"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail. He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor. Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease. He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want."
The effect of wealth has ever been to impart influence and power. Through the corruption of our nature, it is often possessed in a degree very disproportionate to the real worth of the owner; and, through the same corruption, the power arising from it is sadly abused. The rich assuming self-sufficient haughtiness, domineer over the poor, and make them feel their inferiority, taking advantage of their dependence to trample upon them,-to demand of them what is unreasonable, and even what is sinful; thus rendering their dependence "a temptation and a snare," and extorting improper compliances, for their own convenience and advantage.
O let it not be supposed, that it is here held out as a motive to the pursuit and acquisition of riches, that you may thus "lord it" over the needy, and have a host of inferiors at your command. No. But it is a motive and stimulus to aim at an lowest and honourable independence, that you may not be subjected to such degradation, nor be exposed to the many temptations that arise out of it. Men naturally like to sway a golden sceptre over others; but it is neither in nature nor in grace to like to have it swayed over themselves.
"The borrower is servant to the lender" expresses a sentiment the same in kind. The man who lends lays the borrower under an obligation; and he is apt to feel his superiority, and to take advantage of it. He has "the borrower" under him. He asserts his claim upon him. He has it ever in his power to annoy him; and that he may make use of him for his own purposes, he may prolong the loan, and renew his bill. Having him by this means at his mercy, he contrives to keep him his humble servant. The precept-"Owe no man anything, but to love one another," may, doubtless, be interpreted with a literality which would render it an impossibility. This much, however, we may surely say with truth, that the more literally it can be kept the better. Adhere as strictly to the letter as you can. Maintain then an honourable freedom. Cherish the spirit of independence. Prefer being your own master to bringing yourselves under obligation and subjection. Study, as far as possible, to have it to say-that no man holds against you any undischarged obligation.
Verse Pro_22:8. "He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; and the rod of his anger shall fail."-In nature, the crop corresponds to the seed; and, as formerly noticed the figure is not seldom, in Scripture, applied to the final results (and sometimes even to the present,) of different courses of moral conduct. In the divine administration, as in the vegetable world, evil produces evil, and good good:-"They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same," Job_4:8. Be it observed here, that these words were not true in the precise sense and according to the purpose of him who used them. He meant, that invariably the providential dealings of God corresponded with men's characters; so that he inferred, from the very fact of Job's sufferings, that he must have been guilty of flagrant secret sins. He saw him reaping suffering, and he concluded that ho must have "sowed iniquity." This was false and cruel. But still, when the words are taken with reference to the ultimate issues of human conduct, they contain a most important truth.
To "reap vanity" is to reap nothing that is substantial or permanently profitable. The man who "sows iniquity" may for the time, perhaps, obtain the advantage he seeks; but it will prove all worthless in the end. "The harvest shall be a heap, in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow." And this leads me to remark, that the word translated here vanity has also, and as properly, the sense of affliction, grief, misery. In the Vulgate it is rendered by the Latin word for mischiefs; in the Septuagint Greek the rendering is much the same; as it is also in other versions. From the latter part of the verse, it is likely that there is some special reference to the "iniquity" of oppression,-of the violence and wrong produced by haughty superiority and power:-"the rod of his anger shall fail." The rod by which he oppressed and smote the poor, for his own selfish ends-that rod "shall fail." Death shall wrest it from his hands. God shall break it in pieces; and his tyranny and iniquity shall leave him nothing but shame, remorse, and the fruits of divine vengeance.
Verse Pro_22:9. "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor."-In the Hebrew the expression is-"He that is good of eye." The opposite phrase-"an evil eye"-is frequent in Scripture, and is used in various senses. It is applied, for example, in a general way, to duplicity of principle; in which sense it stands opposed to what our Lord calls "having the eye single." *1 It is applied also to a perverted state of the affections toward any of their objects,-supposed of course to be indicated by the looks.*2 It is further used for envy;*3 and further still for a principle closely allied to envy-covetousness-eagerly looking at the object desired, and grudging at every expenditure of it.*4
*1 Luk_11:34. rr
*2 Deu_28:54; Deu_28:56. rr
*3 Mat_20:15; Mar_7:22: where it is distinguished from covetousness.
*4 Pro_23:6; Pro_28:22: Deu_15:9. rr
This meaning is illustrated by the use of the corresponding expression, in the verse before us,-"a good eye." It means the eye of compassionate and generous tenderness,-that looks, "with a desire to relieve, on the wants and woes of others, melting in sympathy over their sufferings; and that, at the same time, does not merely weep-shedding unavailing tears,-but, affecting the heart, opens the. hand-"for he giveth of his bread to the poor." Perhaps the expression-"he giveth of his bread to the poor," may mean, that he is ready even to share his own provision with them; not merely to give a small portion of his superfluities, but to stint himself for their supply. And this is the spirit of true charity. "He shall be blessed:"-blessed of men; and blessed of God.
Verse Pro_22:10. "Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease."-By "the scorner" in various occurrences of the designation in this Book, is meant the profane and impious scoffer at religion,-the "mocker, whose bands shall be made strong." Here it seems to mean the man of contemptuous and sneering insolence,-of sarcasm and banter,-of sly and keen insinuation,-of malicious "jibes and jests and irony;" the man who is ever holding up others to ridicule or to suspicion; who vents his spleen against all in succession that come in his way, and whom it suits a present selfish or silly purpose to turn the laugh against, and to make the butt of satire and lampoon.
The sayings and doings of such a character are the source of endless heartburnings, jealousies, and contentions. "The scorner" may be mixed up with these as a party,-himself the object of resentment and retaliation; or they may be stirred up by his agency among others. Men of this stamp are the very pests of social life, in families, in neighbourhoods, in the circles of acquaintance and friendship. They are such characters as Paul may be supposed to have had in his eye, when, in inculcating peace, he threw in his conditional if-his modifying clause-"If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." There is really no living in peace with them. There is no agreement, no quietness, no comfort, no enjoyment, till you get rid of them. They are the blowers of the fires of strife. Their words are seeds of malice. Their very looks set friends at variance. Their jests are dictated by the gall of ill nature, at which the very laugh is meant to engender spite and foment discord. They are cankerworms in the flowers and fruits of social life.
There are persons who sometimes make their appearance in churches,-persons who are full of spiritual pride and self-consequence,-"wise in their own conceits"-"O how lofty are their eyes, and their eyelids are lifted up!"-"no doubt they are the people, and wisdom shall die with them!" They "trust in themselves that they are right, and despise others." They are supercilious "scorners" of all opinions but their own; and they treat all others with the sneer of selfsufficient derision. They thus produce "contention, strife, and reproach"-envies, resentments, charges and recriminations, uncharitable conjectures and surmises, schisms and divisions, wherever they go. And from church to church sometimes they do go,-carrying with them their tinder-box and their steel:-and woe to each in succession! Others are disposed to be at peace, and would live in it, in comfort and prosperity, if these strife-kindlers would but allow them. What, then, is the remedy, when such characters arise, and are found to be incorrigible? Here we have it:-"Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease." He shows a sad absence of the leading graces of the Christian character, and a consequent unfitness for a place amongst the children of God. His spirit is the very opposite of what is engendered by the influence of the gospel; and the prevalence of it is utterly destructive of all the ends of Christian fellowship. Humility and love, with their happy results, peace and harmony, are essential to the spiritual prosperity and growth of the churches of Christ. And surely that which is the very reverse of the example of the Master, and of what his Holy Spirit, when he dwells in the soul, produces, and which essentially and flagrantly mars and frustrates the very designs of Christian communion, ought to be put away. There is no cure but "casting out." Such men are the Jonahs of churches, and of the coteries of social life. As long as they are there, there will be nothing but the bluster and commotion of the storm,-"toiling in rowing," incessant distress, vain exertion, and no progress. The sea cannot "cease from its raging," till they are thrown overboard.
Verse Pro_22:11. "He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend."-By "pureness of heart" we should surely here understand, in its full extent, what is usually meant by the phrase in the word of God. It signifies sincerity, it is true; but it signifies that sincerity as attaching to and characterizing something more. It is the sincerity of genuine piety, of inward sanctity, of all the holy principles and affections which the heart-searching God enjoins and approves; which He loves; on which He smiles and "lifts the light of his countenance."*
* See Psa_24:3-5; Psa_73:1; Mat_15:8; and, in connexion with these, to impress the necessity of guileless sincerity, Psa_32:1-2; Joh_1:47; Psa_51:6.
He that "loveth pureness of heart," is he who not only has an admiring affection for it in others, but desires it and cultivates it in himself,-using with constancy, diligence, and prayer, all the means of heart-purification. The Apostle, speaking of "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," says, "He that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men." Solomon agrees with him. "He who loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend."
By the "grace of his lips'" we are to understand, not merely propriety, correctness, and elegance of address, and persuasiveness of manner, but such address as the vehicle of wise and salutary counsel,-characterized by prudence, humility, and respect. Even when there is no liking to true religion, there are some of its effects which command esteem and win affection. Humble consistency, propriety, a conduct appropriate to station, firmness of adherence to principle with deferential gentleness of demeanour,-the great, even kings themselves, will admire and honour. So was it in the case of Joseph; of Ezra and Nehemiah; of Mordecai; of Daniel; of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; and so has it been with others.
My brethren, let us cultivate the character, independently of every consideration of its effects to ourselves, amongst men. It is good in the sight of God; and that is enough. That should be our supreme reason for seeking it. Many, instead of reaping from it the favour of the prince, have been exposed on account of it to persecution and to death. The will of God must be our law, and the approving smile of God our reward. "While we thank God for the favour He may give us in the sight of men,-we must see that we seek no friendships, whether among the greatest or the least, the highest or the lowest, by any other means whatever than the "pureness of heart" and the consistency of life here recommended. Even in regard to mere external ceremonial defilement, Daniel and his companions would not, in compliance with the wishes and for the sake of the favour of the king, pollute themselves. It would have been a transgression against their God. It would have defiled their consciences, and impaired their sense of integrity before Him:-and what would the favour of the king of Babylon have been to them, when for it they had forfeited that of the God of heaven? Never must the lips be allowed to assume a grace that is inconsistent with pureness and sanctity; or to give utterance to a single word of flattering courtesy, to which the heart does not respond-no not for the sake of the friendly regard of all the crowned heads of Europe. What Solomon says is rather an encouragement to love and cultivate "pureness of heart," than a motive to be directly regarded, and allowed to influence us to this duty. It is only one of those indirect results which may be enjoyed as a testimony of the higher approbation of God.
Verse Pro_22:12. "The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge; and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor." This language is susceptible of various interpretations:-
1. By some it is interpreted in immediate connexion with the preceding verse. According to this view "the eyes of the Lord preserving knowledge" means their being upon it at all times for its protection and safety; knowledge being thus put-the abstract for the concrete-for the persons who are under its influence; so that the words in the former part of the verse will amount, in effect, to much the same with the expression-"the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous." Thus Dr. Lawson:*1-"When knowledge in the mind is attended by pureness in the heart and grace in the lips, they form an amiable and worthy character, which draws to it the eyes and hearts of wise men: but that is not the principal recommendation of it; for the eyes of the Lord himself preserve knowledge, and watch for good over the man whose lips and conversation are regulated by it."*2 This certainly renders the antithesis in the verse pointed and natural:-"but he overthroweth the words of the transgressor."
*1 So also Stuart.
*2 Comp. 2Ch_16:9.
2. The first part of the verse has been understood of the vigilant care exercised by the Lord over knowledge,-that is, over the knowledge of Himself-over divine truth-over true religion in the world; of the providence of God preserving this truth, in the midst of abounding ignorance, idolatry, and infidelity under all its forms; of the successful overthrow of all opposition-all the false reasonings, the insidious sophistries, and corrupting heresies, of the unbelieving and ungodly; and the extraordinary preservation of the volume of inspired truth in such a measure of purity from age to age, amidst all the attempts to suppress and destroy it. This interpretation of the words has been illustrated by the calling of Abraham,-by the revelation given to Moses, and the commission of the "lively oracles" received by him from Jehovah, to the sacred custody of His ancient people, chosen from among the nations of the earth for the very purpose of the guardianship and preservation of "knowledge"-the knowledge of His law, of His purposes, and promises, and covenant:-and, under the New Testament dispensation, by the completing of the sacred canon, and its constant preservation through such a variety of concurrent causes;-its republication, after ages of darkness, at the glorious Reformation;-its translation and circulation in so many of the languages and dialects of mankind, so that now nothing could destroy it, short of the miraculous interference of the almighty power of its divine Author. If the former part of the verse be taken in this sense, then the latter may be interpreted of the vanity of "all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against it." Infidel writers, in the elation of their presumptuous confidence, have given utterance, at times, to predictions of the speedy overthrow of what they have stigmatized as superstition and old-wives' fables. But their own words-not God's, have been "overthrown," and have been proved "great swelling words of vanity." Shame hath covered their authors. And "knowledge"-the best, the highest, the most valuable-Hie knowledge of the "only true God, and of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent," which is "life eternal," remains in all its perfection to this hour; and never did it present a fairer and surer promise of universality and permanence:-"The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever," Isa_40:6-8.
3. There is still another sense of the words,-which they may bear; though by some, perhaps, it may be regarded as fanciful:-"The eyes of the Lord keep knowledge:"-they retain it. What He sees, be it but for a moment, does not, as with our vision, pass away. It remains. We see, and, having seen, what passes from the eye passes also from the memory. Not so is it with God's vision. The sight of His eye is no uncertain or forgetful glance. It is unerring and permanent. All that His eyes have ever seen is known as perfectly now as when it passed before them,-as when it existed or happened!-And in the exercise of this permanent and perfect knowledge, "He overthroweth the words of the transgressors." All their evil desert remains before Him. They can neither elude His knowledge, nor bribe His justice, nor resist His power. They shall all be made to learn by fearful experience, "whose words shall stand, His, or theirs!"
Verse Pro_22:13. "The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets." It is not a common thing for lions to frequent streets. The forest is their place. But the indolent sluggard conjures up imaginary difficulties and perils, such as would never occur to any but a morbid mind. Any excuse will do: the fancy of danger-the pretence of fear. But what keeps him still, even in cases of the utmost urgency, is not cowardice; it is mere indolence. Yet would he rather incur the imputation of timid chicken-heartedness than make any exertion, than rouse himself to the slightest activity. He is ready to say, "Call me what you will-abuse me as you like-say and think of me what you please-but let me alone." The verse is obviously the language of sarcastic and cutting derision; and is intended, were that possible, to put the sluggard to the blush.
Let us beware of the encroachments of this somnolent and lazy habit. In calls of duty especially,-when the good of others and the glory of God summon us to exertion, let us strive resolutely against it. Never let it, in any case, be said,-never let our own consciences have it to say,-that indolence-the mere indisposition to bestir ourselves, has lost us an opportunity of glorifying God or benefiting men,-our families, our friends, our neighbours, our country, or the church of God. Never let us conjure up "lions" that have no being save in our own fancy, and, so lay up for ourselves regrets afterwards, and stings of conscience, which seasonable exertion, then too late, might have prevented,-nay more, might have substituted for them pleasing reflections and present and anticipated enjoyment.
Verse Pro_22:14. "The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein." For a full, affectionate, faithful, and fearful commentary on this emphatic and appalling sentence I refer you to the early portions of this Book, formerly under our review.* I have called the sentence before us an appalling one. Is it not? Can any words be more so? It is not so much the strong figure used-the "deep pit"-artfully concealed-into which the unwary passenger falls headlong ere he is aware, and perishes:-a pit this, into which a fall is more than danger, is certain death and destruction;-I refer more particularly to the latter words of the verse-"he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein!" O my hearers-my youthful hearers especially,-this is solemn, this is terrible. It is the language of bitter experience;-of a spirit that had felt the agony of being deserted of God, and in danger of being given up to judicial and final abandonment. Solomon had fallen into this pit. He had forsaken God, and God had for the time forsaken him. And Oh! the agony of awakened conviction and felt abandonment! To what do the fearful words amount? To this: that in His righteous displeasure, there is not a heavier curse which an offended God can allow to fall upon the object of His wrath, than leaving him to be a prey to the seductive blandishments of an unprincipled woman:-that if God held any one in abhorrence, this would be the severest vengeance He could take on him. O! let youth hear this, and tremble! There are few vices-if indeed there be any-more sadly prevalent; and there are few-if indeed there be any-more miserably destructive of soul, body, and estate. The abhorrence and the curse of God are in the haunts, whether open or secret, of profligacy and lewdness. Wish you to have proof of your being "abhorred of the Lord?" Court the company of the "strange woman." If not, flee from the temptation, as you would from the opening mouth of hell!
* See Pro_2:16-19; Pro_5:3-12.
The following verse contains a statement of fact,-and the duty arising out of it. The fact stated is, that "foolishness is bound in the heart of a child." By "foolishness'" is to be understood not merely frivolity, levity, and nonsense; but something greatly more deplorable,-the principles of moral evil-of spiritual corruption. This "foolishness" is "hound in the child's heart." It has a firm seat, from which it is not easily dislodged. It is inbred-entwined closely and intimately, and with sad universality of influence, among all the natural passions, desires, and affections of the human constitution, as well as all the powers and faculties of the mind, which are all tainted by the corrupting leaven.
"The rod of correction shall drive it far from him." It is here implied that the foolishness is so "bound in the heart," as to need this, among other means of expulsion. I say among others; for nothing could be more preposterous than to suppose the rod by itself to be meant here. It is "the rod" as accompanying, and contributing to give effect to instruction, admonition, counsel, example, and prayer.* And in order, as we have seen, to the end being effectually answered, the nature and degree of the fault, the time, the temper, the manner, and the measure, of the correction, must all be carefully attended to. Injudicious chastisement, ill-timed, ill-tempered, ill-adapted to the case, and ill-proportioned in measure, may effectually frustrate the end in view; nay may even serve to promote its opposite, confirming, instead of expelling folly.
* See Pro_13:24; Pro_19:18.
Verse Pro_22:16. "He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want."-How frequently, under different modifications and aspects, does the wise man introduce this subject! There are here two things which may and sometimes do go together-"oppressing the poor, to increase riches," and-"giving to the rich." The former is done to gratify avarice; the latter, to humour vanity. The one also furnishes the means of the other; the wealth that is obtained by the oppression of the poor, being employed in courting, by gifts and accommodations, the favour of the rich. There is something in this fitted to stamp the character with universal odium:-the idea of getting the riches that are spent in courting the rich, at the expense of the comfort of the poor, by screwing them down, stinting them in their means of life, grinding their faces, and defrauding them of their own! Such conduct brings a double curse, as that in verse sixth brings a double blessing:-first, for his oppression of the poor, who, as we have often seen, are God's special care:-and secondly, for his selfish application of what is thus obtained. There is no principle in either, of regard to God,-either to His authority or to His glory; nor of benevolence to men. The sole object is the gratification and aggrandizement of self. It is self that oppresses the poor, and keeps from them what they do need; and it is self that curries favour with the rich, by giving to them that which they do not need. Of the man who acts thus, want shall be the doom. He shall not prosper. The curse of God will blast his acquisitions, and bring him low:-and in the end his portion shall be destitution and misery for ever.
