Ralph Wardlaw Lectures on Proverbs - Proverbs 13:1 - 13:15

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Ralph Wardlaw Lectures on Proverbs - Proverbs 13:1 - 13:15


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:



LECTURE XXIX.



Pro_13:1-15.



"A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction. The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat. A righteous man hateth lying: but a wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but wickedness overthroweth the sinner. There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke. The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out. Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well-advised is wisdom. Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard."



The language of the first verse is capable of two meanings: either, that hearing instruction and not hearing reproof are the effect and manifestation, respectively, of a wise or a scornful mind;-the wise son showing himself to be so by "hearing his father's instructions" and the scorner showing himself to be so by "not hearing rebuke;"-which interpretation, on reading the words, strikes the mind as most natural. Or, (reversing cause and effect) that wisdom and scorning are the results, respectively, of hearing or not hearing instruction and rebuke. In other words-"The son that is instructed by his father turns out wise; he who receives no correction turns out a fool."



In the first of the two senses the admonition is chiefly to children,-in the second to parents. Let both, respectively, receive, and ponder, and act on, the admonition as from God.



The sentiment of verse second is similar to that expressed in the fourteenth verse of the preceding chapter-"A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth; but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence."-A single remark must suffice in further illustration of it. Although the spirit and practice of retaliation are nowhere vindicated in Scripture, but everywhere explicitly and strongly condemned; yet a treatment corresponding to their own conduct towards others, is what every one may expect, even independently of what deserves the name of retaliation. In the nature of things it cannot be otherwise. It is not in human nature, nor in any nature, not even in the divine itself, to love (with the love of complacence, I mean) that which is unamiable. An amiable disposition alone can secure love: and amiability of disposition is greatly indicated by the tongue. The man who is charitable in his judgments, and disposed to speak well of others, will be himself the subject of charitable judgment and of cordial commendation. All will love, and honour, and bless the man "in whose tongue is the law of kindness." Thus he "shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth." On the contrary, against the man who is a "transgressor" with his lips, making them the instruments of malice in the utterance of slander and the fomenting of alienation and strife-against that man are unavoidably kindled all the feelings of indignation, all the angry passions; of which the result is "violence"-the violence of vindictive pride and sense of wrong.



This interpretation of the latter part of the verse harmonizes best with the language of that which follows-"He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his mouth shall have destruction."



Verse Pro_13:1. "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat." Here the important maxim-Nothing without labour, is again repeated. It is the original law of man's nature. The fatigue and distress of labour are, no doubt, the result of sin. Not so labour itself. Even in the garden of primeval innocence "the man was placed, to dress it and to keep it:" not to bask idly in the sun, and see everything spring and prosper around him-the ground dressing itself, and the plants trained and pruned by the hand of nature, and nothing left for him to do but enjoy the beauty, and the fragrance, and the fruit. No; his enjoyment was to be enhanced by his having a hand in all, and obtaining all as the reward of his own care and tending-his own "delightful task." It was by his "dressing and keeping" that everything was to thrive.



On the two following verses it is equally unnecessary to enlarge. They bring up afresh very frequently recurring thoughts*-"A righteous man hateth lying; but a wicked man is loathsome and cometh to shame. Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in his way; but wickedness overthroweth the sinner."



* Comp. Pro_11:3-6; Pro_12:22, and other passages.



The "hatred" of the "righteous" to "lying" arises from his sympathy in all things with God. He is "of one mind " with God; and to Him "lying lips are an abomination." He covets God's approving smile more than all that earth can yield, and would not lose it one moment for all the most successful duplicity could ever gain. And that smile a course of uprightness and integrity secures; but "the wicked," meaning here especially the liar, by his very lies, his deceit and falsehood, to say nothing of the varied crimes, for the concealment of which these are employed, is emphatically "loathsome." He is loathsome to God, loathsome to all the truly good, and even according to the conventional morality of the world, from which "lying" is excluded on the principle of expediency, "loathsome" to men in general:-and "cometh to shame;" loses confidence; is distrusted, shunned, nicknamed, scorned, and ruined. Destitute of the "righteousness" which "keepeth the upright in the way," he is, like all other "sinners," overthrown, discomfited, and destroyed by his "wickedness."



Verse Pro_13:7. "There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches." This verse bears a close resemblance to the 24th verse of the eleventh chapter (Pro_11:24), but the sentiment it expresses is not the same. That verse assures us of the favour of the Lord to the generous and liberal-who, under His blessing, prosper by giving, make rich by "scattering;" and of His displeasure at the niggard, whose blessings He curses, and whose accumulated stores He dissipates, making the very care he takes of them the means of their diminution and failure. But here the wise man brings before us quite different developments of character,-the ostentation of riches where there are none; and the affectation of poverty in the midst of riches.



Some make a great show of wealth, with little if any capital-living on false credit. Enamoured of the "lust of the eyes and the pride of life," they contrive to keep up an external appearance far beyond any means they actually possess. They affect high life on low finances. Even, at times, for the sake of commanding credit, they put on such an appearance to give the world the impression that they are prospering. They live at great expense; launch into extensive speculations; make a show of large dealings, great warehouses, great stock, and distant connexions. But all is hollow; there is no substance, no reality. It is only a gay bubble, sparkling in the sunshine, but lighter than vanity; which bursts anon, and its emptiness is discovered. What seems bullion is but a covering of gold leaf. What dazzles is but a passing meteor.



Such a course is nothing better than a species of swindling on a large scale; and surely the largeness of the scale should not diminish the guilt in our eyes. It is frequently adopted by men of little principle, when they find themselves sinking. Instead of giving in in time-they make a dash; they assume a higher and more splendid style of living than before, that they may thus avoid suspicion, and maintain their credit; while they know that they are only augmenting risks, hastening their own downfall, and more largely and seriously involving others. This is wickedness.



On the other hand we have the miser. He scrapes, he holds, he hoards, he "has great riches." But he "makes himself poor;" not only feigning poverty, and assuming its garb and appearances before others, that he may not raise expectations by his wealth being known, but actually living in poverty;-denying himself the comforts and even the necessaries of life,-pinching and starving to add to the store which lies unused, of no service either to himself or others. This too is wickedness, but of another type. It must be ranked among the varieties of mental derangement, and yet it is derangement which, like some other descriptions of it, is of a moral kind, originating in the perversion of moral principles.-And akin to it, on this ground, is the love of money, and the eagerness to hoard, induced by the preposterous vanity of dying rich. I have called the vanity preposterous because of the strange incongruity of a man breathing his last in the conceit of being the richest he knows, and aware, at the same time, that the instant his last breath is drawn, the extent of his earthly possessions will be the length and breadth of his grave! And further, because the man who is vain of dying rich, is vain of that which is his shame. His dying rich is the very proof of his sin and shame. Had he done with his riches what God always intends when he bestows them, he would not have died so rich. Had he hearkened to the claims of benevolence and piety; had he dispersed and given to the poor, to relieve both their temporal and their spiritual need, he might have had less in his coffers, but an incomparably more enviable reputation on earth, and a better and more enduring substance in heaven.



Verse Pro_13:8. "The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke."



The verse has been understood in different ways. The import of it has been given thus:-"A rich man when he fears any evil from his enemies, can divert it by a sum of money; but the poor man, when he is threatened, dares not stay, but runs away." He does not stay to defend or buy himself off; but the moment he hears "rebuke" or threatening, aware that he has no resources, he stops not to hear it out, but immediately makes good his escape-takes himself off.



I prefer another interpretation-according to which the verse sets forth the comparative benefits of poverty and riches.-The rich are objects of envy; exposed to false accusation, to robbery, to theft, and to the risk of life. It is true that in their circumstances, they may, in seasons of public calamity, redeem their lives by "a ransom" from their abundant store. But the poor are still better off. They are not exposed to danger. They are not envied; they are not "looked at askance with jealous leer malign,"-with the "evil eye" of covetousness; nor are they molested with the harassing disquietudes arising from such causes. "Who thinks of envying, or prosecuting, or defrauding, or taking the life of the man who has nothing? Who ever thinks of robbing or murdering a beggar? He is everywhere safe and free from molestation, from whom there is nothing to be had. Poverty, then, is not without its advantages. They are, to be sure, of a negative kind; and not likely to make men give the preference to poverty; nor do I mention them because it should, or that it may. All that is meant is, that such considerations should contribute to reconcile the poor to their providential lot.-Another consideration is this-that there is a death from which no riches can ransom, and a life which no riches can purchase. Here "the rich and the poor meet together." They stand on the same footing. They must both obtain life and salvation on the same ground. The rich cannot purchase it; the poor need not riches to procure it. It is "the gift of God," "without money and without price." By the same ransom all, "high and low, rich and poor," must be redeemed-"not with corruptible things, as silver and gold; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and-without spot." O let rich and poor come to the same cross, and the same throne; to the same Saviour, and the same Father in heaven; and, trusting in the same foundation of hope, anticipate together the same eternal home. Believe in Christ and the riches of eternity are yours. He has paid the ransom.



Verse Pro_13:9. "The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out." Here light is joy. The meaning is, that of "the righteous" the joy is steadfast, permanent, increasing; while that of the wicked is destined to final and perpetual extinction--leaving him in the blackness of darkness.-Of the former "the light rejoiceth,"-or "burns brightly;" shines with growing lustre-" more and more unto the perfect day." Of the latter the joy shall close in misery and despair-his lamp extinguished in a darkness, of which the intensity will be deepened by contrast with the previous light.*



* Comp. Job_18:5-6; and Job_21:17.



Even amid the gathering and brooding gloom of adversity, "the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour." He possesses, in his hours of sorrow, a light of spiritual gladness which many a time shines most brightly and cheeringly when the lights of this world's prosperity are dim or extinguished. Have you not found it so in your happy experience, ye friends of Jesus and children of God? Yes; and by and by, the gloom shall have passed away, and the light of your blessedness shall shine forth in all its splendour for ever and ever! Death, instead of quenching it, only removes whatever obscured the brilliance of its lustre; that in the purer atmosphere of heaven it may send forth all its radiance. There your "joy shall be full."-On the contrary, the light of " the wicked" is worldly prosperity alone. It is a "lamp" which every passing breath may extinguish, and which, even if no such accident befall it, is rapidly consuming-burning to a close. And when this only light fails, all is darkness-darkness without a single ray to relieve it-the darkness of unending night.



Verse Pro_13:10. "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well-advised is wisdom." This verse has been rendered-" A fool, through pride, stirreth contention: but with the considerate is wisdom."-An immense proportion of the quarrels and disputes found in families, in circles of relationship and friendship, in churches, and in communities, have their origin and their continuance in "pride." And where it does not operate in producing them alone, it mixes itself up with other principles and motives-tainting and vitiating even such as are in the main good. There is a quick and touchy jealousy which cannot brook a word, or act, or look, that bears the slightest semblance of disrespect or deficiency of deference. This is "pride." And resentment, revenge, envy, ambition, are all to a great extent, resolvable into "pride." From the contending interests of the world, bringing into operation these and other principles, arise so many unhappy strifes and alienations. And then, when there might be reconciliation and peace, "pride " interferes and prevents it. The question, Who is to yield?-or, Who is to yield most?-comes to be asked; and pride makes it difficult of reply. The adjustment might be easy, but for pride. Some point of honour-or what to pride seems such-must be maintained. The required apology must be complete in matter and in manner; not a word omitted or qualified; and the bow of humiliating submission must not want a hair’s breadth of its due profoundness. The offender must be thoroughly prostrated, that the triumph of pride may be complete!



And, as might be expected of our fallen nature and deceitful hearts, we are full of excuses for this pride. We are fond to exempt it from condemnation under some of its varieties; and we contrive to screen it under palliative epithets. We call it a becoming pride; a necessary self-respect and regard to our own dignity; a manly assertion of our own rights; a spirit that will not submit, and ought not to submit, to be trampled upon; and thus, under pretexts which involve a certain amount of truth, we cover from censure a larger amount of what is wrong. And the very manner in which even a Christian man may be seen, at times, to draw himself up, and toss his head, and look consciously great, when he is putting in this plea, should be enough to show him that there is a spirit working within not quite in harmony with the "meekness and gentleness of Christ."-Our pride and vanity naturally prompt to an over-estimate of wrongs of which we happen to be the objects; so that what, did it happen to another, we should never so much as notice, assumes much of consequence when it affects us; and we cherish the vindictive remembrance of little matters, which the wing of the passing moment has swept from every memory but our own. Nor do we only magnify the real,-we imagine injuries that were never meant, and have no existence; and impute to the worst motives what had either little or no motive at all, or a motive which, though mistaken, was good.



"But with the well-advised" or the considerate, "is wisdom." They show the wisdom of thinking more rightly of themselves; of putting a curb upon their pride and passion; of shunning disputes and quarrels, and, when they have unhappily occurred, of bringing them, by every possible means, to a speedy termination.



Verse Pro_13:11. "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase."



In this verse "vanity" evidently means all iniquitous methods of acquisition; and perhaps these are all called "vanity," because the expectations of him who uses them of real enjoyment in what he acquires, when successful, are so utterly vain.



And what is true of private is no less true of public possessions. When such possessions are obtained, on the part of any country, by self-aggrandizing and unprovoked aggression, extermination, and conquest,-what are such means but injustice, oppression, and murder on an extended scale 1-and surely, we say again, the largeness of the scale should not abate our abhorrence of the evils! Gaining possessions by a violation of the rights of others,-of the principles of equity, and honour, and good faith-or, in one word, of the "royal law," is turning a country's glory into shame; and, under the righteous and retributive administration of Heaven, the extension of dominion is but the extension of danger.*



* Hab_2:6-12.



"But he that gathereth by labour shall increase." The phrase for "by labour" is in the original "with the hand." But it signifies of course labour of all descriptions, all that comes under the designation of honest industry.



Verse Pro_13:12. "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life."



Hope is the great cheerer of "the heart." And who has not experienced the sinking and "sickening" of the spirit from long-delayed expectations; and the joy that springs up in the soul, on the arrival of the long-looked-for good? A beloved friend, who has been for many a year in a distant land is returning home. How tardy then the flight of time!-days are weeks, and weeks months!" The heart" gets "sick" with "deferred hope." Then, when the hour of arrival and meeting does at length come, how vivid the ecstasy of delight!



We have, in Scripture, recorded illustrations of the sentiment. We have the case of Abraham in regard to God's promise. O! the time was long! The delay looked strange. And, although his faith did not fail, yet at times his spirit seems to have felt the encroaching weariness of protracted waiting without any appearance of fulfilment.*1 Then, we have Hannah, pining at heart, amidst the insults and provocations of her "adversary," with the "deferred hope" of a son-when she "wept and did not eat" and her spirit was "grieved." *2 We have David too in the wilderness, heartsick in longing for Jerusalem and the courts and ordinances of God's house.*3 And then we have Simeon, "waiting for the consolation of Israel"-fervently desiring his departure to heaven.*4



*1 Comp. Gen_12:1-3. with Pro_15:2-3. rr

*2 1Sa_1:4-12. rr

*3 Psa_42:1-2. rr

*4 Luk_2:29-30. rr



Whither, in all cases, under the pressure of "hope deferred," shall we look? Whither but to our gracious God? He is the source, and He alone, of resignation and comfort, of patience and strength.



And suppose, my Christian friends, the trouble, be it what it may, under which we suffer, and the "deferred hope" of whose removal makes us feel the "sickness of heart," the languor of spirit, here described-suppose it should continue with us even to the last; suppose the hope still and still "deferred," even on to the hour when "heart and flesh shall fail;" then the "desire cometh," in the highest sense the expression can bear. What was Paul's desire should be ours. The object on which he set his heart supremely, should be that on which ours are set-"to be with Christ." And when that "desire cometh," it will be "a tree of life" indeed. For what says the Saviour himself, in engaging for the future peace and blessedness of his people?-" To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God."



Verse Pro_13:13. "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."



The "word" is the word of God-whatever comes with His authority. Of the sinner who despises that word the "destruction" is sure. "The commandment" has the same meaning in the latter clause with the word in the former; and the expression "shall be rewarded" is on the margin, as in the original, "shall have peace." This agrees with the language of the Psalmist-" Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them."



Whatever comes with divine authority is a divine command. The truth that comes with the authority of God, it is the duty of man to receive. Let it not, then, be forgotten that the Bible is the revelation of God's mind to man as a sinner; and that the very first thing to which man as a sinner is bound, is to accept the terms of forgiveness and life there prescribed. The gospel is, on this as well as other accounts, called "the law of faith;" being the divine prescription for the pardon and salvation of sinners. It has in it all the authority of a law.*1 The faith of the gospel is now the principle which produces obedience to the law. It "worketh by love" which is "the fulfilling of the law." And as it is in being "justified by faith" that we find "peace with God;" so it is in obeying God under the influence of this faith that we retain "the peace of God."*2 Thus, we have "in the keeping of His commandments a great reward."



*1 Gospel of Joh_3:22-24. rr

*2 Php_4:6-9.



Verse Pro_13:14. "The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death."



"The law of the wise"-the law which they choose, and follow, and recommend as the rule of faith and duty, can be nothing else than this Holy Book-the Book of God. It was the law of the wise then; and now that it has been completed, it is more emphatically than ever "the law of the wise" still. They are truly wise who understand and believe its doctrines, and conscientiously obey its injunctions: for it is "a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." It is a fountain whose streams are salubrious and life-giving;-not like the waters of Jericho be/ore, but after they were "healed" by the prophet's "cruse of salt." Nothing but life flows from the fountain of divine truth. To all who refuse to drink of that pure and vital fountain there is death. To all who partake of it there is life. Death is to those only who disbelieve and disobey. All who receive and love the truth have life. The word of God is essentially life-giving. Its design is not to confirm and publish the sentence of death, but to show how death may be escaped. The declaration of the sentence of death is only intended to show the necessity, and to impress the importance and value of the tidings of life. Life is the end-the all-gracious end-of divine revelation.



"The snares of death," is a phrase in which allusion is made to nets set for animals meant to be taken and killed. Such are all the temptations of "the Wicked One"-all the allurements of sin; they are "snares of death." He who is taken in them perishes. Now "the law of the wise"-this holy and blessed Book of God-conducts far from these snares all who take it for their guide. It is "a fountain of life, to depart," or to lead "from the snares of death." He who partakes of the healing waters of this fountain, and follows along the course of the stream that flows from it, will escape these "snares." On the margin of that stream they are not to be found. Its course is away from them. It is only when induced by strong temptation to forsake it that we are in peril. If, through the devices of Satan and the allurements of the world, we wander from this "pure river of water of life," our feet are sure to be entangled in the intricate meshes of those toils that are laid for us; and so we may never more find our way back again to its safe and peaceful banks. There all is life. There there is no death.



Verse Pro_13:15. "Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard." The meaning is not obvious; and different senses accordingly have been affixed to the words.



1. "Good understanding giveth" or showeth "favour"-say some,-that is to others; it is mild, gracious, kind, and conciliatory, while "the way of transgressors is"-still to others, "hard,"-harsh, severe, repulsive, unyielding, stern.



2. The verse has also been rendered-"Ingenuous manners procure favour, but rugged is the path of the artful"-that is, it is unpleasant both to himself and to them with whom he associates; exposing to incessant troubles, anxieties, and perplexing difficulties; while open, fair, ingenuous dealing makes a man's way plain before him, and finds him favour and help from all.



3. More probably the meaning in both parts of the verse terminates on the person's self. "Good understanding"-an intelligent and sound judgment, enlightened by principle and instructed by observation and experience,-by fitting a man to be a wise and able and useful counsellor-procures "favour." Such a man comes to be valued, esteemed, and loved. While, on the contrary, "the way of transgressors is hard"-hard to themselves. Like "by-path meadow" in the Pilgrim's Progress, it presents at its entrance all that is tempting to allure into it; but it is "hard." It supplies no true enjoyment to the traveller in it at last.



If we take "good understanding" as the same with wisdom-the wisdom that teaches to "fear God and depart from evil;" we may consider "favour" as meaning divine favour. It is on them only who fear him that God "lifts up the light of his countenance." It is to them he gives peace. It is in their hearts that he sheds abroad his love; it is to them he imparts the hope that maketh not ashamed. Them he "guides with his counsel;" them he "brings to glory." "Blessed the people that are in such a case!"-But the way of transgressors is hard; and for this very reason-enough, were there no other-that the favour of God is not to be found in it. He smiles not on that path, nor on a single soul that chooses it. There is no light of his countenance there. And the way terminates-at that world of woe, in which all the ingredients of the curse are concentrated for ever. The wrath of God which is but revealed on earth, is felt in hell. It is revealed here, that you may escape it there. This is the design of the Gospel. It unfolds the "way of salvation." They are fools who disregard it. They are of "good understanding" who consider and choose it. It is the way of favour and life hero. It leads to favour and life for ever. Examine it. Choose it. Press into it. Flee for it "the way of transgressors." Keep in it. Let nothing drive, let nothing draw you out of it. All will then be well. The way conducts to Heaven-terminates at the gates of the Celestial City.