Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 20:1

Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 20:1 - 20:30

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Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 20:1 - 20:30

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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

20:1 - 20:30

EXPOSITION

Pro_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 (Luk_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. Septuagint, Υβιστικὸν μέθη , "Drunkenness is insolent." Theognis has some sensible lines on this matter—

Ος δ ἂν ὑπερβάλλῃ πόσιος μὲτρον οὐκέτι κεῖνος

Τῆς αὐτοῦ γλώσσης καρτερὸς οὐδὲ νόου

Μυθεῖται δ ἀπάλαμνα τὰ νήφοσι γίγνεται αἰσχρά

Αἰδεῖται δ ἕρδων οὐδὲν ὅταν μεθύη |

Τὸ πρὶν ἐὼν σώφρων τότε νήπιος

Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. No one who reels under the influence of, is overpowered by, wine is wise (Isa_28:7). Septuagint, "Every fool is involved in such." Says a Latin adage—

"Ense cadunt multi, perimit sed crapula plures."

"More are drowned in the wine cup than in the ocean," say the Germans (comp. Pro_23:29, etc.; Eph_5:18).

Pro_20:2

The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion (see Pro_19:12). The terror which a king causes when his anger is rising is like the roar of a lion, which betokens danger. Septuagint, "The threat of a king differeth not from the wrath of a lion." Whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul; imperils his life, which he has no right wilfully to jeopard. ,Septuagint, "He who enrageth him ( ὁ παροξύνων αὐτόν )." The Complutensian and some Greek versions introduce the words, καὶ ἐπιμιγνύμενος , "and has intercourse with him;" i.e. he who having aroused a king's resentment does not avoid his presence, exposes himself to certain death.

Pro_20:3

It is an honour to a man to cease from strife; or better, as Delitzsch and others, to remain far from strife. A prudent man will not only abstain from causing quarrel, but will hold himself aloof from all contention, and thus will have due care for his own honour and dignity. How different is this from the modern cede, which makes a man's honour consist in his readiness to avenge fancied injury at the risk of his own or his neighbour's life! Septuagint, "It is a glory to a man to hold himself aloof from revilings." Every fool will be meddling (see on Pro_17:14; Pro_18:1). Delitzsch, "Whoever is a fool showeth his teeth," finds pleasure in strife. Septuagint, "Every fool involves himself in such," as in Pro_20:1.

Pro_20:4

The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold; propter frigus, Vulgate. But çÉøÆó (choreph) denotes the time of gathering—the autumn; so we would translate, "At the time of harvest the sluggard ploughs not"—just when the ground is most easily and profitably worked. "The weakness of the coulter and other parts of the plough requires that advantage be taken, in all but the most friable soils, of the softening of the surface by the winter or spring rains; so that the peasant, if industrious, has to plough in the winter, though sluggards still shrink from its cold, and have to beg in the harvest" (Geikie, 'Holy Land and Bible,' 2:491). Therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. So the Vulgate, Mendicabit ergo aestate, et non dabitur illi. But this does not accurately represent the meaning of the clause. If ever the prosperous are disposed to relieve the needy, it would be at the time when they have safely garnered their produce; an appeal to their charity at such a moment would not be made in vain. Rather the sentence signifies that the lazy man, having neglected to have his land ploughed at the proper time, "when he asks (for his fruits) at harvest time, there is nothing." He puts off tilling his fields day after day, or never looks to see if his labourers do their duty, and so his land is not cultivated, and he has no crop to reap when autumn comes. "By the street of By-and-by one arrives at the house of Never" (Spanish proverb). Taking a different interpretation of the word choreph, the LXX. renders, "Being reproached, the sluggard is not ashamed, no more than he who borrows corn in harvest."

Pro_20:5

Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water. The thoughts and purposes of a man are hidden in his breast like deep water (Pro_18:4) in the bosom of the earth, hard to fathom, hard to get. But a man of understanding will draw it out. One who is intelligent and understands human nature penetrates the secret, and, by judicious questions and remarks, draws out the hidden thought.

Pro_20:6

Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness; chesed, "kindness," "mercy," "liberality," as in Pro_19:22. So Ewald and others, Hitzig and Kamphausen translate, "Many a man one names his dear friend;" Delitzsch and Nowack prefer, "Most men meet a man who is gracious to them;" i.e. it is common enough to meet a man who seems benevolent and well disposed. Vulgate, "Many men are called merciful;" Septuagint, "Man is a great thing, and a merciful man is a precious thing." The renderings of most modern commentators imply the statement that love and mercy are common enough, at least in outward expression. The Authorized Version pronounces that men are ready enough to parade and boast of their liberality, like the hypocrites who were said proverbially to sound a trumpet when they performed their almsdeeds (Mat_6:2). Commenting on the Greek rendering of the clause given above, St. Chrysostom observes, "This is the true character of man to be merciful; yea, rather the character of God to show mercy …Those who answer not to this description, though they partake of mind, and are never so capable of knowledge, the Scripture refuses to acknowledge them as men, but calls them dogs, and horses, and serpents, and foxes, and wolves, and if there be any animals more contemptible". The contrast between show, or promise, and performance is developed in the second clause. But a faithful man who can find? The faithfulness intended is fidelity to promises, the practical execution of the vaunted benevolence; this is rare indeed, so that a psalmist could cry, "I said in my haste, All men are liars" (Psa_116:11; comp. Rom_3:4). Lesetre refers to Massillon's sermon, 'Sur la Gloire Humaine,' where we read (the preacher, of course, rests on the Latin Version), "Ces hommes vertueux dont le monde se fait tant d'honneur, n'ont au fond souvent pour eux que l'erreur publique. Amis fideles, je le veux; mais c'est le gout, la vanite ou Pin teret, qui les lie; et dans leur amis, ils n'amient qu' eux-memes En un mot, dit l'Ecriture, on les appelle misericordieux, ils ont toutes les vertus pour le public; mais n'etant pas fideles a Dieu, ils n'en ont pas une seule pour eux-memes."

Pro_20:7

The just man walketh in his integrity. It is better to connect the two clauses together, and not to take the first as a separate sentence, thus: "He who as a just man walketh in his integrity"—Blessed are his children after him (comp. Pro_14:26). So the Septuagint and Vulgate. The man of pure life, who religiously performs his duty towards God and man, shall bring a blessing on his children who follow his good example, both during his life and after his death. The temporal promise is seen in Exo_20:6; Deu_4:40; Psa_112:2, etc. Some see here an instance of utilitarianism; but it cannot be supposed that the writer inculcates virtue for the sake of the worldly advantages connected with it; rather he speaks from experience, and from a faithful dependence on Providence, of the happy results of a holy life.

Pro_20:8

A royal and right noble maxim. A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes. The king, sitting on the tribunal and executing his judiciary office, sees through all devices and pretences which cloak evil, and scatters them to the winds, as the chaff flies before the winnowing fan. Nothing unrighteous can abide in his presence (comp. Pro_20:26; Pro_16:10, etc.). See here an adumbration of the characteristic of the Messiah, the great King whose "eyes behold, whose eyelids try, the children of men" (Psa_11:4): who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil" (Hab_1:13); who "with righteousness shall judge the poor and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked" (Isa_11:4; comp. Mat_3:12). Septuagint, "When the righteous king shall sit upon his throne, nothing that is evil shall offer itself before his eyes."

Pro_20:9

Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? The question implies the answer, "No one." This is expressed in Job_14:4, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." At the dedication of the temple, Solomon enunciates this fact of man's corruption, "There is no man that sinneth not" (1Ki_8:46). The prophet testifies, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is desperately sick: who can know it?" (Jer_17:9). And St. John warns, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1Jn_1:8). The heart is cleansed by self-examination and repentance; but it is so easy to deceive one's self in this matter, sins may lurk undetected, motives may be overlooked, so that no one can rightly be self-righteous, or conceited, or proud of his spiritual state. The "my sin" at the end of the clause is rather possible than actual sin; and the expression means that no one can pride himself on being secure from yielding to temptation, however clean for a time his conscience may be. The verse, therefore, offers a stern corrective of two grievous spiritual errors—presumption and apathy.

Pro_20:10

Divers weights, and divers measures; literally, stone and stone, ephah and ephah. The stones were used for weighing: dishonest traders kept them of different weights, and also measures of different capacities, substituting one for the other in order to defraud unwary customers. The Septuagint makes this plain by rendering, "A weight great and small, and measures double" (see on Pro_11:1 and Pro_16:11; and comp. Pro_16:23). The ephah was a dry measure, being one-tenth of the homer, and occupying the same position in solids as the bath did in liquids. It equalled about three pecks of our measure. Both of them are alike abomination to the Lord (Pro_17:15; comp. Le 19:36; Deu_25:13, etc.); Septuagint, "Are impure before the Lord, even both of them, and he who doeth them." Pseudo-Bernard ('De Pass. Dom.,' 17.), applying the passage mystically, teaches that a man may be said to keep a double measure, who, being conscious of his own evil character, endeavours to appear righteous to others; who, as he puts it, "Suo judicio terrae proximus est, et aliis cupit elevatus videri." Others, connecting this verse in thought with the preceding, see in it a warning against judging a neighbour by a standard which we do not apply to ourselves. The Septuagint Version arranges the matter from Pro_20:10 onwards differently from the Hebrew, omitting Pro_20:14-19, and placing Pro_20:10-13 after Pro_20:22.

Pro_20:11

Even a child is known (maketh himself known) by his doings. (For "even" (gam), see on Pro_17:26.) A child is open, simple, and straightforward in his actions; he has not the reserves and concealments which men practise, so you see by his conduct what his real character and disposition are. Ewald takes îòììéå in the sense of "play," "games;" but it seems never to have this meaning, and there is no need to change the usual signification. The habits of a life are learned in early age. The boy is father of the man. Delitzsch quotes the German proverbs, "What means to become a hook bends itself early," and "What means to become a thorn sharpens itself early;" and the Aramaean, "That which will become a gourd shows itself in the bud:" Whether his work be pure ("clean," as Pro_17:9 and Pro_16:2), and whether it be right. His conduct will show thus much, end will help one to prognosticate the future. Septuagint (according to the Vatican), "In his pursuits ( ἐπιήδευμασιν ) a young man will be fettered in company with a holy man, and his way will be straight," which seems to mean that a good man will restrain the reckless doings of a giddy youth, and will lead him into better courses.

Pro_20:12

The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. This apothegm, which seems to be nothing but a trite truism, brings to notice many important consequences. First, there is the result noted in Psa_94:9, "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?" Hence we learn the sleepless providence of God. So 'Pirke Aboth,' "Know that which is above thee, an eye that seeth all, an ear that heareth all." We learn also that all things are directed and overruled by God (comp. Pro_15:3; Pro_16:4). Then there is the thought that these powers of ours, being the gift of God, should be used piously and in God's service. "Mine ears hast thou opened … Lo, I come … I delight to do thy will, O my God" (Psa_40:6, etc.). The eye should be blind, the ear deaf, to all that might defile or excite to evil (see Isa_33:15). But it is the Lord alone that enables the spiritual organs to receive the wondrous things of God's Law; they must be educated by grace to enable them to perform their proper functions. "God hath given us eyes," says St. Chrysostom, "not that we may look wantonly, but that, admiring his handiwork, we may worship the Creator. And that this is the use of our eyes is evident from the things which are seen. For the lustre of the sun and of the sky we see from an immeasurable distances, but a woman's beauty one cannot discern so far off. Seest thou that for this end our eye was chiefly given? Again, he made the ear, that we should entertain not blasphemous words, but saving doctrines. Wherefore you see, when it receives anything dissonant, both our soul shudders and our very body also. And if we hear anything cruel or merciless, again our flesh creeps; but if anything decorous and kind, we even exult and rejoice." "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Septuagint, "The ear heareth and the eye sooth, and both are the works of the Lord."

Pro_20:13

Love not sleep lest thou come to poverty (see Pro_6:9, etc.). The fate of the sluggard is handled again in Pro_23:21, as often before; e.g. Pro_12:11; Pro_19:15. The LXX; taking ùÅÑðÈä (shenah), "sleep," as perhaps connected with the verb ùÀÑðÈä (shanah), translate, "Love not to rail, that thou be not exalted ( ἵνα μὴ ἐξαρωῇς )," i.e. probably, "Do not calumniate others in order to raise yourself;" others translate, "lest thou be cut off." Open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satired with bread. These words seem to connect this clause with Pro_19:12. God gives the faculty, but man must make due use thereof. The gnomist urges, "Do not slumber at your post, or sit downwardly waiting; but be up and doing, be wakeful and diligent, and then you shall prosper."

Pro_20:14

It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer. The purchaser depreciates the goods which he wants, in order to lower the price demanded—a practice as common now as in old time. "I don't want it, I don't want it," says the Spanish friar; "but drop it into my hood." The Scotch say, "He that lacks (disparages) my mare would buy my mare" (Kelly). But when he is gone his way, then he boasteth. When he has completed his purchase and obtained the goods at his own price, he boasts how he has tricked the seller. The LXX. omits Pro_20:14-19.

Pro_20:15

There is gold, and a multitude of rubies. For peninim, which is rendered "rubies," "pearls," or "coral," see on Pro_3:15. There is gold which is precious, and there is abundance of pearls which are still more valuable. But the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel, and worth more than all. We had the expression, "lips of knowledge," in Pro_14:7; it means lips that utter wisdom. Keli, often translated "jewel" in the Authorized Version, also boars the meaning of "vessel," "utensil." So here the Vulgate, vas pretiosum; and the wise man's lips are called a vessel because they contain and distribute the wisdom that is within. (On the excellence and value of wisdom, see Pro_3:14, etc; Pro_8:11, etc.) Connecting this with the preceding verse, we are led to the thought of buying, and the Lord's parable of the merchant seeking goodly pearls, and bartering all his wealth to gain possession of a worthy jewel (Mat_13:45, etc.).

Pro_20:16

Take his garment that is surety for a stranger. The maxim is repeated in Pro_27:13; and warnings against suretyship are found in Pro_6:1, etc.; Pro_11:15; Pro_17:18; Pro_22:26, etc. The second portion of the clause is translated also, "For he is surety for another." If a man is so weak and foolish as to become security for any one, and is unable to make good his engaged payment, let him lose his garment which the creditor would seize; his imprudence must bring its own punishment. And take a pledge of him for a strange woman. The Authorized Version probably adopts this rendering in conformity with Pro_27:13, where it occurs in the text, as hero in the margin (the Keri). But the Khetib has, "for strangers," which seems to be the original reading; and the first words ought to be translated, "hold him in pledge;" i.e. seize his person for the sake of the strangers for whom he has stood security, so as not to suffer loss from them. The Law endeavoured to secure lending to needy brethren without interest (see Psa_15:5; Eze_18:8, Eze_18:13, etc.; Eze_22:12): but it allowed the creditor to secure himself by taking pledges of his debtor, while it regulated this system so as to obviate most of its severity and oppressiveness (see the restrictions in Exo_22:26, etc.; Deu_24:6, Deu_24:12, etc.). "Where the debtor possessed nothing which he could pledge, he gave the personal security of a friend. This was a very formal proceeding. The surety gave his hand both to the debtor and to the creditor before an assembly legally convened, he deposited a pledge, and, in accordance with this twofold promise, was regarded by the creditor in just the same light as the debtor himself, and treated accordingly. If the debtor, or in his place the surety, was unable to pay the debt when it fell due, he was entirely at the mercy of the creditor. The authorities troubled themselves but little about these relations, and the law, so far as it is preserved to us, gave no directions in the matter. We see, however, from many allusions and narratives, what harsh forms these relations actually took, especially in later times, when the ancient national brotherly love which the Law presupposed was more and more dying out. The creditor could not only forcibly appropriate all the movable, but also the fixed property, including the hereditary estate (this at least till its redemption in the year of jubilee), nay, he could even (if he could find nothing else of value) carry off as a prisoner the body of his debtor, or of his wife and child, to employ them in his service, though this could only he done for a definite period".

Pro_20:17

Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; Revised Version, bread of falsehood; i.e. bread gained without labour, or by unrighteous means (comp. Pro_10:2). This is agreeable because it is easily won, and has the relish of forbidden fruit. "Wickedness is sweet in his mouth" (Job_20:12). But afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. He will find in his "bread" no nourishment, but rather discomfort and positive injury (comp. Job_20:14). The expression, "to eat gravel," is intimated in Lam_3:16, "He hath broken my teeth with gravel stones;" it implies grievous disappointment and unprofitableness. See here a warning against evil plesaures—

Φεῦγ ἡδονὴν φέρουσαν ὕστερον βλάβην

"Sperne voluptates: nocet empta dolore voluptas."

Oort supposes that the gnome in the text is derived from a riddle, which asked, "What is sweet at first, but afterwards like sand in the mouth?"

Pro_20:18

Every purpose is established by counsel (comp. Pro_15:22, where see note). The Talmud says, "Even the most prudent of men needs friends' counsels;" and none but the most conceited would deem himself superior to advice, or would fail to allow that, as the Vulgate puts it, cogitationes consillis roborantur. This is true in all relations of life, in great and small matters alike, in peace, and, as our moralist adds, in war. With good advice make war; Vulgate, Gubernaculis tractanda sunt bella; Revised Version, By wise guidance make thou war. The word here used is takebuloth, for which see note, Pro_1:5. It is a maritime metaphor, rightly retained by the Vulgate, and might be rendered "pilotings," "steerings." War is a necessary evil, but it must be undertaken prudently and with a due consideration of circumstances, means, etc. Our Lord illustrates the necessity of due circumspection in following him by the case of a threatened conflict between two contending kings (Luk_14:31, etc.). Grotius quotes the gnome—

Γνῶμαι πλέον κρατοῦσιν ἢ σθένος χερῶν .

"Titan strength of hands availeth counsel more."

To which we may add—

Βουλῆς γὰρ ὀρθῆς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον .

"Good counsel is the safest thing of all."

(Comp. Pro_24:6, where the hemistich is re-echoed.)

Pro_20:19

He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets. Almost the same proverb occurs in Pro_11:13, The gadding gossiper is sure to let out any secret entrusted to him; therefore, it is implied, be careful in what you say to him. Meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips; rather, that openeth wide his lips—that cannot keep his mouth shut, a babbler, as Pro_13:3 (where see note). The Vulgate erroneously makes one sentence of the verse, "With him who reveals secrets, and walketh deceitfully, and openeth wide his lips, have no dealings." Talmud, "When I utter a word, it hath dominion over me; but when I utter it not, I have dominion over it." Says the Persian poet, "The silent man hath his shoulders covered with the garment of security." Xenocrates used to say that he sometimes was "sorry for having spoken, never for having kept silence" (Cahen).

Pro_20:20

This is an enforcement of the fifth commandment, by denouncing the punishment which the moral government of God shall exact from the unnatural child. The legal penalty may be seen (Exo_21:17; Le Exo_20:9); but this was probably seldom or never carried into execution. His lamp shall be put out in obscure (the blackest) darkness (comp. Pro_13:9). The expression is peculiar; it is literally, according to the Khetib, In the apple of the eye of darkness, as in Pro_7:9; i.e. in the very centre of darkness; he will find himself surrounded on all sides by midnight darkness, without escape, with no hope of Divine protection. "Lamp" is a metaphor applied to the bodily and the spiritual life, to happiness and prosperity, to a man's fame and reputation, to a man's posterity; and all these senses may be involved in the denunciation of the disobedient and stubborn child. He shall suffer in body and soul, in character, in fortune, in his children. His fate is the exact counterpart of the blessing promised in the Law. Septuagint, "The lamp of him that revileth father and mother shall be extinguished, and the pupils of his eyes shall behold darkness." Talmud, "Whosoever abandons his parents means his body to become the prey of scorpions." Cato, 'Dist.,' 3.23—

"Dilige non aegra caros pietate parentes;

Nec matrem offendas, dum vis bonus esse parenti."

One of the evil generations denounced by Agur (Pro_30:11) is that which curseth parents.

Pro_20:21

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning—or, which in the beginning, is obtained in haste—but the end thereof shall not be blessed; or, its end shall not be blessed. The Khetib gives îÀáÉäÆìÆú , which (comp. Zec_11:8) may mean "detested," but this gives no sense; it is better, with the Keri, to replace kheth with he, and read îÀáÉäÆìÆú (meboheleth), "hastened," "hastily acquired". The maxim, taken in connection with the preceding verse, may apply to a bad son who thinks his parents live too long, and by violence robs them of their possessions; or to one who, like the prodigal in the parable, demands prematurely his portion of the paternal goods. But it may also be taken generally as denouncing the fate of those who make haste to be rich, being unscrupulous as to the means by which they gain wealth (see on Pro_23:11; Pro_28:20, Pro_28:22). A Greek gnome says roundly—

Οὐδεὶς ἐπλούτησεν ταχέως δίκαιος ὤν .

"No righteous man e'er grew rich suddenly."

Pro_20:22

Say not thou, I will recompense evil (Pro_24:29). The jus talonis is the natural feeling of man, to do to others as they have done unto you, to requite evil with evil. But the moralist teaches a better lesson, urging men not to study revenge, and approaching nearer to Christ's injunction, which gives the law of charity, "Whatsoever ye would ( οπσα ἂν θέλητε ) that men should do to you, do ye even so to them" (Mat_7:12). The Christian rule is expounded fully by St. Paul (Rom_12:14, Rom_12:17, etc). It was not unknown to the Jews; for we read in Tobit 4:15, "Do that to no man which thou hatest;" and Hillel enjoins, "Do not thou that to thy neighbour which thou hatest when it is done to thee." Even the heathens had excogitated this great principle. There is a saying of Aristotle, preserved by Diogenes Laertius, "Act towards your friends as you would wish them to act towards you." The Chinese have a proverb, "Water does not remain on the mountain, or vengeance in a great mind." Wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee. The pious writer urges the injured person to commit his cause to the Lord, not in the hope of seeing vengeance taken on his enemy, but in the certainty that God will help him to bear the wrong and deliver him in his own good time and way. The Christian takes St. Peter's view, "Who is he that will harm you if ye be followers of that which is good?" (1Pe_3:13), knowing that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom_8:28; comp. Ecclesiasticus 2:2, 6). Septuagint, "Say not, I will avenge myself on my enemy, but wait on the Lord, that ( ἵνα ) he may help thee." The last clause may be grammatically rendered thus, but it is more in accordance with the spirit st' the proverb, as Delitzsch observes, to regard it as a promise. Vulgate, et liberabit te.

Pro_20:23

This is a repetition, with a slight variation, of Pro_20:10 and Pro_11:1 (where see notes). Is not good. A litotes, equivalent to "is very evil," answering to "abomination" in the first member. Septuagint, "is not good before him" (comp. Pro_24:23).

Pro_20:24

Man's goings are of the Lord. In the first clause the word for "man" is geber, which implies "a mighty man;" in the second clause the word is adam, "a human creature." So the Septuagint has ἀνὴρ in one clause and θνητὸς in the other. The proverb says that the steps of a great and powerful man depend, as their final cause, upon the Lord; he conditions and controls results. Man has free will, and is responsible for his actions, but God foreknows them, and holds the thread that connects them together; he gives preventing grace; he gives efficient grace: and man blindly works out the designs of Omnipotence according as he obeys or resists. A similar maxim is found in Psa_37:23, "A man's goings are established of the Lord," but the meaning there is that it is God's aid which enables a man to do certain actions. Here we have very much the same intimation that is found in Pro_2:6 and Pro_19:21; and see note on Pro_16:9. Hence arises the old prayer used formerly at prime, and inserted now (with some omissions) at the end of the Anglican Communion Service: "O almighty Lord, and everlasting God, vouchsafe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and govern, both our hearts and bodies, our thoughts, words, and actions, in the ways of thy laws, and in the works of thy commandments; that through thy most mighty protection we may be preserved both here and forever." If man cannot see all sides, as God does, cannot comprehend the beginning, middle, and end in one.view, how then can a man (a weak mortal) understand his own ways. How can he find out of himself whither he should go, or what will be the issue of his doings (comp. Pro_16:25; Jer_10:23)? St. Gregory, "It is well said by Solomon [Ecc_9:1], 'There are righteous and wise men, and their works are in the hand of God; and yet no man knoweth whether he is deserving of love or of hatred; but all things are kept uncertain for the time to come.' Hence it is said again by the same Solomon, 'What man will be able to understand his own way?' And any one doing good or evil is doubtless known by the testimony of his own conscience. But it is said that their own way is not known to men, for this reason, because, even if a man understands that he is acting rightly, yet he knows not, under the strict inquiry, whither he is going" ('Moral.,' 29.34).

Pro_20:25

It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy. This verse, which is plainly a warning against rash vows, has received more than one interpretation. The Vulgate has, Ruina est homini devorare sanctos, which is explained to mean that it is destruction for a man to persecute the saints of God. But the word devorare is not certain, as the manuscripts vary between this and four other readings, viz. devotares, denotare, devovere, and devocare. The Authorized Version signifies that it is a sin to take for one's own consumption things dedicated to God, as firstfruits, the priests' portions, etc.: or a man's snare, i.e. his covetousness (1Ti_6:9), leads him to commit sacrilege. So Wordsworth. But it is best, with Delitzsch, to take éÈìÇò (yala) as the abbreviated future of ìåÌò or ìÈòÇò , "to speak rashly;" and then kodesh, "holiness," will be an exclamation, like korban (Mar_7:11). The clause will then run, "It is a snare to a man rashly to cry, Holiness!" equivalent to "It is holy!" i.e. to use the formula for consecrating something to holy purposes. Septuagint, "It is a snare to a man hastily to consecrate something of his own" (comp. Ecc_5:2, Ecc_5:4, etc.). And after vows to make inquiry; i.e. after he has made his vow, to begin to consider whether he can fulfil it or not. This is a snare to a man, strangles his conscience, and leads him into the grievous sins of perjury and sacrilege. Septuagint, "For after vowing ensueth repentance."

Pro_20:26

A wise king scattereth the wicked (Pro_20:8). The verb is zarah, which means "to winnow, or sift." The king separates the wicked and the good, as the winnowing fan or shovel divides the chaff from the wheat. The same metaphor is used of Christ (Mat_3:12), "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (comp. Jer_15:7). Septuagint, "A winnower ( λικμήτωρ ) of the ungodly is a wise king." And bringeth the wheel over them. The threshing wheel is meant (see Isa_28:27; Amo_1:3). This was a wooden frame with three or four rollers under it armed with iron teeth. It was drawn by two oxen, and, aided by the weight of the driver, who had his seat upon it, it crushed out the grain, and cut up the straw into fodder. Another machine much used in Palestine was made of two thick planks fastened together side by side, and having sharp stones fixed in rows on the lower surface. It is not implied that the king employed the corn drag as an instrument of punishment, which was sometimes so used in war, as possibly may be inferred from 2Sa_12:31; 1Ch_20:3; and Amo_1:3. The idea of threshing is carried on, and the notion is rather of separation than of punishment, though the latter is not wholly excluded. The wise ruler will not only distinguish between the godless and the good, but will show his discrimination by visiting the evil with condign puuishment. Septuagint, "He will bring the wheel upon them;" the Vulgate has curiously, Incurvat super eos fornicem, "He bends an arch over them," which Latin commentators explain as a triumphal arch, meaning that the king conquers and subdues the wicked, and celebrates his victory over them. A patent anachronism which needs no comment!

Pro_20:27

The spirit of men is the candle (lamp) of the Lord. Neshamah, "spirit," or "breath," is the principle of life breathed into man by God himself (Gen_2:7), distinguishing man from brutes—the conscious human soul. We may consider it as equivalent to what we Christians call conscience, with its twofold character of receiving light and illumination from God, and sitting as judge and arbiter of actions. It is named "the Lord's lamp," because this moral sense is a direct gift of God, and enables a man to see his real condition. Our Lord (Mat_6:23) speaks of the light that is in man, and gives a solemn warning against the danger of letting it be darkened by neglect and sin; and St. Paul (1Co_2:11) argues, "Who among men knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of the man, which is in him?" As Elihu says (Job_32:8), "There is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty giveth them understanding." And Aristotle speaks of practical wisdom ( φρόνησις ) combined with virtue as "the eye of the soul ( ὄμμα τῆς ψυχῆς )." Searching all the inward parts of the belly; i.e. the very depths of the soul, probing thoughts, desires, affections, will, and approving or reproving, according as they are in conformity with or opposition to God's Law. We must remember that Eastern houses, before the introduction of glass, had very scanty openings to admit light, and lamps were necessary if for any purpose the interior had to be thoroughly illuminated. Hence the metaphor used above would strike an Oriental more forcibly than it strikes us. Septuagint, "The breath ( πνοὴ , as Pro_11:13) of man is a light of the Lord, who searches the chambers of the belly." St. Gregory ('Moral.,' 12.64), "We ought to bear in mind that in holy Writ by the title of the 'belly,' or the 'womb,' the mind is used to be understood. For the light of grace, which comes from above, affords a 'breathway' to man unto life, which same light is said to 'search all the inward parts of the belly,' in that it penetrates all the secrets of the heart, that the things which were hidden in the soul touching itself it may bring back before the eyes thereof" (Oxford transl.).

Pro_20:28

Mercy and truth preserve the king. (For "mercy and truth," see note on Pro_3:3.) The love and faithfulness which the king displays in dealing with his subjects elicits the like virtues in them, and these are the safeguard of his throne. His throne is upholden by mercy; or, love. So the king is well called the father of his people, and in modern times the epithet "gracious" is applied to the sovereign as being the fountain of mercy and condescension. Sallust, 'Jugurtha,' 10, "Non exercitus neque thesauri praesidia regni sunt, verum amici, quos neque armis cogere neque auro parare queas; officio et fide pariuntur." Septuagint, "Mercy ( ἐλεημοσύνη ) and truth are a guard to a king, and will surround his throne with righteousness." "The subject's love," says our English maxim, "is the king's lifeguard."

Pro_20:29

The glory of young men is their strength. That which makes the ornament (tiphereth) of youth is unimpaired strength and vigour, which can only be attained by due exercise combined with self-control. The moralist (Ecc_11:9) bids the young man rejoice in his youth, and let his heart cheer him in those happy days, but at the same time remember that he is responsible for the use which he makes of his powers and faculties, for for all these things God will bring him to judgment. The Greek gives a needful warning—

Μέμνησο νέος ἂν ὡς γέρων ἔσῃ ποτέ

"In youth remember thou wilt soon be old."

Septuagint, "Wisdom is an ornament to young men." But koach is bodily, not mental, power. The beauty of old men is the grey head (Pro_16:31). That which gives an honorable look to old age is the hoary head, which suggests wisdom and experience (comp. Ecclesiasticus 25:3-6). On the other hand, the Greek gnomist warns—

Πολιὰ χρόνου μήνυσις οὐ φρονήσεως .

"Grey hairs not wisdom indicate, but age."

Pro_20:30

The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil. So the Vulgate, Livor vulneris absterget mala. Chaburoth means "stripes," and the proverb says that deep-cutting stripes are the only effectual cure of evil; i.e. severe punishment is the best healing process in cases of moral delinquency (Pro_19:29). Painful remedies, incisions, cauteries, amputations, are often necessary in the successful treatment of bodily ailments; spiritual sickness needs sterner, more piercing, remedies. So do stripes the inward parts of the belly; or better, and strokes that reach, etc. The stings of conscience, warnings and reproofs which penetrate to the inmost recesses of the heart, chastisement which affects the whole spiritual being.—these are needful to the correction and purification of inveterate evil. Aben Ezra connects this verse with the preceding thus: as strength gives a glory to young men, and hoar hairs adorn an old man, so wounds and bruises, so to speak, ornament the sinner, mark him out, and at the same time heal and amend him. It may also be connected with verse 27. If a man will not use the lamp which God has given him for illumination and correction, he must expect severe chastisement and sternest discipline. Septuagint, "Bruises ( ὑπώπια ) and contusions befall bad men, and plagues that reach to the chambers of the belly." St. Gregory, 'Moral.,' 23.40, "By the blueness of a wound he implies the discipline of blows on the body. But blows in the secret parts of the belly are the wounds of the mind within, which are inflicted by compunction. For as the belly is distended when filled with food, so is the mind puffed up when swollen with wicked thoughts. The blueness, then, of a wound, and blows in the secret parts of the belly, cleanse away evil, because both outward discipline does away with faults, and compunction pierces the distended mind with the punishment of penance. But they differ from each other in this respect, that the wounds of blows give us pain, the sorrows of compunction have good savour. The one afflict and torture, the others restore when they afflict us. Through the one there is sorrow in affliction, through the other there is joy in grief" (Oxford transl.).

HOMILETICS

Pro_20:1

Wine the mocker

Intemperance was not so common a vice in biblical times as it has become more recently, nor did the light wines of the East exercise so deleterious an effect as the strong drink that is manufactured in Europe is seen to produce. Therefore all that is said in the Bible against the evil of drunkenness applies with much-increased force to the aggravated intemperance of England today.

I. WINE IS A MOCKER BECAUSE IT ALLURES THE WEAK. It makes great promises. Strong drink is pleasant to the palate. The effect of it on the nervous system is at first agreeably stimulating. In weakness and weariness it seems to give comfortable relief. The associations connected with it are made to be most attractive. It goes with genial companionship, and it appears to favour the flow of good fellowship. In sickness it promises renewed strength; it offers consolation in sorrow; at festive seasons it pretends to heighten the joy and to take its place as a cheering friend of man. Moreover, all these attractive traits am aggravated with the weak. The need of the stimulus is more keenly felt by such persons; the early effects of it are more readily and pleasantly recognized; there is less power of will and judgment to resist its alluring influence.

II. WINE IS A MOCKER BECAUSE IT DECEIVES THE UNWARY. The danger that lurks in the cup is not seen at first, and the sparkling wine looks as innocent as a divine nectar. The evil that it produces comes on by slow and insidious stages. No one thinks of becoming a drunkard on the first day of tasting intoxicating drink. Every victim of the terrible evil of intemperance was once an innocent child, and, whether he began in youth or in later years, every one who has gone to excess commenced with moderate and apparently harmless quantities. Happily, the majority of those who take a little are wise or strong enough not to abandon themselves to the tyranny of drinking habits. But the difficulty is to determine beforehand who will be able to stand and who will not have sufficient strength. Under these circumstances, it is a daring piece of presumption for any one to be quite sure that he will always be so wary as to keep out of the snare that has been fatal to many of his brethren who once stood in exactly the same tree and healthy position in which he is at present. It is far safer not to tempt our own natures, and to guard ourselves against the mockery of wine, by keeping from all use of the strong drink itself.

III. WINE IS A MOCKER BECAUSE IT BRINGS RUIN ON ITS VICTIMS. It has no pity. It hounds its dupes on to destruction, and then it laughs at their late. When once it holds a miserable wretch it will never willingly release him. Too late, he discovers that he is a slave, deceived by what promised to be his best friend, and flung into a dungeon from which, by his unaided powers, he can never effect an escape. There is a peculiar mockery in this fate. The victim is disgraced and degraded. His very human nature is wretched, insulted, almost destroyed. His social position is lost; his business scattered to the winds; his family life broker up and made unutterably wretched; his soul destroyed. This is the work of the wine that sparkles in the cup. We should allow no quarter to so vile a deceiver.

Pro_20:3

The honour of peace

The old world looked for glory in war; the Christian ideal—anticipated in Old Testament teaching—is to recognize honour in peace. It is better to keep peace than to be victorious in war, better to make peace than to win battles. Consider the grounds of this higher view of conflict and its issues.

I. THE HONOUR OF PEACE MAY BE SEEN IN SELF-SUPPRESSION. It is much more easy to give the reins to ill will and hasty passion. Men find it harder to fight their own temper than to do battle with alien foes. It is the same with nations when the spirit of war has maddened them. Heedless of consequences to themselves, and blind to the rights of their neighbours, they hurl themselves headlong into the horrors of battle. But if men could learn to curb their own strong feelings, they would really show more strength than by raging in unrestrained fury.

II. THE HONOUR OF PEACE MAY BE RECOGNIZED IN MAGNANIMITY. It may be that we are in the right, and our foes unquestionably in the wrong. Still, it is not essential that we should fight to the bitter end. We may forego our right. It may be a generous and noble thing to suffer wrong without resisting it. We cannot but see how much more harm is done in asserting just claims by force than would result from silent submission after a dignified protest. Often the more magnanimous conduct will result in the very end that would have been sought through violent measures. For it is possible to appeal to the generous instincts of opponents.

III. THE HONOUR OF PEACE MAY BE OBSERVED IN CHARITY. We should ever remember that even those who behave to us as enemies are still our brethren. We have their welfare to consider even while they may be plotting evil against us. Christ prayed for his persecutors (Luk_23:34). So did St. Stephen (Act_7:60). Indeed, our Lord died fur his enemies. He came to make an end of the fearful strife between man and God. But while he did so, he suffered from the fray. The Peacemaker was the victim of the passions of the rebellious. By suffering in meek dignity he made peace. If the mind that was in Christ is found in us, we shall be the earnest advocates of peace for the good of the very people who delight in war.

IV. THE HONOUR OF PEACE MAY BE RECOGNIZED IN HUMILITY. The special form in which the recommendation of peace is thrown is that of a cessation of strife. This implies a case in which there has been warfare; but one of the parties refrains from prosecuting the quarrel any further, although he has neither been worsted nor won the victory. This means a change of policy. Now, it is particularly difficult to effect such a change in the midst of a conflict. One's motives are likely to be suspected, and what is done from love of peace is likely to be set down to cowardice. It needs humility thus to withdraw and sacrifice one's pretensions. Having taken a certain position we are tempted to hold it at all hazards from sheer pride. This is especially true in the soul's conflict with God. Here we are called upon to humble ourselves enough to confess ourselves entirely in the wrong. When the "fearful striving" has ceased there is honour in repentance and the new life of peace with God.

Pro_20:9

Universal sinfulness

We must distinguish between the idea of universal sinfulness and that of total depravity. We may hold that there is some gleam of goodness in a human heart without maintaining its immaculate purity. It is possible to believe that there are great varieties of character, many different degrees of sin, and yet to see that the highest saint has his faults.

I. NO ONE CAN CLEAR HIMSELF FROM THE CHARGE OF SINFULNESS. Who can say, "I have made my heart clean from all imputations of guilt"?

1. The best confess that they are sinful. Canonized by their admiring brethren, they cast themselves down in humility and shame before the holiness of God. No men have so deep a sense of the sinfulness of their own hearts as those who live most near to God.

2. The most skilful cannot excuse themselves. It is possible to formulate specious pleas that will deceive unwary men; but we have to do with the great Searcher of hearts, before whose piercing gaze all sophistries and pretences melt as the mists before the sun.

3. The deceitfulness of the heart blinds many to their own guilt. Men naturally desire to defend themselves; they are excellent advocates of themselves to themselves. The familiar sin is softened by habit. The conventional sin is condoned by custom.

4. False standards of holiness confuse men's estimate of their own sinfulness. Some people seem to take a feeling of placidity as an assurance of inward perfection, as though not to be conscious of strife were to be assured of peace with God. But it is possible to slumber under the influence of spiritual narcotics. A keener conscience might rouse a new, unlooked for sense of sin and shame. It is thought that there is no shortcoming simply because the surrounding mists hide the far off goal. Or it may be that negative correctness is mistaken for a satisfactory condition, while many positive active duties are left undone. Perhaps the soul that thinks its aspiration after purity satisfied is wanting in charity, or in the very act of claiming sinlessness it may be puffed up with pride. The most dangerous delusion is that which denies the ownership of guilt because sin is supposed to be relegated to bodily infirmity, while the true self is spotless. This is a most deadly snare of the devil.

II. NO ONE CAN CLEAR HIMSELF FROM THE SINS WHICH HE HAS COMMITTED. Who can say, "I have purged my own conscience, cleansed my own heart, cleared off my record of guilt?"

1. It is impossible to undo sins. Deeds are irrevocable. What has been committed is stereotyped in the awful book of the changeless past. What I have written, spoken, done—I have written, spoken, done.

2. It is impossible to compensate for past sins by future service. The future service is all owing; at our best we are "unprofitable servants"—there is no margin of profit—for "we have only done that which it was our duty to do."

3. It is impossible to atone for our sins by any sacrifice. The hardest penance can be of no value with God. Its only use could be in self-discipline. For God is not pleased with the sufferings of his children. We can offer him nothing; for "the cattle on a thousand hills" are his.

4. It is impossible to change our own inner sinfulness by ourselves. We cannot create clean hearts in our own breasts. We cannot kill our own love of sin.

5. It is only possible for sin to be cleansed in the blood of Christ. "There is a fountain opened for all uncleanness" The admission of guilt, the repentance that turns from the old sin and seeks forgiveness, the renunciation of all claims but that of the grace of God in Christ,—these things open the door to the true way of making the heart clean, both in pardon and m purification.

Pro_20:11

A child and his doings

I. A PICTURE OF CHILDHOOD. First, let this picture be regarded on its own account, Childhood is worthy of study.

1. A child has his character. Very early in life varieties of disposition may be seen in the several members of a young family. One is hot-tempered, another patient; one demonstrative, another reserved; one energetic, another inactive. Moral distinctions are painfully and glaringly apparent. As childhood advances these varieties of disposition merge in deeper differences of character. Though the character is supple and mobile, it is nevertheless real. There are good and bad children—children who are pure, true, honest, kind; and children who are marked with the reverse of these qualities.

2. A child is responsible for his deeds. Unless he is crushed by tyranny, within the scope of a reasonable child liberty he has room in which to play his small part on the stage of life. He must not be brought up with the notion that he is an irresponsible agent because he is young and weak. Conscience needs to be enlightened, trained, and strengthened in early days.

3. A child's character is revealed in his deeds. The character may be slight and feeble; and the deeds may be simple and insignificant. Yet even in the nursery cause and effect are at work; fruits reveal the nature even of saplings. Even children cannot be judged by outward appearance. With them innocent looks may cover sinful thoughts. Children also may deceive themselves, or make false pretences, though we do not see the hardened hypocrisy of the world in the simpler deception of the nursery. Still, it is to the conduct of children that we must look for indications of their true characters.

II. A LESSON FOR ALL AGES. If even a child is to be known by his doings, the inference is that much more may a man be known in a similar way.

1. Character ripens with years. If it begins to appear in childhood, it will be much more vigorous in manhood. There is something dolefully prophetic in the vices of infancy. Though often laughed at by foolish observers, these vices are the early sprouts of terrible evils that will increase with growing strength and enlarging opportunities. The more clearly we are able to detect differences of character even in childhood, the more certain is it that similar differences are aggravated in manhood.

2. Responsibility grows with opportunity. The deeds of children are to be regarded as characteristic—as either culpable or praiseworthy according to their moral tone. How much more must this be the case with grown men and women, who know more, have larger powers, and suffer from fewer restrictions! If the child who has continual restraint upon him, and who lives under perpetual tutelage, yet manifests characteristic conduct, the free man cannot escape from the responsibility of his doings.

3. Conduct is always a sure sign of character. It is so even with children who know little, and who are constantly hampered by superior authority. It must be so with double certainty in the case of adults. It is vain, indeed, for men and women to pretend that the index hand does not point truly. In the freedom of adult age there is no excuse to be urged against the inference that our deeds are the fruits of our character. Therefore, if the conduct is evil, the heart needs to be renewed.

Pro_20:14

The buyer

I. THE CONDUCT OF THE BUYER CALLS FOR CONSIDERATION. It is usual to discuss questions of trade morality chiefly in regard to the conduct of the man who sells. Deception, adulteration, dishonest work, the grinding of employes, etc; are denounced by indignant onlookers. But the conduct of the customer is less severely handled. Yet there are many reasons why it should not be overlooked. All are not sellers, but everybody buys. Therefore when commercial morality is discussed in regard to buying, the subject does not only apply to traders, it concerns all people. Moreover, if men cheat and do wrong in their business when selling, though there is no fair excuse for their conduct, it may be urged that they are driven to extremes by the pressure of competition and by the difficulty of earning a livelihood. But when many people are making ordinary purchases they are not in the same position and under the same temptation. Traders,