We here enter upon the second main division of the Book of Proverbs, which is composed of a number of distinct propositions or maxims, having but little connection with each other and answering to the modern signification of the word proverb. Wordsworth here remarks that “the Proverbs of the present... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:2_ THE COMPARATIVE VALUE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS AND RICHES I. WEALTH WHEN LAWFULLY GOTTEN IS PROFITLESS FOR MANY VERY IMPORTANT THINGS. Death is mentioned in the text, it has no power over that in any form. 1. _Wealth will not deliver from the daily dying, which is the l... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:3. THE SOUL OF THE RIGHTEOUS, literally, “the spirit of the righteous.” BUT HE CASTETH AWAY, ETC. Zöckler and Delitzsch here read, “but the craving of the wicked He disappointeth.” Miller thus translates the whole verse: “Jehovah will not starve the righteous appetite,... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:5_ THE USE AND THE NEGLECT OF OPPORTUNITIES I. MAN HAS OPPORTUNITIES GIVEN TO HIM WHICH IT IS A MARK OF WISDOM TO EMBRACE. 1. _He has the literal and temporal summer_. When the harvest is ripe the reaper must take down his sickle and toil at the ingathering of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 10:6; Proverbs 10:11_ THE WAY TO PRESENT BLESSEDNESS AND FUTURE FAME We connect the first and last of these verses, because the latter clause in both is the same. I. OPPOSITE CHARACTERS REVEALED BY A GREAT CONTRAST IN SPEECH (Proverbs 10:11). When a rig... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:8_ THE DOER AND THE TALKER I. A DEFINITION OF A WISE MAN. He is one that “will receive commandments.” The reception of commandments implies a commander, and a willingness to obey his laws. The wise man is willing to obey good laws even at the expense of some self-sac... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:9. BE KNOWN, _i.e._, “be made known,” or, discovered. Proverbs 10:11. For second clause, see on Proverbs 10:6. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH— Proverbs 10:9_ OPPOSITE CHARACTERS I. HE WHO WALKETH UPRIGHTLY. 1. _Is a restorer of an ancient path_. The way of uprigh... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 10:6; Proverbs 10:11_ THE WAY TO PRESENT BLESSEDNESS AND FUTURE FAME We connect the first and last of these verses, because the latter clause in both is the same. I. OPPOSITE CHARACTERS REVEALED BY A GREAT CONTRAST IN SPEECH (Proverbs 10:11). When a rig... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:12_ LOVE AND HATRED The lawfulness or unlawfulness of hatred and strife depends upon the subject or occasion of such feeling. God hates sin, and we know that this hatred is the fruit of one of His highest attributes. The divine and Incarnate Son of God foretold that... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:14. LAY UP, literally, “conceal,” _i.e._, “husband the knowledge and understanding which they possess for the right time and place, do not squander it in unreasonable talk or babbling” _(Zöckler)_. NEAR DESTRUCTION, rather, _is a_ near destruction, _i.e._, “is a quickly... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:16. LABOUR, _i.e._, “the gain,” “the reward of labour.” FRUIT, “gain,” antithetical to the subject of the first clause. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH— Proverbs 10:15_ A FALSE AND A TRUE ESTIMATE OF LIFE I. A FALSE ESTIMATE OF LIFE IN ITS RELATION TO RICHES. It is... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:17. Not, HE IS IN THE WAY, but “He _is_ the way.” ERRETH, causeth others to err. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:17_ THE INFLUENCE OF EXAMPLE We take here the rendering of all recent commentators as given in the Critical Notes, and understand the verse to set forth t... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:18. Not WITH LYING LIPS, but “is of lying lips.” “The meaning of this second clause does not stand in the relation of an antithesis to the preceding, but in that of a climax, adding a worse case to one not so bad. If one conceals his hatred within himself, he becomes a... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 10:19_ SPEECH AND SILENCE I. THE WISDOM OF NOT ALWAYS USING THE TONGUE WHEN WE MIGHT. “He that refraineth his lips is wise.” The reputation of a good man may be much injured by even speaking the truth at certain times and to certain persons. The silence... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:22. Delitzsch and Zöckler read the second clause, “and labour addeth nothing thereto,” _i.e._, “God’s blessing is in itself all in all, and makes rich without any effort.” Stuart and Miller translate as the authorised version, and the former understands it to signify th... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:23. Second clause, “to a man of understanding wisdom is an enjoyment” _(Zöckler)_. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:23_ A TOUCHSTONE OF CHARACTER The painter uses the dark background of his picture to set off the bright foreground. Sunlight never looks so beautiful as... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:24_ THE INHERITANCE OF FEAR AND DESIRE These words treat of things desired and of things not desired coming to be possessed. I. UNGODLY MEN HAVE FEARS CONCERNING THE FUTURE. These fears proceed from a consciousness of past sin and present guilt, and prove the existe... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:25. “_When_ the whirlwind passeth, the wicked is no more.” _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:25_ THE WHIRLWIND AND THE SURE FOUNDATION I. THE RESEMBLANCE OF A WICKED MAN TO A WHIRLWIND. 1. _They are both destructive forces_. A whirlwind passes over a district and every... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:26_ THE VEXATIOUSNESS OF A SLUGGISH SERVANT I. HE IS AS SMOKE TO THE EYES. Smoke in the eyes prevents the accomplishment of a man’s purposes, or at least it hinders and annoys him in their execution. The eye is the light of the body; if vision is in any way obstructe... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:27_ LONG LIFE This verse must be looked at— I. GENERALLY. The fear of the Lord prolongs life because, other things being equal, godliness tends to bodily health. A good man governs his life by some kind of law, his passions and inclinations do not play the lord over... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:28_ HOPES REALISED AND DISAPPOINTED I. THE RIGHTEOUS MAN’S PRESENT POSSESSION—“HOPE.” We saw in treating Proverbs 10:24 that the righteous man possesses God-begotten desires, and that he has good ground for believing that these desires will be granted, therefore he _... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:29. “Jehovah’s way is a fortress to the upright, but _it is destruction_ to the workers of iniquity. _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:29_ GOD’S WAY DESTRUCTION AND SALVATION I. IN COMMON WITH ALL HIS INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL CREATURES, GOD HAS A WAY, OR PLAN OF ACTION. A... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.— PROVERBS 10:31. CUT OUT, “rooted out.” _MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:30_ THE EARTH THE POSSESSION OF THE RIGHTEOUS I. FROM THEIR RELATION TO GOD IT IS THEIRS NOW. The estate of an English nobleman is the portion of all his family to a certain extent. They all live upon it, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 10:32_ ACCEPTABLE WORDS I. THE RIGHTEOUS MAN KNOWS WHAT WORDS ARE ACCEPTABLE TO GOD FROM A STUDY OF DIVINE LAWS. The courtier knows how to approach his king—in what words to address him—because he has made himself acquainted with the laws of the court. The righteous man... [ Continue Reading ]