.) All this would not
countervail the want of heavenly wisdom nor be the ransom of a soul lost by
its own folly. (3.) All this would not make a man half so happy, no, not in
this world, as those are who have true wisdom, though they have none of all
these things. (4.) Heavenly wisdom will procure that for us, and secure that
to us, which silver, and gold, and rubies, will not be the purchase of.
2. It is a true happiness; for it is inclusive of, and equivalent to, all
those things which are supposed to make men happy, v. 16, 17. Wisdom is
here represented as a bright and bountiful queen, reaching forth gifts to her
faithful and loving subjects, and offering them to all that will submit to her
government. (1.) Is length of days a blessing? Yes, the most valuable; life
includes all good, and therefore she offers that in her right hand.
Religion puts us into the best methods of prolonging life, entitles us to the
promises of it, and, though our days on earth should be no more than our
neighbour's, yet it will secure to us everlasting life in a better world. (2.)
Are riches and honour accounted blessings? They are so, and them she reaches
out with her left hand. For, as she is ready to embrace those that
submit to her with both arms, so she is ready to give out to them with both
hands. They shall have the wealth of this world as far as Infinite Wisdom sees
good for them; while the true riches, by which men are rich towards God, are
secured to them. Nor is there any honour, by birth or preferment, comparable
to that which attends religion; it makes the righteous more excellent than
his neighbour, recommends men to God, commands respect and veneration with
all the sober part of mankind, and will in the other world make those that are
now buried in obscurity to shine forth as the sun. (3.) Is pleasure
courted as much as any thing? It is so, and it is certain that true piety has
in it the greatest true pleasure. Her ways are ways of pleasantness;
the ways in which she has directed us to walk are such as we shall find
abundance of delight and satisfaction in. All the enjoyments and
entertainments of sense are not comparable to the pleasure which gracious
souls have in communion with God and doing good. That which is the only right
way to bring us to our journey's end we must walk in, fair or foul, pleasant
or unpleasant; but the way of religion, as it is the right way, so it is a
pleasant way; it is smooth and clean, and strewed with roses: All her paths
are peace. There is not only peace in the end, but peace in the way; not
only in the way of religion in general, but in the particular paths of that
way, in all her paths, all the several acts, instances, and duties of it. One
does not embitter what the other sweetens, as it is with the allays of this
world; but they are all peace, not only sweet, but safe. The saints enter into
peace on this side heaven, and enjoy a present sabbatism.
3. It is the happiness of paradise (v. 18): She is a tree of life.
True grace is that to the soul which the tree of life would have been, from
which our first parents were shut out for eating of the forbidden tree. It is
a seed of immortality, a well of living waters, springing up to life
eternal. It is an earnest of the New Jerusalem, in the midst of which is the
tree of life, Rev. xxii. 2; ii. 7. Those that feed and feast on this
heavenly wisdom shall not only be cured by it of every fatal malady, but shall
find an antidote against age and death; they shall eat and live for ever.
4. It is a participation of the happiness of God himself, for wisdom is his
everlasting glory and blessedness, v. 19, 20. This should make us in
love with the wisdom and understanding which God gives, that the Lord by
wisdom founded the earth, so that it cannot be removed, nor can ever fail
of answering all the ends of its creation, to which it is admirably and
unexceptionably fitted. By understanding he has likewise established
the heavens and directed all the motions of them in the best manner. The
heavenly bodies are vast, yet there is no flaw in them--numerous, yet no
disorder in them--the motion rapid, yet no wear or tear; the depths of the sea
are broken up, and thence come the waters beneath the firmament, and the
clouds drop down the dews, the waters from above the firmament, and all
this by the divine wisdom and knowledge; therefore happy is the man that
finds wisdom, for he will thereby be thoroughly furnished for every
good word and work. Christ is that Wisdom, by whom the worlds were made
and still consist; happy therefore are those to whom he is made of God
wisdom, for he has wherewithal to make good all the foregoing promises of
long life, riches, and honour; for all the wealth of heaven, earth, and seas,
is his.
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The
Excellency of Wisdom.
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21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes:
keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto
thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy
way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest
down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall
be sweet. 25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the
desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. 26 For the LORD
shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Solomon, having pronounced those happy who not only lay hold on wisdom, but
retain her, here exhorts us therefore to retain her, assuring us that we
ourselves shall have the comfort of doing so.
I. The exhortation is, to have religion's rules always in view and always at
heart, v. 21. 1. To have them always in view: "My son, let them
not depart from thy eyes; let not thy eyes ever depart from them to wander
after vanity. Have them always in mind, and do not forget them; be ever and
anon thinking of them, and conversing with them, and never imagine that thou
hast looked upon them long enough and that it is time now to lay them by; but,
as long as thou livest, keep up and cultivate thy acquaintance with
them." He who learns to write must always have his eye upon his copy, and
not let that be out of his sight; and to the words of wisdom must those, in
like manner, have a constant respect, who will walk circumspectly. 2. To have
them always at heart; for it is in that treasury, the hidden man of the heart,
that we must keep sound wisdom and discretion, keep to the principles
of it and keep in the ways of it. It is wealth that is worth keeping.
II. The argument to enforce this exhortation is taken from the unspeakable
advantage which wisdom, thus kept, will be of to us. 1. In respect of strength
and satisfaction: "It will be life to thy soul (v. 22); it
will quicken thee to thy duty when thou beginnest to be slothful and remiss;
it will revive thee under thy troubles when thou beginnest to droop and
despond. It will be thy spiritual life, an earnest of life eternal." Life
to the soul is life indeed. 2. In respect of honour and reputation: It shall
be grace to thy neck, as a chain of gold, or a jewel. Grace to thy
jaws (so the word is), grateful to thy taste and relish (so some);
it shall infuse grace into all thou sayest (so others), shall furnish
thee with acceptable words, which shall gain thee credit. 3. In respect of
safety and security. This he insists upon in four verses, the scope of which
is to show that the effect of righteousness (which is the same with wisdom
here) is quietness and assurance for ever, Isa. xxxii. 17. Good people
are taken under God's special protection, and therein they may have an entire
satisfaction. They are safe and may be easy, (1.) In their motions by day, v.
23. If our religion be our companion, it will be our convoy: "Then
shalt thou walk in thy way safely. The natural life, and all that belongs
to it, shall be under the protection of God's providence; the spiritual life,
and all its interests, are under the protection of his grace; so that thou
shalt be kept from falling into sin or trouble." Wisdom will direct us
into, and keep us in, the safe way, as far as may be, from temptation, and
will enable us to walk in it with holy security. The way of duty is the way of
safety. "We are in danger of falling, but wisdom will keep thee, that thy
foot shall not stumble at those things which are an offence and overthrow
to many, but which thou shalt know how to get over." (2.) In their rest
by night, v. 24. In our retirements we lie exposed and are most subject
to frights. "But keep up communion with God, and keep a good conscience,
and then when thou liest down thou shalt not be afraid of fire, or
thieves, or spectres, or any of the terrors of darkness, knowing that when we,
and all our friends, are asleep, yet he that keeps Israel and every
true-born Israelite neither slumbers nor sleeps, and to him thou hast
committed thyself and taken shelter under the shadow of his wings. Thou
shalt lie down, and not need to sit up to keep guard; having lain down,
thou shalt sleep, and not have thy eyes held waking by care and fear; and thy
sleep shall be sweet and refreshing to thee, being not disturbed by any
alarms from without or from within," Ps. iv. 8; cxvi. 7. The way to have
a good night is to keep a good conscience; and the sleep, as of the labouring
man, so of the wise and godly man, is sweet. (3.) In their greatest straits
and dangers. Integrity and uprightness will preserve us, so that we need not
be afraid of sudden fear, v. 25. The harms that surprise us,
unthought of, giving us no time to arm ourselves by consideration, are most
likely to put us into confusion. But let not the wise and good man forget
himself, and then he will not give way to any fear that has torment, be the
alarm ever so sudden. Let him not fear the desolation of the wicked, when
it comes, that is, [1.] The desolation which the wicked ones make of
religion and the religious; though it comes, and seems to be just at the door,
yet be not afraid of it; for, though God may make use of the wicked as
instruments of his people's correction, yet he will never suffer them to be
the authors of their desolation. Or rather, [2.] The desolation which wicked
men will be brought into in a moment. It will come, and timorous saints may be
apprehensive that they shall be involved in it; but let this be their comfort,
that though judgments lay waste generally, at least promiscuously, yet God
knows who are his and how to separate between the precious and the vile.
Therefore be not afraid of that which appears most formidable, for (v.
26) "the Lord shall be not only thy protector to keep thee safe,
but thy confidence to keep thee secure, so that thy foot shall not
be taken by thy enemies nor ensnared by thy own fears." God has
engaged to keep the feet of his saints.
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Justice
and Kindness Recommended; Caution against Envy.
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27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is
due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say
not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when
thou hast it by thee. 29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour,
seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30 Strive not with a man
without cause, if he have done thee no harm. 31 Envy thou not the
oppressor, and choose none of his ways. 32 For the froward is
abomination to the LORD:
but his secret is with the righteous. 33 The curse of the LORD
is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the
just. 34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto
the lowly. 35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the
promotion of fools.
True wisdom consists in the due discharge of our duty towards man, as well as
towards God, in honesty as well as piety, and therefore we have here divers
excellent precepts of wisdom which relate to our neighbour.
I. We must render to all their due, both in justice and charity, and not delay
to do it (v. 27, 28): "Withhold not good from those to whom it
is due (either for want of love to them or through too much love to thy
money) when it is in the power of thy hand to do it, for, if it be not,
it cannot be expected; but it was thy great fault if thou didst, by thy
extravagances, disable thyself to do justly and show mercy, and it ought to be
the greatest of thy griefs if God had disabled thee, not so much that thou art
straitened in thy own comforts and conveniences as that thou hast not
wherewithal to give to those to whom it is due." Withhold it not;
this implies that it is called for and expected, but that the hand is drawn in
and the bowels of compassion are shut up. We must not hinder others
from doing it, not be ourselves backward to it. "If thou hast it by thee
to-day, hast it in the power of thy hand, say not to thy neighbour, Go thy
way for this time, and come at a more convenient season, and I will then
see what will be done; to-morrow I will give; whereas thou art not sure
that thou shalt live till to-morrow, or that to-morrow thou shalt have it
by thee. Be not thus loth to part with thy money upon a good account. Make
not excuses to shift off a duty that must be done, nor delight to keep thy
neighbour in pain and in suspense, nor to show the authority which the giver
has over the beggar; but readily and cheerfully, and from a principle of
conscience towards God, give good to those to whom it is due," to
the lords and owners of it (so the word is), to those who upon any
account are entitled to it. This requires us, 1. To pay our just debts without
fraud, covin, or delay. 2. To give wages to those who have earned them. 3. To
provide for our relations, and those that have dependence on us, for to them
it is due. 4. To render dues both to church and state, magistrates and
ministers. 5. To be ready to all acts of friendship and humanity, and in every
thing to be neighbourly; for these are things that are due by the law of doing
as we would be done by. 6. To be charitable to the poor and necessitous. If
others want the necessary supports of life, and we have wherewithal to supply
them, we must look upon it as due to them and not withhold it. Alms are called
righteousness because they are a debt to the poor, and a debt which we
must not defer to pay, Bis dat, qui cito dat--He gives twice who
gives speedily.
II. We must never design any hurt or harm to any body (v. 29): "Devise
not evil against thy neighbour; do not contrive how to do him an ill-turn
undiscovered, to prejudice him in his body, goods, or good name, and the
rather because he dwells securely by thee, and, having given thee no
provocation, entertains no jealousy or suspicion of thee, and therefore is off
his guard." It is against the laws both of honour and friendship to do a
man an ill-turn and give him no warning. Cursed be he that smites his
neighbour secretly. It is a most base ungrateful thing, if our neighbours
have a good opinion of us, that we will do them no harm, and we thence take
advantage to cheat and injure them.
III. We must not be quarrelsome and litigious (v. 30): "Do not strive
with a man without cause; contend not for that which thou hast no title
to; resent not that as a provocation which peradventure was but an oversight.
Never trouble thy neighbour with frivolous complaints and accusations, or
vexatious law-suits, when either there is no harm done thee or none worth
speaking of, or thou mightest right thyself in a friendly way." Law must
be the last refuge; for it is not only our duty, but our interest, as much
as in us lies, to live peaceably with all men. When accounts are balanced,
it will be found there is little got by striving.
IV. We must not envy the prosperity of evil-doers, v. 31. This caution
is the same with that which is so much insisted on, Ps. xxxvii. "Envy
not the oppressor; though he be rich and great, though he live in ease and
pleasure, and make all about him to stand in awe of him, yet do not think him
a happy man, nor wish thyself in his condition. Choose none of his ways;
do not imitate him, nor take the courses he takes to enrich himself. Never
think of doing as he does, though thou wert sure to get by it all that he has,
for it would be dearly bought." Now, to show what little reason saints
have to envy sinners, Solomon here, in the last four verses of the chapter,
compares the condition of sinners and saints together (as his father David had
done, Ps. xxxvii.), sets the one over against the other, that we may see how
happy the saints are, though they be oppressed, and how miserable the wicked
are, though they be oppressors. Men are to be judged of as they stand with
God, and as he judges of them, not as they stand in the world's books. Those
are in the right who are of God's mind; and, if we be of his mind, we shall
see, whatever pretence one sinner may have to envy another, that saints are so
happy themselves that they have no reason at all to envy any sinner, though
his condition be ever so prosperous. For, 1. Sinners are hated of God, but
saints are beloved, v. 32. The froward sinners, who are continually
going from-ward him, whose lives are a perverse contradiction to his will, are
abomination to the Lord. He that hates nothing that he has made yet
abhors those who have thus marred themselves; they are not only abominable in
his sight, but an abomination. The righteous therefore have no reason to envy
them, for they have his secret with them; they are his favourites; he has that
communion with them which is a secret to the world and in which they have a
joy that a stranger does not intermeddle with; he communicates to them the
secret tokens of his love; his covenant is with them; they know his mind, and
the meanings and intentions of his providence, better than others can. Shall
I hide from Abraham the thing that I do? 2. Sinners are under the curse of
God, they and their houses; saints are under his blessing, they and their
habitation, v. 33. The wicked has a house, a strong and stately
dwelling perhaps, but the curse of the Lord is upon it, it is in it,
and, though the affairs of the family may prosper, yet the very blessings are
curses, Mal. ii. 2. There is leanness in the soul, when the body is fed
to the full, Ps. cvi. 15. The curse may work silently and slowly; but it is as
a fretting leprosy; it will consume the timber thereof and the stones
thereof, Zech. v. 4; Hab. ii. 11. The just have a habitation, a poor
cottage (the word is used for sheep-cotes), a very mean dwelling; but God
blesses it; he is continually blessing it, from the beginning of the year to
the end of it. The curse or blessing of God is upon the house according as the
inhabitants are wicked or godly; and it is certain that a blessed family,
though poor, has no reason to envy a cursed family, though rich. 3. God puts
contempt upon sinners, but shows respect to saints, v. 34. (1.) Those
who exalt themselves shall certainly be abased: Surely he scorns the
scorners. Those who scorn to submit to the discipline of religion, scorn
to take God's yoke upon them, scorn to be beholden to his grace, who scoff at
godliness and godly people, and take a pleasure in bantering and exposing
them, God will scorn them, and lay them open to scorn before all the world. He
despises their impotent malice, sits in heaven and laughs at them, Ps.
ii. 4. He retaliates upon them (Ps. xviii. 26); he resists the proud.
(2.) Those who humble themselves shall be exalted, for he gives grace to
the lowly; he works that in them which puts honour upon them and for which
they are accepted of God and approved of men. Those who patiently bear
contempt from scornful men shall have respect from God and all good men, and
then they have no reason to envy the scorners or to choose their ways. 4. The
end of sinners will be everlasting shame, the end of saints endless honour, v.
35. (1.) Saints are wise men, and act wisely for themselves; for though their
religion now wraps them up in obscurity, and lays them open to reproach, yet
they are sure to inherit glory at last, the far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory. They shall have it, and have it by inheritance, the sweetest
and surest tenure. God gives them grace (v. 34), and therefore they
shall inherit glory, for grace is glory, 2 Cor. iii. 18. It is glory begun,
the earnest of it, Ps. lxxxiv. 11. (2.) Sinners are fools, for they are not
only preparing disgrace for themselves, but at the same time flattering
themselves with a prospect of honour, as if they only took the way to be
great. Their end will manifest their folly: Shame shall be their promotion.
And it will be so much the more their punishment as it will come instead of
their promotion; it will be all the promotion they must ever expect, that God
will be glorified in their everlasting confusion.
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