Provérbios 3

Provérbios 3

Morris - Since Christ was the one by whom God founded the earth (Jn1:3; Col1:16), this verse makes it clear that in Proverbs, "wisdom" is actually personified and identified with Christ. Charles Bridges - 19. The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth: by understanding hath he established (Marg. prepared,) the heavens. 20. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. We have seen wisdom, as it is in man, with all its enriching blessings. Here we behold its majesty, as it is in the bosom of God and gloriously displayed in his works. ‘Hereby he sheweth, that this wisdom, whereof he speaketh, was everlasting; because it was before all creatures, and that all things—even the whole world—were made by it.’ Behold it founding the earth “upon nothing;” and yet “so sure, that it cannot be moved.” See how this great architect hath established the heavens, fixing all their bright luminaries in their respective orbits—‘such a glorious canopy set with such sparkling diamonds.’4 Each of these departments declares his knowledge. In the earth—breaking up the depths—gathering them up into rivers and streams for the refreshment of man. In the heavens—collecting the moisture into dew—dropping down fatness upon the parched ground; each of these countless drops falling from this Fountain of life.7 Thus does every particle of the universe glitter with infinite skill. The earth—its pavement, and the heavens—its ceiling—“declare the glory of God.” How beautiful is the uniformity of the two great systems of God! Both are the work of the same architect. Both display the wisdom and knowledge of God. The universe is a parable—a mirror of the gospel. Does not the manifestation of these Divine Perfections in the field of Creation open a rich provision for our happiness? And does not their more glorious exhibition in the great work of redemption, fill us with adoring praise? “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” George Lawson - Proverbs 3:19. The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, And the skies drip with dew. Knowledge and wisdom belong to God in their highest perfection, and shine forth in all his works. By his wisdom he established the world, and formed every creature beautiful in its kind. By his knowledge, the heavens and the earth, and all their inhabitants, were formed into one universe, which incessantly proclaims the greatness of its Creator’s wisdom. The language of every creature when considered by itself, and especially when viewed as part of the grand system, is, “We come forth from the Lord of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.” The world could never have afforded us a convenient dwelling-place, had not the depths by the knowledge of God been broken up, and the waters separated from the dry land, to be laid up in the vast repository of the sea, or to flow along in rivers for our benefit. It is wisdom that draws up the moisture from the earth in waters, and exhales it in vapours, forming them into clouds, and again distilling them in dew, or pouring them down in rain, that food may spring out of the earth for man and beast. This wisdom calls for our gratitude, and praise, and imitation. We cannot pretend to make or govern a world, but we are enjoined to manage our own concerns with wisdom. The God whose understanding is infinite, hath dignified us with rational powers, and directed us to that wisdom which is proper for us. When he displayed the wonders of his infinite understanding at the creation of all things, he said unto man, “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.” He is the giver of wisdom, and he gives it from his own exhaustless stores. Every beam of wisdom in man is a ray from that eternal Sun; and the divine image, which we lost by our folly in departing from God, begins to be renewed in us when we attain that knowledge and wisdom so earnestly recommended by the royal teacher. Is wisdom so incomparably useful and excellent? let us then listen with reverence to the instruction that again speaks to us as unto children. William Arnot - Wisdom Making and Managing Worlds “The Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.”—3:19, 20. THESE are specimens of Wisdom’s mighty work on worlds,—these are the well-known tracks of God’s goings in creation. There is a closer connection between creation and redemption than human philosophy is able to discover, or unbelieving philosophy is willing to own. The breach that sin has made in the moral hemisphere of the duplicate universe hides from our view the grand unity of the Creator’s work. It is one plan from the beginning. The physical and the moral departments are the constituent parts of the completed whole. Throughout the present week (a thousand years is with the Lord as one day) creation labours painfully, by reason of a rent that runs through its spiritual side: provision has been made for healing it; and even now the process is going on. These labour days sprung from a preceding holy rest, and they will issue in another Sabbath soon. Creation is groaning now for its promised rest: when it comes, the material world will again be a perfect platform for the display of its Maker’s goodness. When the earth is made new, it will be the dwelling-place of righteousness. The material and the spiritual, like body and soul, each fearfully made, and together wonderfully united, will be the perfect manifestation of divine wisdom and love. A glance is gotten here into the circulation of the world. “The depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down dew!” He has instituted laws whereby the deep is divided. One portion rises to the sky, and thence drops down again to refresh the earth. “How wonderful, O Lord, are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all!” By his knowledge, too, another depth is broken up. The wicked, a whole worldful, lie outspread beneath his eye, “like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest” (Isa. 57:20). What wisdom can separate the pure from the impure, and draw from that unholy mass a multitude, whom no man can number, to be fit inhabitants of heaven? God’s wisdom has done this. Christ, set in the firmament of revelation, pours his beams of love upon the lost, and thereby wins them out from their impurity, and upward unto himself. There is a double upbreaking of these depths, and a double separation of the pure from the vile; the one is personal, the other public. In an individual there is a great sea of sin. When the love of Christ comes in power, it dissolves the terrible cementing by which the soul and sin were run into one. Forthwith there is a breaking up and a separation. The man throws off himself; the new man puts off the old, and the old man puts on the new. The ransomed soul is severed from what seemed its very being, sin, and tends upward toward the Head. Sins trouble him still, and keep him low, but he is delivered from the law of sin. In the whole community of the fallen there is a breaking up. The wisdom of God is rending asunder things that sin had pressed into one. The word of invitation is, “Come out of her, my people;” and there is power with the word. A separating process is going on over all the surface of sin’s sea. This kingdom cometh not with observation. It is now an unseen thing within the separated; but a time is coming when the separation shall be as manifest, and the distance as wide, as that which now divides these raging waves of the sea from the white sunlit clouds of glory that have been lifted up, and now congregate and culminate in majestic beauty, as if around the throne of God. The white-robed multitude that do in very deed stand round it, were drawn from a sea of sorrow and sin; for they came out of great tribulation, and their robes were not white until they were washed in the blood of the Lamb. Proverbs 3:20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. KJV Proverbs 3:20 By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. the depths. Ge. 1:9; 7:11. Job 38:8–11. Ps. 104:8, 9. the clouds. Ge. 27:28, 37–39. De. 33:28. Job 36:27, 28; 38:26–28. Ps. 65:9–12. Je. 14:22. Joel 2:23. Proverbs 3:21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, KJV Proverbs 3:21 My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: Septuagint - huie me pararrhues (pararrheo: 2SPASubj: don't let them drift away Heb 2:1) tereson (tereo: 2SAAImp:watch over, protect;give heed to, watch narrowly) de emen boulen (Lu 7:30: boule: intention as the result of reflection; denotes deliberation and reflection) kai ennoian (ennoia: What is in the mind, idea, notion, intention, purpose: Heb 4:12, 1 Pe 4:1) let. ver. 1–3. De. 4:9; 6:6–9. Jos. 1:8. John. 8:31; 15:6, 7. He. 2:1–3. 1 John. 2:24, 27. keep. Proverbs 2:7. De. 32:46, 47. LET THEM: What is them? LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up, And the skies drip with dew. Charles Bridges - 21. My son, let them not depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion; 22. So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace unto thy neck. Again we listen to wisdom’s voice. Her repetitions are not “vain repetitions;” but well fitted to impress upon youth the weight of her instructions. As thy much loved treasure—as thy daily guide—let them not depart from thine eyes. Worse than valueless are they, if received as notions; of inestimable price, if kept as principles. Man’s instructions reach only “the form of knowledge.” God’s teaching is sound wisdom—full of light and substance—transfiguring divine truth with heavenly glory. Therefore keep it close to thine heart. Exercise it in that practical discretion, which disciplines all our tempers and duties. Man’s wisdom—how utterly devoid is it of all glow and energy! The soul, is “alienated from the life of God,” is in a state of death, ‘until the entrance of God’s word giveth light and understanding,5—“the light of life.” The excellency of this knowledge is, that “with this light and understanding,”—“it giveth life to them that have it.” Every truth under its influence springs up into the new creature with heavenly glow, and with all the grace of “the beauty of the Lord,” outshining, even in the most despised garb, the richest glory of an earthly crown. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:21. My son, let them not depart from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, There are some kinds of wisdom highly esteemed by the world, yet of these some are so far from being useful, that they are brutish folly. No wisdom is sound but that which is taught by the word of God, and approved by him who is the Author of wisdom, and who has given us plain marks for distinguishing it from that which is earthly, sensual, and devilish*. This sound wisdom makes us discreet and prudent, and guards us against that selfish cunning which has so often assumed its name. This sound wisdom and discretion must be like frontlets before our eyes, that we may keep them always in our view. Then will our steps be ordered in God’s word; for by what means shall we purify our way? By taking heed thereto, according to God’s word. There are many adversaries that would rob us of this treasure, and we are but too ready to let it slip The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. arts. For this reason, we need to be frequently reminded of our duty to keep it. If we retain it on our minds and hearts, if we uniformly exhibit it in our practice, we shall certainly find that our labour is not in vain in the Lord. Proverbs 3:22 So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. KJV Proverbs 3:22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Septuagint - hina zese e psuche sou kai charis e peri so trachelo estai de iasid tais sarxi sou kai epimeleia (see Lu 10:34: take care of involving forethought, concern for & provision) tois sois osteois life. Proverbs 4:22. Is. 38:16. John. 12:49, 50. grace. Proverbs 1:9. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:22. Fools can scarcely be said to live; they neither glorify God nor enjoy him, so that they are dead whilst they live. But the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it. It imparts to life that happiness which alone renders it worthy of the name. True wisdom is real life, communicated from him who is the quickening Spirit, to them that were dead in trespasses and sins. It is an ornament of grace to the neck, which renders the meanest beggar who possesses it more noble than the mightiest monarch, who is acquainted with no brighter ornament than his regal crown. Proverbs 3:23 Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. KJV Proverbs 3:23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. Septuagint - hina poreue pepoithos en eirene pasas tas hodous sou o de pous sou ou me proskopse Proverbs 2:8; 4:12; 10:9. Ps. 37:23, 24, 31; 91:11; 121:3, 8. Zec. 10:12. Charles Bridges - 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. The habitual eyeing of the word keeps the feet in a slippery path. David from inattention to wisdom’s words “well nigh slipped.”10 Peter from the same neglect fearfully stumbled. But our sleeping hours, no less than our waking steps, are divinely guarded. “So he giveth his beloved sleep.”12 “Underneath them are the everlasting arms.” They enjoy a childlike repose, sleeping in his bosom without fear. Thus did David ‘sleep in God, and in a state of salvation,’ amid the tumultuous warfare with his undutiful son.14 Such was the sleep of Peter in prison—in chains—between two soldiers—on the eve of his probable execution—when “there seemed but a step between him and death.” Yet in such a place—in such company—at such a moment—did he lie down so fearless, and sleep so sweetly, that an angel’s stroke was needed to awaken him. What would not many in troublous times—waking at every stir—give for one night of this sweet sleep! And yet how many such nights have we enjoyed; waking, as Jacob on his stony—we might add—his downy pillow, in the conciousness of our Father’s keeping! But where has been with us, as was with him, the renewed dedication to our God? But sudden fear may come. Yet be not afraid. It is the desolation of the wicked. They must fear. But child of God—run you to your confidence, and “be safe.” Surely he shall keep thy foot from being taken. Noah found this security in the flood of the ungodly—Lot in the destruction of Sodom6—the Christians in Pella in the desolation of the wicked city. Luther sung his song of confidence:—“God is our refuge and strength.” In the consummating desolation when it cometh—what will then be the sudden fear—the undismayed confidence? “All the tribes of the earth will mourn” at the sight of their despised Saviour—then their Judge. But, “when ye see these things, then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.”9 George Lawson - Proverbs 3:23, 24. Then you will walk in your way securely, And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. hilst we keep wisdom and discretion, we are safe by the protection of the Almighty. We are safe whether we walk in the way, or sit in the house, or repose on the couch. There shall no evil happen to the just; even those events which are evil to others, are sanctified and blessed to them. “He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways, (says the scripture), lest thou shouldst dash thy foot against a stone.” Happy it is to be the care of angels, but happier far to be under his protecting eye who is the keeper of Israel. We must remember, that this promise has a direction embodied with it, “Thou shalt walk in thy way.” Satan endeavoured to cheat our Saviour out of this important part of the promise, that he might cheat him out of the benefit of it altogether. But Jesus knew well the regard due to every jet and tittle of the word of God. We are required still to keep the way of the Lord, and in the affairs of life to attend to our own concerns, shunning the character of busy-bodies, by not meddling in the affairs of others. In the calling wherewith we are called, let us abide with God, and we shall dwell in safety under the shadow of the Almighty. Sleep commonly flies from the victims of wretchedness and calamity; but quiet and peaceful are the slumbers of those who Can lie down in safety, because the Lord sustaineth them. Even in the prospect of danger and distress, they can repose in calm serenity, for Jehovah giveth his beloved sleep. Such were the calamitous circumstances of David, when exiled and pursued by the unnatural Absalom, that all the people who were witnesses of his banishment, wept for him. Yet what says David himself? “I laid me down and slept; I awaked, for the Lord sustained me.” When the most prosperous sinners lie down to rest, they want covenant protection, and know not but they may open their eyes in hell. The servant of God knows, that when buried in the arms of “Nature’s sweet restorer,” he is under that guardian eye which neither slumbers nor sleeps. There may be seasons in which the good man cannot enjoy pleasant slumbers. But what does he lose, if, by the thoughts that Wisdom suggests, he enjoys a feast of holy contemplation, more refreshing to him than sleep is to others*! In order to enjoy this tranquillity of mind, we must believe the promises of God, and by the exercise of holy confidence, banish those fears that would distress the soul. Proverbs 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. KJV Proverbs 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. liest. Proverbs 6:22. Le. 26:6. Ps. 3:5; 4:8; 121:4–7. Eze. 34:15. and. Ps. 127:2. Je. 31:26. Ac. 12:6. 1 Th. 4:13, 14. Proverbs 3:25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; KJV Proverbs 3:25 Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. Be. Job. 5:21, 22; 11:13–15. Ps. 27:1, 2; 46:1–3; 91:5; 112:7. Is. 8:12, 13; 41:10–14. Da. 3:17, 18. Mat. 8:24–26; 24:6. Mar. 4:40. Lu. 21:9. John. 14:1. 1 Pe. 3:14. neither. Proverbs 1:27. Ps. 73:19. Mat. 24:15. Lu. 21:18–28. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:25. Do not be afraid of sudden fear, Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught. Sudden fears are attended with a stupifying influence upon those that want faith, but far different is the fact with regard to the righteous. The righteous man is bold as a lion, for he knows, like the three children in Babylon, that the God whom he serves is able to deliver him, or to render him happy, though the desolation of others should involve the destruction, not only of all his outward comforts, but of his mortal life*. The Lord is a sure ground of confidence in the worst of times. Our proper exercise in such seasons, is to trust in the Lord, and to pour out our hearts before him, knowing that he will be a refuge for us. This comfortable doctrine is illustrated and enforced in almost every Psalm. May not one, then, exclaim with the royal philosopher, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding!” The way in which wisdom leads us, is attended with every blessing, and free from every evil; or if there be any evil in it, so wonderful is the providence of God, that it is turned into good. Thus is Sampson’s riddle verified to every afflicted saint. May our lives be those of the righteous, and our last end their’s! The wise man next directs us, to make no unnecessary delay in the performance of any good work. Proverbs 3:26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. KJV Proverbs 3:26 For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Lord. Proverbs 14:26. Ps. 91:3, 9, 10. Hab. 3:17, 18. shall keep. 1 Sa. 2:9. William Arnot - Confidence in God the True Safeguard from Temptation “The Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”—3:26. BEWARE of mistakes here. Let us not deceive ourselves by words without meaning. Do not say God is your confidence, if he be only your dread. An appalling amount of hypocrisy exists in Christendom, and passes current for devotion. He who is in Himself most worthy, and has done most for us, is often more disliked than any other being; and, as if this ingratitude were not enough, men double the sin by professing that they have their confidence in Him. I have observed that seagoing ships do not trust to themselves in the windings of a river. Where they are hemmed in between rock and quicksand, grazing now the one and now the other, they take care to have a steam-tug, both to bear them forward and guide them aright. They hang implicitly upon its power; they make no attempt at independent action. But I have also observed, that as soon as they get clear of the narrows—as soon as they have attained a good offing and an open sea, they heave off, and hoist their own sails. They never want a steamer until they come to narrow waters again. Such is the trust in God which the unreconciled experience. In distress they are fain to lean on the Almighty. While they are in the narrows, death seeming near on every side, conscious that they have no power and no skill, they would hang on the help of a Deliverer. “My God, we know thee” (Hos. 8:2), is then their cry. Most devout they are, and most earnest. At every hour of their day and night they are exercised in spirit about pleasing God, and gaining his help in their need. The line of their dependence seems ever tight by their constant leaning. But when they begin to creep out of these shoals of life—when the path opens up wide and clear and safe again, they heave off, and throw themselves on their own resources. They become a God unto themselves, whenever dangers are out of sight. Forthwith and henceforth they live without God in the world, until they are driven into straits again. Then they remember God and pray, as a distressed ship makes signals for help when she is entering a tortuous channel (Isa. 26:16; Ps. 78:34–37). This is not to have confidence in God; this is to provoke Him to anger. He deserves a soul’s confidence, and desires it. Confidence in God is not to be attained by a wish whenever you please. You may, when you like, say, “Lord, I trust in Thee,” but to make the just Judge his confidence, does not lie in the power of a sinner’s will. There is a way of reaching it; and the way is open, and all are welcome, but no man can reach it except by that way. Coming through Christ, and being accepted in the beloved, you will indeed confide in God; but this is to be turned from darkness to light, to pass from death unto life. When any man enters by this way into favour, he will be ready to confess that it is the Lord’s doing, and marvellous in his eyes. It is this confidence that has power for good on the life. It is not terror, but trust, that becomes a safeguard from the dominion of sin. It is a peculiar and touching promise that God, when He becomes your confidence, “will keep your foot from being taken.” Here incidentally the terrible truth glances out, that snares are laid for the traveller’s feet in all the paths of life, in all the haunts of men. Our adversary, like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour. Alas, multitudes are entrapped, like birds in the fowler’s snare. Many who set forth hopefully in the morning of life are caught ere they have gone far in some of these pit-falls, and bound over unto the second death. It is a fearful thing to pass by and hear their screaming, and have no power to help. In my childhood, I sometimes saw rabbits that damaged the corn-fields, caught in snares. My first experience of the process melted me, and the scene is not effaced from my memory yet. The creature was caught by the foot. It was a captive, but living. Oh the agonized look it cast on us when we approached it! The scared, helpless, despairing look of that living creature sank deep in the sensitive powers of my nature. As a child, I could not conceive of any more touching thrilling appeal than the soft rolling eyes of that dumb captive; but “when I became a man,” and entered both on the experience of the world and the ministry of the word, I met with scenes that cast these earlier emotions down into the place of “childish things.” Soon after I began to go my rounds as a watchman on my allotted field, I fell upon a youth (and the same experience has been several times repeated since) who but lately was bounding hopefully along, bidding fair for the better land, and seeming to lead others on, caught by the foot in a snare. I went up to him, surprised to find him halting so; but, ah, the look, the glare from his eyes, soon told that the immortal was fast in the devil’s toils. He lived; but he was held. All his companions passed on, and soon were out of sight, while he lay beating himself on the ground. He lives; but it is in chains. The chains have sunk into his flesh. They ran through the marrow of his bones, and are wrapped around his soul, filthy as firm, firm as filthly. Oh, wretched man, who shall deliver him? Not I; not any man. We must pass on, and leave him. The same voice that wrenched from Death his prisoner is needed to give liberty to this captive. Only one word can we utter in presence of such a case: “Nothing is impossible with God.” Having uttered it, we pass on with a sigh. Cure in such a case is difficult—is all but impossible; is there any method of prevention? Yes: the Lord thy confidence will keep thy foot from being taken; the Lord your dread will not do it, almighty though He be. Many who have an agonizing fear of a just God in their conscience, plunge deeper even than others into abominable sins. It is the peace of God in the heart that has power to keep the feet out of evil in the path of life. “He that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself even as He is pure.” “Sin shall not have dominion over you;” and the reason is added—“for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:14). A son has wantonly offended an affectionate father, and fled from his face. After many days of sullen distance, the prodigal returns, and at nightfall approaches his father’s dwelling. He is standing outside, shivering in the blast, yet afraid to enter, and meet the frown of an injured parent. Some abandoned youths, companions of his guilt, pass by, and hail him. By a little coaxing, they break his resolution of repentance, and carry him off to their haunts of vice. It was easy to sweep him off when they found him trembling in terror outside. He was like chaff; and iniquities, like the wind, carried him away. But if the youth had entered before the tempters came up, and the father, instead of frowning or upbraiding, had fallen on his neck and kissed him, setting him in the circle of brothers and sisters, and showering on him the manifold affections of a united family and a happy home—and if the same godless band had been passing then, and had beckoned him to join their revelry, they would not have succeeded so easily. The soul of this youth is like a ship at anchor now, and the current does not carry him away. Specifically, it is “the God of peace” who will bruise Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20). Those who stand outside, with just as much religion as makes them afraid, are easily taken in the tempter’s snare: the reconciled whom the Father has welcomed back with weeping, has now another joy, and that joy becomes his strength: “his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Ps. 112:7). Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. KJV Proverbs 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Withhold. Ro. 13:7. Ga. 6:10. Tit. 2:14. Ja. 2:15, 16; 5:4. them to whom it is due. Heb. the owners thereof. in the. Ge. 31:29. Mi. 2:1. Charles Bridges - 27. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, (the owners thereof, Marg.) when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. The wise man now comes to practical points. He strikes at the root of selfishness—withholding dues. Many are the forms of this dishonesty, borrowing without payment, evading the taxes,11 “keeping back the laborers hire.” But the rule probes deeper than this surface. If we have no legal debt to any, we have a Gospel debt to all.13 Even the poor is bound by this universal law to his poorer neighbor. Every one has a claim upon our love.15 Every opportunity of doing good, is our call to do so. Our neighbors are the real owners of our good. The Lord of all has transferred his right to them, with a special reference to “his own brethren.”17 Kindness is therefore a matter—not of option, but of obligation; an act of justice, no less than of mercy. To withhold it will be our eternal condemnation. Christian benevolence will also do good in the kindest manner. Delay is an offence against the law of love. Too often the cold repulse—Go, and come again—is a cover for selfishness. There is a secret hope, that the matter will be forgotten, dropped, or taken up by some other party. Often an application is put off from mere thoughtlessness. We have it by us: but it does not just now suit our convenience. This is a serious injury to the applicant. A little given in time of need, is more, than a larger sum, when the time is gone by. We should cultivate a quick sensibility of others; putting ourselves as much as possible in their place; not only “doing good,” but “ready to every good work.” If we are to “do justly”—which sometimes (as in the punishment of criminals) may be our sorrow; we are, after the example of our God, to love mercy; seizing the present, perhaps the only,4 opportunity; rather anticipating the need, than wantonly or thoughtlessly delaying to relieve it. The Gospel presents every neighbor before us, as a brother or sister needing our help, and to be loved and cared for “as ourselves.”6 Why do we not more readily acknowledge this standard? The Lord raise us from our selfishness, and mould us to his own image of mercy and love! George Lawson - Proverbs 3:27. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. To do justly, is one great point of religion; and we ought not unnecessarily to delay giving every man his due, for the delay of justice is temporary injustice. When we owe money to our neighbours, which they require from us at present, and we, though able, defer payment till afterwards, we are plainly guilty of injustice; for a man has the same right to his property now, that he will have a year hence. We find men reproved and threatened for keeping in their own hands the hire of the labourer. The same censure may be applied to those who refuse to pay just debts, or to restore to its rightful owner any piece of lost property which they have found; for we are not to do what we will with that which is not ours, nor are we to owe to another any thing but love. We owe love and the proper fruits of it to our fellow-creatures, according to their necessities and characters, and our connection with them; and we transgress the rule of righteousness, if we withhold even from our enemies that which is due to them by the law of Christ; for many things are to be reckoned just debts from us on his account, which they have no title to claim for their own sakes. It may be difficult for us to render to others what is due to them by the laws of justice or charity; but the question is not, whether it is easy, but whether it is in the power of our hands, to render unto others that good which is due to them. The fruits of love are often labours, but they are not such labours of love as those which our Redeemer cheerfully performed for us, nor is any man a loser by them*. What is in the power of our hands to-day, may not be in our power to-morrow, and therefore we ought not to delay the performance of any good work†. William Arnot - The Right Thing Done at the Right Time “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to-morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.”—3:27, 28. IT is in general the law of righteousness between man and man; do justly to all, and do so now; pay your debts, and pay them to-day, lest you should lack the means to-morrow. But it is probable that the precept has special reference to the law of love. Every possessor of the good things, either of this life or the next, is bound by the command of the giver to distribute a portion to those who have none. To withhold from any one that which is due to him, is plainly dishonest. But here an interesting inquiry occurs; how far and in what sense the poor have a right to maintenance out of the labour and wealth of the community? The answer is, the really poor have a right to support by the law of God, and the debt is binding on the conscience of all who have the means; but it is not, and ought not to be, a right which the poor as such can make good at a human tribunal against the rich. The possessors of this world’s good are not at liberty to withhold the portion of the poor: it is not left to their choice: it is a matter settled by law: disobedience is a direct offence against the great Law-giver. But the poor have not a right which they can plead and enforce at a human tribunal. The acknowledgment of such a right would tend to anarchy. The poor are placed in the power of the rich, and the rich are under law to God. It is true that in heathen and other degraded countries the poor perish, but it does not follow that any other principle would place them in a better condition. Whatever may be the law, the possessors in every country must administer it; and so there cannot, in the nature of things, be any other law laid upon them than the law of love. They are made answerable to God in their own conscience for their conduct to the poor; and if that do not prevail to secure kindness, nothing else will. If they make light of a duty that may be pleaded at the judgment-seat of God, much more will they make light of it as against the poor who cannot enforce their own demands. The assessment for the poor, in a highly artificial state of society, is not the concession of their right to maintenance exigible against the rich by the laws of men: it is a mere expedient by those who give to equalize and systematize the disbursement of charity. It seems to be the purpose of God in the present dispensation to do good to his creatures, by the inequality of their condition. The design of the providential arrangement is to produce gentle, humble, contented thankfulness on the one side, and open-hearted, open-handed liberality on the other. If God had not intended to exercise these graces, he probably would have made and kept men, as to external comforts, all in a state of equality. But this would not have been the best condition for human beings, or for any portion of them. Absolute equality of condition may do for cattle, but not for men. It appears that the same all-wise Disposer has arranged that there shall be great and manifold diversities of elevation in the surface of the material earth, and in the condition of its intelligent inhabitants. For similar purposes of wisdom and goodness have both classes of inequalities been introduced and maintained. Levellers, who should propose to improve upon this globe, by bringing down every high place and exalting every low, so that no spot of all its surface should remain higher than another, would certainly destroy it as a habitation for man; the waters would cover it. In attempting to make a level earth, they would make a universal sea. But the mischief cannot be done; the mountains are too firmly rooted to be removed by any power but that of the world’s Maker. We suspect that the other class of levellers aim at a change as perilous; and our consolation is, that it is equally impossible. We believe that for the present dispensation, the inequalities in the condition of individuals and families is as needful to the general prosperity of the whole, as the diversity of hill and valley in the surface of the globe; and we believe, also, that the arrangement is as firmly fixed. It would be as easy to level the world as its inhabitants. What may be in store for the earth and man in the future we know not; there may be a time when the globe shall be smooth like an ivory ball, but then there must be no more sea: and if ever there come a time when all men shall be and abide equal, it must be that time when there shall be no more sea of sin to overflow them. If ever there come a time when there shall be no more masters and servants, it must be the time when all shall serve one Lord. In many ways society is consolidated and strengthened by inequalities. He who made man, male and female, receptive weakness on one side and protecting strength on the other, welding both by the glow of love into a completer one, has thereby made the mass of humanity hold more firmly together. He has also provided diagonal girders running in a different direction—the relations of rich and poor, master and servant, in order to interlace the several portions of humanity more firmly into each other, and so make society as a whole strong enough to ride out the hurricanes of a tempestuous time. “When it is in the power of thine hand to do it;” a touching memorial this. Many who have cherished sound principles, and desired to do good, have permitted the time irrevocably to pass. When they had it in their power to do good they procrastinated, and now the means have fled. This is a bitter reflection in old age. There is only one way by which any man may make sure that such a bitterness shall not be his, and that is by doing now what his hand finds to do. If it is in the power of your hand this year to do good, it may not be so next year. The abundance may be taken from you, or you taken from your abundance. The secret of a happy life is to set the house in order, and keep it in order. Above all, keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. They are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. The way to lay them is to find bodies for them. When they are embodied in substantial deeds they are no longer dangerous. But there is yet another way in which it may be beyond the power of thine hand to do a duty to-morrow which has been deferred to-day. The hand has much power and skill, but it cannot move except at the command of the will. If the willingness of the heart were conclusively frozen up within, the hand, which is merely the heart’s servant, can do nothing. When the rich refuse to do the duties of the day with their means, they are in danger of falling into the miser’s madness. When you have contracted a diseased love of money which you do not use, it is not in the power of the hand to do the plainest duty. The man who loves money cannot part with it: he has let his opportunity pass. On the one side, there may be lavishness without generosity—the mere habit of letting money run out like water: on the other hand, there may be close carefulness without the virtue of frugality—the mere habit of holding the grip. Both conditions are most dismal. There is a tendency to fall into the one snare or the other. The way in the midst is a strait way: it is not easy to walk in it. If we begin early, and keep going, the work will become easy at length. Observe how remarkably specific is the command not to postpone a gift. We ought to make up our minds, and act. Those who have the means of doing good in the community at the present day, are much tried, and should look well to their path. There are many good objects pressing, and as in all such cases, the very multitude of the good notes suggests and makes room for the circulation of bad ones, caution and discrimination are not only permitted, they are peremptorily required. The injunction of the text is a most useful rule in one department of this difficulty. If we have not the means, or if the object be unworthy, there ought to be a distinct declinature. A clear, unambiguous negative is, in many transactions, of incalculable worth. It is no man’s duty to give to every one who asks, or to any all that he asks. There is such a thing as giving when you should not, from lack of courage to say No. Further, when the object is not worthy, and your mind is clear, and you determine to do nothing, it would be profitable both to yourself and others to say so at once. It is not altogether straightforward to another, or safe for yourself, to announce a postponement if you have resolved on a refusal. Softness may lead to sin. But the worst of all is when the cause is good, when you are convinced of its goodness, when the means are in your power, and yet you put the pleader off. Even though you should afterwards give, you have lost the blessing. God loves a cheerful giver; and though you have given, you gave with a grudge. When the fruit needs a violent pulling to wrench it from the tree, the tree itself is torn in the process. Proverbs 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it," When you have it with you. KJV Proverbs 3:28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. Proverbs 27:1. Le. 19:13. De. 24:12–15. Ec. 9:10; 11:6. 2 Co. 8:11; 9:3. 1 Ti. 6:18. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:28. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. Delays in any part of duty, furnish a strong presumption that we do not perform it cheerfully. We are commanded, not only to do good works, but to be ready to every good work; not only to shew mercy, but to shew it with cheerfulness. He that gives speedily, gives twice; but he that gives with slow reluctance, gives in part a denial. Much of the benefit is often lost to the receiver, and much of the gratitude to the giver, by telling our neighbour to go and come again. There is a manner of giving that but ill accords with that humanity and mercy which should dispose us to give. Airs of superiority assumed even to the meanest of our fellow-creatures, are unbecoming; for however inferior to us in point of station, they are still our neighbours, and God commands us to love them as ourselves. God often delays answering our prayers, but he is infinitely and essentially superior to us; yet his delays are all in wisdom and love. When it is fit that his petitioners should receive what they ask, he gives before they ask, or whilst they are yet speaking he hears. In one case, the wise man allows us to defer giving. When we have it not by us, and when we cannot give at all in a consistency with more urgent duties, we may refuse to give; but still we must have hearts to give, were it in our power. And if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not. The next direction is against doing evil to our neighbours. Proverbs 3:29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. KJV Proverbs 3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. Devise not evil. or, Practise no evil. Proverbs 6:14, 18; 16:29, 30. Ps. 35:20; 55:20; 59:3. Je. 18:18–20. Mi. 2:1, 2. Charles Bridges - 29. Devise not evil against thy neighbor, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee. 30. Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. The command—not to withhold good—is naturally followed by the forbidding to devise evil. The treachery here rebuked was a scandal even to a heathen. It is generally abhorred by the world, and should be doubly hated by a godly man. With him all should be clear and open as the day. An evil device against a neighbor, from whatever cause, is a cursed sin. But to take occasion from confidence reposed, betrays “the wisdom that descendeth not from above—devilish.”10 Such was the craft of Jacob’s sons against the unsuspecting Shechemites—Saul’s malice against David, when under his protection12—Joab’s murder of Abner and Amasa—Ishmael’s of Gedaliah.14 No trial cuts so keenly. This was one of the bitters in the Saviour’s cup of suffering.16 And many a wounded spirit has been cheered by his sympathy with their poignant sorrow. Yet we must guard not only against secret malice, but against causeless strivings. A propensity to embroil ourselves in quarrels kindles strife, instead of following the rule of peace. This spirit is a just hindrance to holiness, and inconsistent with a true servant of God.2 Irritable persons strongly insist upon their rights, or what they conceive to be due to them from others—“Is there not”—say they—“a cause?” But impartial observers frequently judge it to be striving without cause; that no harm has been done—none at least to justify the breach of love; that more love on one hand, and more forbearance on the other, would have prevented the breach; that “there is utterly a fault—Why do ye not rather take wrong.” How valuable is a close application of the self-denying law of Christ!4 How earnestly should we seek from himself his meek and loving spirit! ‘O Lord, pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace, and of all virtues; without which, whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee.’6 George Lawson - Proverbs 3:29. Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives in security beside you. Our fellow-men are our neighbours, and we are destitute of the love of God if we feel no love to them. If the practice be an index of what passes within, we must conclude that man to be wholly destitute of love, who can wilfully hurt those whom he is required to love as himself. Such a man cannot surely pretend to religion; or if he does, he is at best like a tinkling brass, or a sounding cymbal, for his professions are emptiness and hypocrisy. At the day of judgment, they shall be doomed to hell, who did not serve their neighbour in love; where, then, must those appear whose practice was quite the reverse? All injurious persons are wicked, and the more contrivance there is in any evil that we do, it has so much the greater malignity in it*. It is criminal to devise evil against any person; but it is double iniquity to hurt those that dwell securely by us, for this in effect is a breach of trust, and an indication of a heart base and depraved beyond the common pitch of human wickedness. The meek and the quiet of the land are the persons who dread no injury from us, as they plot none against others; and the Lord Jesus, to whom all judgment is committed, is the Redeemer of all such persons. He hath pronounced a blessing on them, and will avenge them of their enemies; for with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth†. We must not even contend with our neighbours by hard words, when they have done nothing to provoke us; otherwise we are volunteers in the devil’s service, sinning without putting him to the trouble of tempting us. Proverbs 3:30 Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. KJV Proverbs 3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm. Proverbs 17:14; 18:6; 25:8, 9; 29:22. Mat. 5:39–41. Ro. 12:18–21. 1 Co. 6:6–8. 2 Ti. 2:24. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:30. Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. If a man has injured us, we ought to forgive him. Do we believe that God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us ten thousand talents, and shall we reckon it a hard matter, at Christ’s command, to forgive our brother a few pence? If the unforgiving shall never enter into heaven, what curses shall for ever lie upon those who are guilty of unprovoked injuries? Railers and revilers stand excluded from the kingdom of God, and the admission of injurious persons, like Saul the Pharisee, into the kingdom of God, is to be regarded as a miracle of mercy. It may possibly be alleged, that injurious persons are often prosperous in the world. It may be so in some circumstances, yet, Proverbs 3:31 Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. KJV Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways. Envy. Proverbs 23:17; 24:1, 19, 20. Ps. 37:1, 7–9; 73:3. Ga. 5:21. the oppressor. Heb. a man of violence. Ec. 5:8. choose. Proverbs 1:15–18; 2:12–15; 12:12; 22:22–25. Charles Bridges - 31. Envy thou not the oppressor (a man of violence, Marg.) and choose none of his ways. 32. For the froward is an abomination to the Lord; but his secret is with the righteous. What is there—we might ask—to envy in the oppressor? The love of power is a ruling passion: and the slave of his own will enjoys a brutish pleasure in tyranny. Yet little reason have we to envy him—much less to choose his ways. Can he be happy—going froward (fromward) the Lord, in perverse contradiction to his will? with the frown of heaven? For ‘he who hateth nothing that he hath made, abhors those who have thus marred themselves. They are not only abominable, but “an abomination” in his sight.’ Really to be envied—or rather ardently to be desired—is the lot of the righteous—enriched with the secret of the Lord—‘his covenant and fatherly affection, which is hid and secret from the world.’ Sinners he hates, but saints he loves. The one is an abomination. The other is his delight. ‘They are God’s friends, to whom he familiarly imparts, as men use to do to their friends, his mind and counsels, or his secret favor and comforts, to which other men are strangers.’ Communion with himself11—peace—joy13—assurance—teaching15—confidence—an enlightened apprehension of Providence17—yea, all the blessings of his covenant, this is the secret between God and the soul—an enclosed portion, hidden from the world—sealed to his beloved people. Here then—child of God—“dwell in the secret place of the Most High.” If he hath given to thee the knowledge of himself, and of thine interest in Him—and to the froward oppressor only worldly advantage—is it not the seal of his love to thee, and rejection of him? Is it not infinitely more to dwell on high with thy God, than in the vain pomp of an ungodly world? George Lawson - Proverbs 3:31. Do not envy a man of violence, And do not choose any of his ways. Imagine not that a man can be happy in the enjoyment of that which he has gained by dishonest means. Envy or admiration of his success, might lead us to imitate his unrighteous behaviour. Though his wine sparkle, let us remember that there is poison in the cup. Proverbs 3:32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright KJV For the froward is abomination to the LORD: but his secret is with the righteous. the froward. Proverbs 6:16–19; 8:13; 11:20; 17:15. Ps. 18:26. Lu. 16:15. his. Proverbs 14:10. Ps. 25:14. Mat. 11:25; 13:11. John. 14:21–24; 15:15. Re. 2:17. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:32. For the crooked man is an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. That man who is detested by the Lord, is so far from being happy, that he is miserable and accursed. Can he know true happiness, who is looked upon with an angry countenance by him whose smiles are heaven, and whose frowns are hell? Such is the situation of oppressors of every rank, from the mighty Nimrods of the world, who employ themselves in general massacres and desolations, down to the petty parish oppressors, who grind the faces of their poor neighbours, and by adding field to field, to the ruin of many families, endeavour to plant themselves alone in the countryside*. “But his secret is with the righteous.” They enjoy a fellowship with God unknown to the world. He discovers to them the secret mysteries of grace, refreshes their souls with the manifestations of his special love, and blesses their substance by the unperceived workings of his gracious providence*. God not only enriches them with his goodness, but treats them as friends, and to them all his paths are mercy and truth. The blessing of God upon his people, and his indignation toward his enemies, spread through their dwellings, rendering them happy or miserable. The cottage of the just is a quiet and pleasant habitation. The palace of the wicked is blasted by a secret curse. Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. KJV Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. curse. Proverbs 21:12. Le. 26:14, etc. De. 7:26; 28:15, etc.; 29:19, etc. Jos. 6:18; 7:13. Ps. 37:22. Zec. 5:3, 4. Mal. 2:2. he blesseth. De. 28:2, etc. 2 Sa. 6:11. Job 8:6, 7. Ps. 1:3; 91:10. Charles Bridges - 33. The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked; but he blesseth the habitation of the just. The contrast between the sinner and the saint affects us not only personally but relatively. The curse or blessing of the Lord follows us to our homes. Shall we then envy the wicked—with his cup of earthly joy filled to the brim? The curse of the Lord is in his house—a “curse that never cometh causeless.”4 It is my Maker’s curse—How awful, that my being and my curse should come from the same sacred source! It is not the impotent wishing of ill. Could we trace its deadly work, we should see the man wasting, withering, consuming under it. Observe “the roll in the house of the thief, and of the swearer—twenty cubits long”—a long catalogue of woes—“flying”—to mark its swiftness—“remaining in the midst of the house—consuming it, even with the timbers and stones thereof.” Is this an idle dream? Surely—but for the blindness of the heart—the wicked would see the naked sword hanging by a hair over his head, or the awful “handwriting upon the wall,” solemnly proclaiming—“There is no peace—saith my God—unto the wicked.” Vainly will the proud worm resist. Ahab multiplied his house beyond all human average, as if to set at defiance the curse pronounced against it. Yet at one stroke all were swept away. Similar instances8 abundantly prove, whose words shall stand—man’s or God’s. “Who hath hardened himself against him, and prospered. Who hath resisted his will?”10 But bright is the sunshine of the just. Not only is the secret of the Lord with their souls, but his blessing on their habitation. And when he blesseth, who can reverse it? Many a homely cottage, tenanted by a child of Abraham, shines more splendidly, than the princely palace of the ungodly.12 An heir of glory dwells here. A family altar of prayer and praise consecrates it as the temple of Jehovah. Promises, like clouds of blessings, rest over it. God has been honored, and God will honor.”14 “They that dwell under his shadow shall return.” Is then my house under the curse or blessing of the Lord? Let my God be honored in his own gifts: that I and mine may be manifestly sealed with the full tokens of his love. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:33. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. And happiness or misery lies in the blessing or curse of God†. When you behold the magnificent structures in which sinners dwell, let not your thoughts be lost in wonder, or your hearts rankle with envy. They are fabrics, stately indeed, but not solid. You may pronounce them cursed. Eliphaz saw the wicked taking root, but suddenly he cursed his habitation, for his children are far from safety. The curse of God has often destroyed the timber and the beams of the most towering palaces; often has it kindled a fire, by which they have been destroyed to the lowest foundation. Such dwellings as these are houses of infection, for the leprosy of sin has taken possession of them, and it can be ascribed only to wonderful mercy, if the children and servants in them escape the plagues prepared for their lords. By the blessing of the Lord, the meanest cottage is converted into a dwelling of joy and praise. We read of whole houses that have been blessed for the sake of godly servants; how much more may the divine blessing be expected, where the masters are pious, and make their dwellings a little church, where the melody of thanksgiving and the voice of prayer are daily heard! The blessing of God, that is daily asked, shall not be refused; and the members of the family are blessed with instructions and examples that must produce good effects on them, unless they harden their hearts like an adamant. The holy conversation of good wives may be a means of winning their husbands; and many children and servants have found the greatest reason to thank God for the appointment of their dwelling in a family of saints. From among the wicked, we find that proud and haughty scorners are singled out as signal monuments of the vengeance of God. William Arnot - The Curse and the Blessing upon the House “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.”—3:33. WE have often, in the course of these expositions, had occasion to point out the effects of sin upon the person who sins. Here is yet another of its bitter fruits: it brings a curse on the house. Our interests are more closely connected with each other than we are able to observe, or willing to allow. The welfare of one is largely dependent on the well-doing of another. Let every wicked man learn here, that over and above the ruin of his own soul, his sins bring a curse on his wife and children, his neighbours and friends. Such is God’s government, that you cannot live in sin, any more than in smallpox or the plague, without involving others in the danger. For wise purposes, it has been so ordained. This law is calculated to lay an additional restraint upon a wayward spirit. A man, reckless of his own character and fate, might be ready to act out the daring maxim, “Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die.” When pity for himself did not arrest him, he might be arrested when he saw that his own abandoned life would curse his dwelling. Doubtless this law of the Lord has been bit and bridle to hold in a man, who would have burst through all other restraints. In blind, despairing rage, he might pull down the pillars upon his own unhappy head: yet when he feels his little ones clinging to his knees, and his wife leaning on his breast, he may stand in awe, and turn and live. “Fear and sin not:” the providence of God gives terrible momentum to that sharp word. In addition to the weight of divine authority upon the conscience, all the force of nature’s instincts is applied to drive it home. When the fear of perdition to himself has not power enough, the laws of Providence throw in all his house as a make-weight to increase the motive. He is held back from evil by all that he ever felt of tenderness in his youth, or feels of compassion still: and if, in the last resort, these weights avail not to keep him from sinning, they will be effectual in adding to his punishment. This dark curse hanging over the dwelling of the wicked, is balanced by the blessing that falls on the habitation of the just. Here is pleasant work, and plenty of wages. Trust in Christ, and serve Him; besides the saving of your own soul, you will be a blessing to your habitation. How sweet the privilege of being the parents of your children both for this life and the life to come! And not only the parents—every one in the house may become the channel of blessing from on high. If God has a child in a family, he will have many an errand there. You who are fathers know how frequently you find occasion to visit the house where your own dear child is boarded out for education. Our Father in heaven so visits his own, in whatever habitation their education is going on; and all the house will get the benefit. The disciples of Jesus are a preserving salt, even when the mass preserved by their presence are unconscious of the boon. To be good is the shortest and surest way to do good. Jonathan in his lifetime was dear to David; and therefore Jonathan’s son, an orphan and a cripple, sat daily at the royal table. If you be the King’s friend, your children will get the benefit in some hour of need. It is a noble position, and should encourage one to bear trials with patience, to be the channel between a house and heaven, bearing them up to God, and getting down from him the blessing. Proverbs 3:34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. KJV Pr 3:34 Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. Septuagint - kurios huperephnois (huperanos -- arrogant, proud, haughty, empty boaster who brags of his position and despises others 2Ti3.2: "arrogant"; proud people Ja4.6) antitassetai (3SPMI) tapeinois (1Pe5:5) de didosin (3SPAI) charin LXE The Lord resists (3SPMI: set in array against; as setting oneself against oppose, resist, be hostile toward AC 18.6) the proud; but He gives (3SPAI) grace to the humble (TAPEINOS: poor, lowly, meek, weak, afflicted). he scorneth. Proverbs 9:7, 8, 12; 19:29; 21:24. Ps. 138:6. he giveth. Is. 57:15. Ja. 4:6. 1 Pe. 5:5. THOUGH HE SCOFFS AT THE SCOFFERS: Quoted in Jas 4:6, 1Pe 5:5. Story of the young Scottish minister who walked proudly into the pulpit to preach his first sermon. He had a brilliant mind and a good education and was confident of himself as he faced his first congregation. But the longer he preached, the more conscious everyone was that “the Lord was not in the wind.” He finished his message quickly and came down from the pulpit with his head bowed, his pride now gone. Afterward, one of the members said to him, “If you had gone into the pulpit the way you came down, you might have come down from the pulpit the way you went up.” Charles Bridges - 34. Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly. Two Apostles have combined with the wise man, to set out this rule of the Divine government. On no point is the mind of God more fully declared, than against pride—the spirit of scorning. It displaces man, and would—if possible—displace God himself. Jealous therefore of his own glory, he sets himself in battle array, as against the usurper of his prerogative—the rebel against his dominion. Witness the Babel-builders3—Pharaoh—Sennacherib5—the proud opposers of his Gospel—all the objects of his scorn. But most hateful to him is the sinner, that will not submit to his righteousness—that scorns the corner-stone of salvation. How fearfully does it then become “a rock of offence”—of eternal ruin! Surely without doubt—without way of escape from his frown—he scorneth the scorners. A lowly spirit—a deep conviction of utter nothingness and guilt—is a most adorning grace. Nor is it an occasional or temporary feeling—the result of some unexpected hateful disclosure, but an habitual principle, “clothing” the man “from the sole of the foot to the head.” It combines the highest elevation of joy with the deepest abasement of spirit. And those who sink the lowest, stand nearest to the most, exalted advancement. For “he that scorneth the scorners, giveth grace to the lowly”—“more grace,” till his work is perfected in them. He pours it out plentifully upon humble hearts. His sweet dews and showers of grace slide off the mountains of pride, and fall on the low vallies of humble hearts, and make them pleasant and fertile.”10 The Centurion—the Canaanite12—the penitent—the publican14—such as these are the objects of his favor. Their hearts are his dwelling-place.16 Their inheritance is his kingdom. The soul swelling with its proud fancies has no room for his humbling grace. Blessed exchange of the little idol of self-esteem for Him, who alone has the right!—when even his own graces are only desired as instruments to set out his glory. George Lawson - Proverbs 3:34.Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. It is pride that makes men scorners. When men have an overweening conceit of themselves, they are likely to behave insolently to others, and contemptuously to God himself*. But on such arrogant worms of the dust, Jehovah looks down with contempt, and makes them objects of derision to all men. We read in scripture of many, whom the pride of their heart and countenance brought to the lowest disgrace. Nebuchadnezzar, and Haman, and Herod, and the proud Pharisee, are set forth for examples, to shew us that these men stand not on an even place, whose hearts are not kept low by that grace which cherishes humility. That God whose eye turns away with disdain from the splendour of haughty princes, and the diadems of imperious kings, looks with kindness upon the meanest of those who walk humbly with their God†. He visits them in mercy, and refreshes their spirits with his love‡. He gave them that grace which makes them humble, and he giveth more grace. God bestows grace on men, that he may be glorified; and the lowly, who are made sensible of their emptiness and guilt, are the persons who will ascribe praise to him, for the least of his favours: In them he will display the excellency of his love, and enrich them with his blessings in this, and in the everlasting world. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” With the lowly is wisdom, and, Proverbs 3:35 The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor. KJV Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools. wise. Proverbs 4:8. 1 Sa. 2:30. Ps. 73:24. but. Proverbs 13:8. Ps. 132:18. Is. 65:13–15. Da. 12:2, 3. shall be the promotion of fools. Heb. exalteth the fools. Ryrie on fools display dishonor - Lit., "but fools raise up (elevate, exalt) shame (dishonor)." Whereas the wise inherit honor, fools promote the shame that is consistent with their character. Charles Bridges - 35. The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools; (exalteth the fools; Marg.) This is the last contrast drawn to restrain our envy at the prosperity of the wicked. It carries us forward to eternity. The difference between these two classes is not always shown to man’s vision. But the day cometh, when all shall “discern” in the full light of eternity.2 The wise—the heirs of glory—are identified with the lowly—the heirs of grace. Our self-knowledge—the principle of lowliness—is the very substance of wisdom. Their inheritance also is one—grace and glory. For what higher glory can there be, than the grace, which “hath redeemed” a vile worm of the earth, “and made him a king and priest unto God?” Oh! let the redeemed cherish honorable thoughts of their present glory. Be careful to clear it from the defilement and degradation of the world’s dust, and enjoy it in adoring praise to Him, who hath chosen thee to this so undeserved grace. But who can tell the glory of the after inheritance—not like this world’s glory—the shadow of a name—but real—solid—‘an infinite gain in the exchange of dross for down-weight of pure gold.’ All occasion of sin and temptation are shut out forever. ‘The tree of knowledge shall be without enclosure. There shall be neither lust nor forbidden fruit; no withholding of desirable knowledge, nor affectation of undesirable. The glorified spirits touch nothing that can defile, and defile nothing they touch.’8 But after all, the glory of this glory will be communion and likeness with our Lord—“to be with him—to behold his glory.” We need not pry too minutely. Thus much is clear. The value of our inheritance is beyond all price—its happiness unspeakable—its security unchangeable—its duration eternity. The wise shall inherit glory. “They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament forever and ever.” Oh! will not the fools then discover the vanity of this world’s glory—too late to make a wise choice? Shame is their present fruit. Honor even now sits unseemly upon them.12 But “what fruit will eternity bring” of those things, whereof they will “then be ashamed?” Truly shame will be their promotion. Their fame will be infamous; their disgrace conspicuous, lifting them up, like Haman upon his elevated gallows, ‘a gazing-stock to the world.’ How solemn and complete will be the great Separation for eternity! “Many that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” George Lawson - Proverbs 3:35. Some by their birth and fortune inherit high sounding titles, and celebrated kingdoms. But if they are not wise, their lofty situation is the theatre of their dishonour. Those who are blessed with sound wisdom, have an inheritance of glory in reserve, compared with which the crowns and seeptres of the world deserve not a name. The prudent are even at present crowned with knowledge; but the happy day is coming when they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that have turned others to the wisdom of the just, as the stars for ever and ever. Fools are fond of honours, but all the honours they can enjoy are like bubbles when they glitter in the sun. They shall be promoted, indeed, but their exaltation shall be like that of Haman, who was exalted when he was hung upon a gallows fifty cubits high. Their shame shall be conspicuous to the world, when they shall be covered with everlasting disgrace, and become an abhorring to all flesh*.