CHAPTER XV _The soft answer. Useful correction. Stability of the righteous._ _The contented mind. The slothful man. The fool. The covetous._ _The impious. The wicked opposed to the righteous; to the_ _diligent; and to the man who fears the Lord._ NOTES ON CHAP. XV Verse Proverbs 15:1. _A SOFT... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:2. _USETH KNOWLEDGE ARIGHT_] This is very difficult to know: - _when_ to _speak_, and _when_ to be _silent; what_ to _speak,_ and _what_ to leave _unspoken_; the _manner_ that is best and most suitable to the _occasion_, the _subject_, the _circumstances_, and the _persons_. All th... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:3. _THE EYES OF THE LORD_ ARE _IN EVERY PLACE_] He not only sees all things, by his omnipresence, but his _providence_ is everywhere. And if the consideration that _his eye is in every_ _place_, have a tendency to _appal_ those whose _hearts are not right_ _before him_, and who see... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:4. _A WHOLESOME TONGUE_ IS _A TREE OF LIFE_] Here again is an allusion to the paradisiacal tree, עץ חיים _ets chaiyim_, "the tree of lives.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:8. _THE SACRIFICE OF THE WICKED_ IS _AN ABOMINATION_] Even the most _sedulous attendance_ on the _ordinances_ of God, and _performance_ of the _ceremonies of religion_, is an abomination to the Lord, if the _heart_ be not right with him, and the observance do not flow from a princi... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:11. _HELL AND DESTRUCTION_] שאול ואבדון _sheol vaabaddon_. _Hades_, the invisible world, the place of separate spirits till the resurrection: and _Abaddon_, the place of _torment_; are ever under the eye and control of the Lord.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:13. _BY SORROW OF THE HEART THE SPIRIT IS BROKEN._] Every kind of _sorrow worketh death_, but that which is the offspring of true repentance. This alone is healthful to the soul. The indulgence of a disposition to _sighing_ tends to destroy life. Every _deep sigh_ throws off a port... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:16. _BETTER_ IS _LITTLE WITH THE FEAR OF THE LORD_] Because where the fear of God is, there are _moderation_ and _contentment_ of spirit.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:17. _BETTER_ IS _A DINNER OF HERBS_] Great numbers of _indigent_ _Hindoos_ subsist wholly on _herbs_, fried in oil, and mixed with their rice.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:19. _THE WAY OF THE SLOTHFUL_ MAN IS _AS A HEDGE OF THORNS_] Because he is _slothful_, he imagines _ten thousand_ difficulties in the way which cannot be surmounted; but they are all the creatures of his own _imagination_, and that imagination is formed by his _sloth_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:22. _BUT IN THE MULTITUDE OF COUNSELLORS_] Proverbs 11:14. But רב יועצים _rob yoatsim_ might be translated, chief or master of the council, the prime minister.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:24. _THE WAY OF LIFE_ IS _ABOVE TO THE WISE_] There is a _treble_ antithesis here: 1. The way of the _wise_, and that of the _fool_. 2. The one is _above_, the other _below_. 3. The one is of _life_, the other is of _death_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:25. _THE HOUSE OF THE PROUD_] Families of this description are seldom continued long. The Lord hates _pride_; and those that will not be _humble_ he will _destroy_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:27. _HE THAT IS GREEDY OF GAIN_] He who _will_ be rich; _troubleth his own house_-he is a torment to himself and his family by his avariciousness and penury, and a curse to those with whom he deals. _BUT HE THAT HATETH GIFTS_] Whatever is _given to pervert judgment_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:28. _THE HEART OF THE RIGHTEOUS STUDIETH TO ANSWER_] His tongue never runs before his wit, he never speaks rashly, and never unadvisedly; because he _studies_-ponders, his thoughts and his words.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:29. _THE LORD_ IS _FAR FROM THE WICKED_] He is neither near to _hear_, nor near to _help_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:30. _THE LIGHT OF THE EYES REJOICETH THE HEART_] Nature and art are continually placing before our view a multitude of the most resplendent images, each of which is calculated to give pleasure. The man who has a _correct judgment_, and an _accurate eye_, may not only _amuse_, but _... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:31. _THE EAR THAT HEARETH THE REPROOF_] That receives it gratefully and obeys it. "Advice is for them that will take it," so says one of our own old proverbs; and the meaning here is nearly the same.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:32. _DESPISETH HIS OWN SOUL_] That is _constructively_; for if the instruction lead to the _preservation_ of _life_ and _soul_, he that neglects or despises it throws all as much in the way of danger as if he actually hated himself.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Proverbs 15:33. _THE FEAR OF THE LORD_] Proverbs 1:7. Much is spoken concerning this _fear_; 1. It is the _beginning of_ _wisdom_. 2. It is also the _beginning of knowledge_. And, 3. It is the _instruction of wisdom_. Wisdom derives its most important lessons from the fear of God. He who fe... [ Continue Reading ]