Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly. THE SPIRIT OF MAN IS THE CANDLE OF THE LORD - a candle or lamp lit by the Lord; a light divinely given to man. Conscience is this candle. SEARCHING ALL THE INWARD PARTS OF THE BELLY - searching and discovering the inmost secrets of every man. Conscience is 'God in man'-a witness for God, acquitting or else condemning the man before himself, (Romans 2:14). It needs to be lit up by God's Word (). Let us see that we be willing that our "inward parts" be all searched by the light, and no secret sin spared (; ;...

Verse Proverbs 20:27. _THE SPIRIT OF MAN_ IS _THE CANDLE OF THE LORD_] God has given to every man a _mind_, which _he so enlightens by his own_ _Spirit_, that the man knows how to distinguish good from evil; and _conscience_, which springs from this, searches the inmost recesses of the soul....

THE SPIRIT OF MAN - The “breath” of Genesis 2:7, the higher life, above that which he has in common with lower animals, coming to him direct from God. Such a life, with all its powers of insight, consciousness, reflection, is as a lamp which God has lighted, throwing its rays into the darkest recesses of the heart. A still higher truth is proclaimed in the Prologue of John’s Gospel. The candle, or lamp of Yahweh, derives its light from “the Light that lighteth every man,” even the Eternal Word....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 20:1 WINE IS A MOCKER; or, scorner, the word (_luts_) being taken up from the last chapter. The liquor is, as it were, personified, as doing what men do under its influence. Thus inebriated persons scoff at what is holy, reject reproof, ridicule all that is serious. Septuagint, Ἀκόλαστον οἶνος, "Wine is an undisciplined thing;" Vulgate, _Luxuriosa res, vinum. _STRONG DRINK IS RAGING; a brawler, Revised Version. _Shekar, _σίκερα (Luke 1:15), is most frequently employed of any intoxicating drink not made from grapes, _e.g. _palm wine, mead, etc. The inordinate use of this renders men noisy and boisterous, no longer masters of themselves or restrained by the laws of morality or decency. Septu

THE SPIRIT OF MAN [IS] THE CANDLE OF THE LORD,.... The rational soul of man is a light set up in him; this is what is commonly called the light of nature; it was a bright and burning light at first, but through sin is become a very feeble one; by which men have only a glimmering view of divine things, of God and his worship, and of what he would have done, or not done; by this light men do but grope after him, if happily they may find him and know his will; it is but like a candle light at best, in comparison of divine revelation, or the Gospel of the grace of God, which has shone out like the sun in its meridian glory; and especially in comparison of the sun of righteousness, Christ Jesus, and the light of the divine Spirit; yet this is a light set up by the Lord, a candle of his; it comes from the Father of lights, he is the author and maintainer of it; it is a spirit and understanding...

CHAPTER 20 PROVERBS AS TO PERSONAL CONDUCT Proverbs of warning and instructions as to personal conduct are found mostly in this chapter; a number of them are of special interest if applied to Solomon. The first one is concerning wine and strong drink. As the use of wine among the people of Israel was legitimate the warning is against intemperance Deuteronomy 14:26). The Bible gives many illustrations of the truth of this proverb-warning. We may think of Noah, Lot, Nabal, Ben-hadad, Belshazzar and others. From all the good things we select the following. In Proverbs 20:3 is instruction which makes for peace. It is the fool who meddles and thus produces strife, but it is an honor for man to cease from strife. In...

PROVERBS 20. We have still further traces in Proverbs 20:9; Proverbs 20:24 of the sceptical spirit and the obstinate questionings of self characteristic of the later Greek period of Jewish thought. PROVERBS 20:6 A. RV is strained and the Heb. is difficult. Read (_cf._ Syr. and Lat.) Many a man is called kind. Proverbs 20:8. winnoweth (_mg._) is more literal than RV, and conveys better the idea of personal scrutiny (_cf._ the ideal king in Psalms 72 and Isaiah 11). Proverbs 20:9. For the growi

SPIRIT. breath. Hebrew. _neshamah._ See App-16. CANDLE. lamp or light. Same word as in Proverbs 20:20. THE BELLY. Put by Figure of speech _Metalepsis_ (App-6) for the heart, and the heart for its thoughts....

_spirit_ Lit. BREATH (πνοή, LXX.). The word, in this unusual sense, may probably have been chosen to recall Genesis 2:7: _the Lord God … breathed into his nostrils the breath_(the same word as here) _of life_. "The breath of the higher life, above that which he has in common with the lower animals, coming to him direct from God, such a life, with all its powers of insight, consciousness, reflection, is as a lamp which God has lighted, throwing its rays into the darkest recesses of the heart," Dean Plumptre in _Speaker's Comm_. _candle_ Rather, LAMP, A.V. marg. and R.V....

THE SPIRIT OF MAN.— The soul of man is as a burning lamp, which God hath kindled in the midst of us, which enlightens us, and discovers to us all that passes; it is that breath of life which the Lord hath breathed into us. Lord Bacon refers the latter part of this verse to the inquisitive search of man's mind into all kinds of things; for though the wise man says in Ecclesiastes 3 that it is impossible for man to find out all the works of God; yet this doth not derogate from the capacity of man's mind; but may be referred to the impediments of knowledge (such as the shortness of life, disputations among learned men, and refusals to unite their studies and labours; unfaithful and depraved tradition of sciences: with many other inconveniences, wherewith this present state is surrounded): For, that no parcel of the world is denied to man's inquiry or invention, he declares in another place,...