CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:1. Nearly all commentators agree in reading this verse,
“_To man belong the preparations of the heart, but the answer of the
tongue is from, the Lord_.” PREPARATIONS, lit. “_arrangements,”
“orderly disposings_,” as those of an army in array, or as the
loaves of the shew... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:2. Miller translates this verse very differently. See
comments on the verse.
PROVERBS 16:3. COMMIT, rather _roll_. THOUGHTS, or “_plans_.”
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:2_
THE WEIGHER OF SPIRITS
I. ONE MAN HAS MANY WAYS. The text speaks of “all the ways of a
man,”... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:4. FOR HIMSELF. Many read “for its own purpose, or
end.” There is much in favour, however, of the reading of the
authorised text.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:4_
ALL THINGS FOR GOD
I. THERE IS ONE PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE WHO KNOWS THE HISTORY OF ALL
THINGS. Jehovah... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:5. THOUGH HAND JOIN IN HAND, literally “_hand to
hand_,” as in chap. Proverbs 11:21. This phrase is variously
understood. Stuart renders it “_Should hand be added to hand_,”
_i.e._, although a haughty man should employ all his powers of
resistance, “_he shall not go unp... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:6. PURGED. Heb., _kaphar_, “expiated,” or
“covered.”
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:6_
THE PURGING OF INIQUITY
I. THERE IS IN THE HUMAN HEART AND IN HUMAN LIFE THAT WHICH IS NOT
CONDUCIVE TO HUMAN HAPPINESS, VIZ., INIQUITY. Iniquity is
_inequality_, or _injustice_,... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:7_
PLEASING GOD
I. THERE ARE TIMES WHEN MEN’S WAYS DO NOT PLEASE THE LORD. _The ways
of the ungodly do not at any time please the Lord_. Because they have
no sympathy with His laws, and are at variance with His character.
“_God is not in all their thoughts_” (Psalms... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:9. DEVISETH. The form of the verb denotes anxious
consideration.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:9_
MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES
I. THIS IS A FACT OF NATIONAL AND INDIVIDUAL HISTORY. In both inspired
and uninspired records we meet with abundant confirmations of this
tru... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:10. A DIVINE SENTENCE, literally _“divination,” i.e.,
“an oracle_” or “_a decision_.” “HIS MOUTH TRANSGRESSETH
NOT.” Stuart and Delitzsch read, “_In judgment his mouth should
not prevaricate, or err_.”
PROVERBS 16:11. A JUST WEIGHT, literally “_the scale_” “the
upright... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:17_
SOUL-PRESERVATION
I. THE MAIN OBJECT OF AN UPRIGHT MAN’S CARE—HIS SOUL. Every human
creature is possessed of an instinct to preserve his bodily life and
well-being. An upright man has also a spiritual instinct which leads
him to guard carefully his spiritual lif... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:18. “The Hebrews observe that this verse stands exactly
in the centre of the whole book” (Fausset).
PROVERBS 16:19. LOWLY, or the “_afflicted_”
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:18_
THE END OF PRIDE
I. PRIDE HAS A PRESENT PLACE AND POWER IN THE WORLD. All human history... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:20. Delitzsch and Zöckler translate the first clause
“_He that giveth heed to the Word findeth good_.” Stuart and
others, “_He that is prudent respecting any matter_.” Miller says,
“_Literally, wise about a word_.”
PROVERBS 16:21. SWEETNESS, or “_grace_,” LEARNING, or... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:22. INSTRUCTION, rather “_discipline_,”
“_correction_.”
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:22_
AN UNFAILING SPRING
I. MORAL INTELLIGENCE IS ITS OWN REWARD. A healthy state of body is
its own reward. It is a well-spring whence men may draw much bodily
comfort—it adds much... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:26. HE THAT LABOURETH, LABOURETH FOR HIMSELF, etc.
Zöckler translates “_The spirit of the labourer laboureth for him,
for his mouth urgeth him on_.” Stuart—“_The appetite of him who
toils is toilsome to him (i.e._, make him exert himself) _for his
mouth urgeth him on_.”... [ Continue Reading ]
CRITICAL NOTES.—
PROVERBS 16:28. A WHISPERER, _i.e._, “a _backbiter_.”
PROVERBS 16:30. MOVING, or _compressing_, indicating resolution, or
_biting_, indicative of scorn and malice.
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Proverbs 16:27_
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF THE SAME GENUS
I. HUMAN DEPRAVITY MANIFEST... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:31_
A CROWN OF GLORY
I. HOARY HEADS MAY BE FOUND WHICH ARE NOT IN THE WAY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
A hoary head in the way of ungodliness is one of the saddest sights
that a thoughtful mind can look upon.
1. _Because in such a man the tendency towards evil has been
strengt... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:32_
TAKING A CITY AND RULING THE SPIRIT
I. A MAN WHO TAKES A CITY MAY DO A GOOD WORK. When Soloman says that
the man who rules his spirit does a better work than he who takes a
city, he by no means implies that the taking of a city is a wrong
action. In the records o... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:33_
THE LOT AND ITS DISPOSER
I. THERE IS A SPECIAL PROVIDENCE OF GOD IN THE MIDST OF HIS UNIVERSAL
GOVERNMENT. In nature there is a manifestation of a universal
Providence ruling over all God’s creatures. But the individual is
not lost in the multitude—each bird of... [ Continue Reading ]