CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:1. RIVERS OF WATER. Rather _streams_, the allusion being to the watercourses, which in hot countries intersect fields and gardens for the purpose of irrigation, in which the water is entirely under the control of the husbandman. PROVERBS 21:2 PONDERETH, rather _weighet... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:3_ THE MORE ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE I. THE SACRIFICES OF THE MOSAIC LAW WERE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD AS CEREMONIAL SIGNS. They were instituted by God, and therefore He expected them to be offered, and was displeased when His commands concerning them were disregarded. But they... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:4. THE PLOUGHING. This word is by most modern commentators translated, as in the marginal references, _light_. It is likewise so rendered in the Septuagint, the Vulgate, and in Luther’s version. Ewald, Elster, Wordsworth, and others, translate as in the English version.... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:5. THOUGHTS, rather the _counsels_, the _calculatings_. PROVERBS 21:6. VANITY TOSSED TO AND FRO. Rather _a fleeting breath_. The Hebrew word _hebel_, here translated vanity, means _rapour_. PROVERBS 21:7. ROBBERY, or _violence, rapacity_. Proverbs 21:8. Zöckler transl... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:8_ TWO WAYS I. THE WAY OF FALLEN MAN. It is a froward or refractory way in relation to God. When we look at man’s ways and compare them with the ways of all the creatures below him and inferior to him, we note a remarkable contrast. The sun, which was created to give... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:9. WIDE HOUSE. Literally _a house of companionship_, _i.e._, to share the house with her. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 21:19_ AN ANGRY WOMAN I. NO SOCIAL DISCOMFORT IS TO BE COMPARED TO THAT OF AN ILL-TEMPERED WIFE. A corner of the housetop would be exp... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:10_ THE DESIRE OF THE WICKED On “the desire of the wicked” see on chap. Proverbs 11:5, page 199. Concerning that desire it is here affirmed— THAT IT OVERMASTERS AND DESTROYS ALL NATURAL FEELINGS OF COMPASSION. The Bible teaches us that in the estimation of God he is... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:11. INSTRUCTED, Zöckler translates this “_prospereth_,” and understands the simple to be the subject of both clauses of the verse. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:11_ INSTRUCTION FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT I. AN INEVITABLE EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE SCORNER. It is here ta... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:12. The words _man_ and _God_ are both supplied by the translators. The verse should be “_The righteous considereth the house of the wicked_ (and) _overthroweth_, etc. Some understand it, therefore, to mean “The righteous man gives instruction to the house of the wicked... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:13_ THE CRY OF THE POOR I. THE CRY OF THE POOR MAY ALWAYS BE HEARD. “_The poor_,” said the Saviour, “_ye have always with you_” (John 12:8), and so long as sin is in the world it must be so. There are many whom sickness and bereavement makes poor, and many who are in... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:14_ THE PACIFICATION OF ANGER I. HUMAN ANGER IS AN EVIL TO BE AVOIDED. Even the anger of a righteous man exposes the object of it to danger. David had good reason to be angry with Nabal, but his anger, though it was the anger of a man just in the main, so nearly over... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:15. SHALL BE. These words are not in the original, and destroy the sense, which is that justice is joy to the good, and destruction to the bad. Luther renders, “It is a joy to the just to do what is right; but to the wicked a terror.” _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:15... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:16_ LIKE TO LIKE I. THE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING. What is this way? In other parts of this book it is called the “path of the just” (chap. Proverbs 4:18. See page 58). “A way of righteousness” (chap. Proverbs 12:28, page 291), and a “way of life” (chap. Proverbs 15:24, p... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:5. THOUGHTS, rather the _counsels_, the _calculatings_. PROVERBS 21:6. VANITY TOSSED TO AND FRO. Rather _a fleeting breath_. The Hebrew word _hebel_, here translated vanity, means _rapour_. PROVERBS 21:7. ROBBERY, or _violence, rapacity_. Proverbs 21:8. Zöckler transl... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:18_ THE RANSOM OF THE RIGHTEOUS This verse must be understood to express the same truth as that in Isaiah 43:3, in which Jehovah, speaking to the Hebrew people, says, “_I gave Egypt for thy ransom—Ethiopia and Seba for thee_,” referring doubtless to the deliverance... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:9. WIDE HOUSE. Literally _a house of companionship_, _i.e._, to share the house with her. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 21:19_ AN ANGRY WOMAN I. NO SOCIAL DISCOMFORT IS TO BE COMPARED TO THAT OF AN ILL-TEMPERED WIFE. A corner of the housetop would be exp... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:21_ A NOBLE PURSUIT AND A RICH PRIZE I. A NOBLE PURSUIT. Following after righteousness and mercy. These words may be taken as referring both to a state of judicial righteousness before God and to mercy received from him, and also to the attainment of a righteous and... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:22_ A WISE MAN AND A MIGHTY CITY I. THE CITY OF THE MIGHTY WILL NOT EASILY YIELD TO CONQUERORS. When a fortress encloses within its walls many strong arms and stout hearts, it will not be captured by child’s play. The confidence that the defenders have, not only in... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:24. PROUD WRATH, literally “_wrath of pride_,” or _overflowings of haughtiness_. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:24_ A NAME OF DEGREES I. MANY TERMS ARE NEEDED TO SET FORTH THE COMPLETE CHARACTER OF THE WICKED MAN. A complicated machine has many parts, each of which h... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:25_ THE SWORD OF THE SLUGGARD I. A SLUGGARD CANNOT HELP DESIRING THE RESULTS OF TOIL. It is natural and lawful for men to value bodily health and comfort, and all those blessings which are the ordinary fruits of industry—they are good things which God gives His creat... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:27. WITH A WICKED MIND, literally “_for iniquity_, and may refer to a desire to cloak a sinful purpose by an outward show of piety, or an attempt to expiate a sinful act by an outward atonement. Miller reads for “HOW MUCH MORE” “_because also_.” PROVERBS 21:28. CONSTAN... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 21:29. HARDENETH HIS FACE, or “putteth on a bold countenance.” DIRECTETH, or “_considereth_” or “_establisheth_.” _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:29_ THE FACE AND THE WAY The last verb in the text is better translated—_establisheth_, or _maketh firm_. I. WHAT IS INTENDE... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 21:30_ COUNSEL AGAINST THE LORD I. ONLY THOSE PLANS SUCCEED WHICH HARMONISE WITH THE WILL OF GOD. This is of course true only in regard to the ultimate and final issue of men’s plans and purposes. Sometimes, and indeed oftentimes, counsel against the Lord is very succe... [ Continue Reading ]