CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:1. KEEP. This word, says Miller, primarily means to look _hard at_, and generally to _keep watch over_, as over a vineyard. PROVERBS 3:2. LENGTH OF DAYS, properly “extension of days.” PROVERBS 3:3. GOOD UNDERSTANDING, or “good success,” “good reputation.” Some read “go... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:6. ACKNOWLEDGE, “take notice of,” “recognise” Him. DIRECT, “make level” or “smooth. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH— Proverbs 3:5_ EXHORTATION TO CONFIDENCE IN GOD Man is so constituted that, in some respects, he must have objects outside of himself to lean upon. As... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:8. NAVEL, “body” or “muscles.” MARROW, literally “refreshing,” “moistening,” in contrast to the condition described in Psalms 32:3. PROVERBS 3:11. DESPITE NOT, or “loathe not,” “shrink not.” The word, according to Miller, means “to melt.” CHASTENING, “discipline,” “corr... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:13. GETS, “draws out.” PROVERBS 3:13. LAY HOLD, “grasp,” from a Hebrew root _strong_. RETAINETH, “holds her fast.” _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 3:13_ WISDOM AND HER GIFTS I. WISDOM IS TO BE FOUND. She does exist. Precious metals and choice stones are t... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:20. DEPTHS, &c., “were the floods divided” into rivers and streams for the blessing of man. DEW, or “gentle rain,” or else the clouds signify the lower regions of the atmosphere where the dew is formed. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 3:19_ ONE OF THE PROO... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:21. THEM, _i.e._ “sound wisdom and discretion;” SOUND WISDOM, the same word as in chap. Proverbs 2:7 (see notes there). Miller translates here, as there, “_something stable_” PROVERBS 3:25. DESOLATION OF THE WICKED. This is interpreted in two ways. 1. The desolation in... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:27. WITHHOLD NOT, &C., literally “hold not good back from its master,” _i.e._, from him to whom it belongs. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 3:27_ DOING JUSTICE AND LOVING MERCY True wisdom in the heart will show itself in right dealing between man and man.... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 3:30_ UNLAWFUL STRIFE FORBIDDEN I. STRIFE IS UNLAWFUL WHEN NO GOOD CAN COME FROM STRIVING. The purpose or end of the strife must be the test as to whether it is right or wrong. Mere assertion of our rights or material gain is not the highest good. If Abraham had pushed... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 3:31. ENVY THOU NOT, &c., or “emulate not” (Vulg.) “_Do_ not anxiously covet” (Stuart). PROVERBS 3:32. SECRET. His “secret compact,” “familiar intimacy.” Proverbs 3:34. “If,” or “Seeing that He scorneth the scorners,” &c. PROVERBS 3:35. THE PROMOTION, &c., literally “sha... [ Continue Reading ]