Proverbs 3:4

So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. SO SHALT THOU FIND FAVOUR AND GOOD UNDERSTANDING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND MAN. By keeping "mercy and truth" (Proverbs 3:3) thou shalt be esteemed before God and man as one of good understanding," and so "shalt find favour in the sight of God and man." The Hebrew recommends the English version, though the parallelism would strictly require, as "favour" is on the part of God and man, that so the corresponding noun should be also on the part of God and man; for which reason Maurer translates [ seekel (H7922)] 'care,' 'considerate attention,' instead of "good understanding;" others, 'good success.' But the English version accords best with the Hebrew; moreover, the parallelism is sufficiently maint...

1-6 In the way of believing obedience to God's commandments health and peace may commonly be enjoyed; and though our days may not be long upon earth, we shall live for ever in heaven. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee; God's mercy in promising, and his truth in performing: live up to them, keep up thine interest in them, and take the comfort of them. We must trust in the Lord with all our hearts, believing he is able and wise to do what is best. Those who know themselves, find their own understandings a broken reed, which, if they lean upon, will fail. Do not design any thing but what is lawful, and beg God to direct thee in every case, though it may seem quite plain. In all our ways that prove pleasant, in which we gain our point, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge him with subm...

Verse Proverbs 3:4. _SO SHALT THOU FIND FAVOUR_] Thou shalt be acceptable to God, and thou shalt enjoy a sense of his approbation. _AND GOOD UNDERSTANDING_] Men shall _weigh_ thy character and conduct; and by this _appreciate_ thy motives, and give thee credit for sincerity and uprightness. Though religion is frequently persecuted, and religious people suffer at first where they are not fully _known_; yet a truly religious and benevolent character will in general be prized wherever it is well known. The envy of men is a proof of the excellence of that which they envy....

Compare Luke 2:52. These are the two conditions of true human growth....

EXPOSITION PROVERBS 3:1 4. _Fourth admonitory discourse. _The third chapter introduces us to a group of admonitions, and the first of these (Proverbs 3:1) forms the fourth admonitory discourse of the teacher. To all intents and purposes this is a continuation of the discourse in the preceding chapter, for inasmuch as that described the benefits, spiritual and moral, which follow from the pursuit of Wisdom, in promoting godliness and providing safety from evil companions, so this in like manner depicts the gain flowing from Wisdom, the happiness of the man who finds Wisdom, and the favour which he meets with both with God and man. The discourse embraces exhortations to obedience ...

SO SHALL THOU FIND FAVOUR,.... Or "grace" i; the grace of God, and larger measures of it; as Noah did, Genesis 6:8; which are communicated to men when in the way of their duty: or good will, esteem, and respect, among men; as Joseph had with Potiphar, and the keeper of the prison, Genesis 39:4; AND GOOD UNDERSTANDING IN THE SIGHT OF GOD AND MAN; as Christ, as man, had in the sight of both, Luke 2:52; that is, to be taken notice of, regarded, and approved by both. Some render it "good success" k; prosperity in things temporal and spiritual; see Psalms 111:10. There is something lovely, and of good report, in a close attention to t

CHAPTER 3 _ 1. The call and promise of wisdom (Proverbs 3:1)_ 2. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom (Proverbs 3:11) 3. Promise and instruction (Proverbs 3:21) Proverbs 3:1. The call to obedience is followed by promise. The promise is like all the promises to an earthly people “for length of days and long life”. Here are some blessed exhortations loved and cherished by all His people (Proverbs 3:5). How happier, and more fruitful the children of God would be if they obeyed constantly this instruction: “in all thy

FOURTH Discourse. The sage exhorts the young man to heed his oral instruction (_torah),_ and to trust in Yahweh, fear Him, and honour Him in the prescribed manner of firstfruits. It is interesting to find _torah_ used in its earlier prophetic sense of oral instruction, without reference to its later sense of the whole body of legislation represented by the Pentateuch. The torah of the wise man represents not his own individual authority, but the accumulated wisdom of experience. The torah of the prophet, although delivered in the name of Yahweh, represents ultimately the accumulated moral consciousness of the nation; while the torah of the priest in its later form at least represents the traditional and inherited ritual, the prescribed method of the cultus. Hence the primary idea of torah is the same in all three forms. (See pp. 121, 620, Deuteronomy 1:5 *, and for a fuller disc

UNDERSTANDING. insight. Hebrew. _sekel._ See note on "wisdom" (Proverbs 1:2), No. 6. Not the same word as in Proverbs 3:5. GOD. Hebrew. _Elohim._ App-4. MAN. Hebrew. _'adam._ App-14....

Fourth Address. Chap. Proverbs 3:1-10 Be obedient to my instruction, so shalt thou live long and prosper (Proverbs 3:1). Trust, not in thyself, but in God (Proverbs 3:5). Seek His direction (Proverbs 3:5): render Him His due (Proverbs 3:9): and (see Proverbs 3:12, note) submit to His fatherly correction (Proverbs 3:11)....