But the name of the Lord meets his eye. If this be so with man, who shall judge of God and censure His obscurer revelations? Party spirit has as much influence as gifts to blind the eyes of the wise, and to pervert the words of the righteous.Lawson. There seems no Scriptural prohibition to the use of this ordinance, provided it be exercised in a reverential dependence upon God, and not profaned for common purposes or worldly ends. A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire. There must be a withdrawal, to commune with thine own heart and to ask the questionsWhere art thou? New International Version. ESV There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. 2 Fools find no pleasure in understanding. Such enmity Solomon compares to the bars of a castle. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. A fool has no delight in understanding: The wise man or woman has great satisfaction in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. That this is by no means the rule we have many proofs, but that the tendency is strong we know not only from observation but from the frequent warnings against it in the Word of God. The bars strike against each other, but neither being more brittle than its antagonist, no progress is made. Verse 1. "[1] Hooke preferred this; "A man who wishes to separate from friends seeks excuses; but at all times he will be liable to reproach. He runs to it, as to a strong tower. Add custom text here or remove it. There have been, since, Christian men and women who resort to the same method of avoiding contention; and with the example of the Apostles before us, we can have no doubt that they are justified in so doing. than to o divide the spoil with the proud. I. We are repeatedly said to be saved by the name of God (Psalms 54:1; John 17:11-12). 3 Doing wrong leads to disgrace, and scandalous behavior brings contempt. here yields no satisfactory sense. Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out. Here, the counsel is the deep water, not the words. ESV. All heresy has more or less originated in the self-conceit which leads men to separate themselves from the congregation of the Lord (Ezekiel 14:7; Hosea 9:10; Hebrews 10:25). 4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. Because it is hard to break through. As brothers are the children of a common parent, so sloth and waste have their root in the common sin of ungodliness; men are spendthrifts or they are lazy, because they have no right sense of their obligations to God and to manbecause they do not look upon their life as a stewardship for which they must give an account (Romans 14:12), but as a gift which they are at liberty to spend as they please. . It would be a difficult matter, and perhaps an impossible one, to enumerate all the respective moral advantages of poverty and riches, and strike the true balance between them. But Samuel searched him, and laid open his rebellion. He declares that the state of the inward manits rest or unrest, its gladness or its gloomdepends very much upon the use that is made of the tongue. 12/1/22: I just found out that most of the commentaries on the Bible Study Tools website are no longer free. Thus it was under the old dispensation. The eye can influence men, but not so powerfully as the tongue, nor can its influence reach so many at once. NIV There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. They cant understand it. And yet such is the field of wonder, that the contemplation of a single point overwhelmed the Apostle with adoring astonishment. 69.]. Proverbs 17:17-18, page 518.). They entail ignominy and reproach upon all they have to do with. This is true of the Pharisees among the Jews, who had their name from separating themselves from all others, having an high opinion of their own Wisdom and sanctify; and also of the Gnostics among the Christians, who boasted of their knowledge, and separated themselves from the Christian assemblies; and were sensual, not having the Spirit, being vainly puffed up with their fleshly mind; [and] intermeddleth with all wisdom; the man who is desirous of being truly wise and knowing grasps at all wisdom, every branch of useful knowledge; would gladly learn something of every art and science worthy of regard; and he makes use of all means of improving himself therein; and covets the company and conversation of men of wisdom and knowledge, that he may attain to more; he intermingles himself with men of wisdom, as Aben Ezra interprets it, and walks and converses with them. In the elect, this spiritual sickness is an afflicted conscience, when God will suffer us to take a deep sense of our sins, and bring us to the life of grace by the valley of death, as it were by hell gates unto heaven. Men who do not seek supernatural help sometimes do it. Stops the argument. 18 Loners who care only for themselves. Reciprocal: Judges 8:3 - Then 1 Samuel 25:13 - Gird ye Psalms 37:8 - Cease Proverbs 14:17 - that Proverbs 17:14 - leave Proverbs 17:27 - an excellent spirit Proverbs 18:19 . The sources of the evil are various. The use of the lot is therefore desirable under certain conditions and restrictions, because in ending contention it saves time. But there is one friend who will stick closer than a brother. 4 Wise words are like deep waters; The most useful method would be to go to the section of Scripture that you are interested in, and selecting the button for a . The practical lesson is, that in personal and domestic interests, diligence and economy should go together, and that the one without the other never can avail for either obtaining or securing even the comforts of life. The hand can strike down the body of a single foe, or of two or three at once. Before that he served as director and teacher at Calvary Chapel Bible College, Germany, following more than 20 years of pastoral ministry. He seeks according to his desire, and intermeddles with every business, pretends to pass a judgment upon every man's matter. The results of both extravagance and sloth are the same. Such a state of things is often felt to be hard and is undoubtedly so, and unless a poor man is noble and self-respecting, it has a tendency to make him cringing and servileto dispose him to barter his conscience and his rights in order to satisfy his bodily needs. Friends who dearly love each other and are one in spirit sometimes find nothing between them but a few barsthe iron grating of a dungeon may be all that keeps them apart. Proverbs 18:1. g So the Targum. Proverbs 18:3. Warning against consorting with sinners 1:8-19. Folly's feast 9:13-18. He has joy in being the originator of fresh and living thoughts, and in being able by clothing them in words to impart them to others. John Piper Oct 25, 2005. So long as a man has this no pain of body or sorrow of soul can cast him down entirely, but without it he has little power to bear manfully the burdens of life, and a sense of the absence of it would be enough to crush him utterly although he had no other burdens to bear. The word of the Lord that came unto HoseaSee :-. But if otherwise it cannot be ordered then let a lot be the compromiser of them. A man must exert himselfhe must seekand his exertions must be wisely directed if he is to possess that knowledge which is better than any material treasure because it enriches the better part of a man. I'd never be able to see Begin if we didn't have a gift for him, for Israel. If this word is taken in a good sense the fruit must be good; but it may be ironical, meaning false or malignant words will find ample retribution. Till now he had no idea of his need of salvation. Zibas cause seemed just in Davids eyes, until Mephibosheths explanation searched him to his confusion. And he that answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and a shame to him. What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by His name. He gave it to Christs humanity. Proverbs 15:18 Commentary; Proverbs 15:19 Commentary; Proverbs 15:20 Commentary; . Some men spend days of solitude in patient investigation for no other purpose than to make a name for themselves. We know there have been many noble exceptions to this rulethat there have been hundreds of poor men who have preferred starvation to a forfeiture of any part of their God-given inheritancebut the temptation of the poor man in this direction is often very strong by reason of his great necessity. KJV. 2 Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions. Of what use is industry if its proceeds are not prudently managed when they come in?if husband, or wife, or both, be destitute of discretion, improvident and thriftless? A man of narrow means has often to fight a hard battle to supply his bodily necessities, and is a stranger to those luxuries which make life, in this respect, so comfortable to a rich man. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him Learn more about Desiring God Understanding the gift here spoken of as a special mental endowment (see Hitzig), we remark. Therefore St. Jerome affirms that Judas sinned more in despairing of his Masters pardon than in betraying Him; since nothing can be more derogatory to the goodness of God, which He hath granted by promise and oathtwo immutable witnessesto penitent sinners than to credit the father of lies before Him.T. For the negative sinnerthe man who does nothingis a waster of his time and of his talents, and is therefore guilty of a positive crime. When such expectations are disappointed, the wound in the spirit is proportionately deeper, and more difficult of healingthe breach wider, and harder of being made up. 1. 47 6 thatphanom.techno@gmail.com 042-532028 , 042-532027 Many offences touch the body which extend not to the soul; but if the soul be grieved, the sympathising flesh suffers deeply with it. This would be an amusing character, were it not, at the same time, so provoking. if there is the absence of all sober and considerate calculation, and, as a consequence, no due proportioning of outlay to income, but a reckless and wasteful expenditure, leaving an unlooked-for deficiencya woful amount minusat the years end? It is not only a strong tower, but our only defence. The man who hid the Lords talent was visited with a stern sentence as a positive transgressor (Matthew 25:25). It is upon them that are contentious, and will not obey the truth, (Romans 2:8)that truth being in all of them through the invisible things which are seen by the things that are made (Romans 1:20)that the apostle denounces tribulation and wrath, indignation and anguish. Not that men can save themselves, but that they would save themselves under Gods influences if they did not contend with Him; that it is rebellion that turns the scale (Psalms 68:6); that there is light enough in every man to draw him to saving light if he would only follow it; and that on this very account it is the great sorrow of the sinner that he has this spirit of upbraiding, which, in the spiritual world, no moral malady can carry.Miller. Now the lost has done all the strong speaking as yet. The word translated wisdom in the second clause is derived from a verb that means to be or stand with some stability (see comment on chap. Grant that both are obscure. People may try to win a judges favour by giving him gifts or telling him only those parts of a story that support their viewpoint. The tongue of the tale-bearer is a two-edged sword, at once it cutteth on both sides, and his words are his wounds, at once wounding both him of whom he speaketh and him to whom he speaketh. I. As in similar verses, Miller translates a wounded spirit: a spirit of upbraiaing. There is, in the original word, an implication of softness, simplicity, undesignedness, which only gives the secret weapon with which the wound is inflicted the greater keenness.Wardlaw. 20 Even by their neighbors the poor are despised, but a rich person's friends are many. and there is a friend [there is a special friend] who will stick closer than a brother ( Proverbs 18:24 ). It is not enough to be active, but he must see that his actions are wisely directed, that the means are adapted to the end in view. I. Polygamy cannot be recommended by those who have practised it. Solomon is satisfied with one great difference,that while mans speech is deep, Gods speech is both deep and living. One has a vital source, the other is dead and stagnant. A communication has been established between the soul of a good man and the living Godhe holds constant communion with a source of spiritual life which can never fail, and consequently he can never be at a loss for subjects upon which to discoursehis mind is always filled with new thoughts of God, and new hopes of heaven upon which to meditate himself and which he can communicate to others. II. 1. The wise listen to opinions from all available sources before giving their judgment (13-15). ( Proverbs 18:14 ). 2. There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. This proverb treats of a twofold aspect of human life which furnishes a strong proof of the fallen condition of human nature. Click to donate today! He flees to it for refuge as to a strong city; but it is so only "in his own conceit" or imagination. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly. It would be indeed a blessing if property was the most precious thing wasted in the contentions of men. And moral weeds seem to have a like capability of utilising everything that comes in their way to their own advancementthe unrighteous man makes a fortune, or a position, or a name for himself, while his godly neighbour is struggling for a bare subsistence. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit. But although it is only that, it is a very real and terrible barrier. III. When people become too confident in their own opinions, they are liable to break away from former friends. When these have lost their energy, there is nothing to lift him up, and existence becomes an intolerable burden. A little thought and observation will convince us that this is true. II. None can pull out of His hands. Or intense excitement of the mind renders them for a time at least oblivious of bodily sensations. An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels. A man to have friends has to show himself friendly. When the eleven Apostles were awaiting the seal of their commission, they felt that they had no time to waste in contending who should fill up the empty place in their bandthey knew that, although they were brethren in Christ, they might differ in their opinions in the matterand they therefore wisely determined to decide it by referring to the lot. We have before had the lot as a symbol of human freedom and Divine preordination (chap. II. If there is water beneath the surface of the earth it must force its way and find an outlet; it needs no hand of man to come to its aid; it penetrates the soil and forms a fertilising stream in obedience to natural law. Proverbs 16:2. They are often held in contempt even while living, and the reproaches of those who have been made to suffer by them are heaped upon their heads. Through desire (through self-willed and self-seeking desire of wisdom)wisdom, Heb. Sometimes family feuds have led men to resort to this terrible method of settling disputes, and men of the same parentage have fought till one shed the others blood. Thus sense of danger, knowledge of the way, confidence in the strength of the towerall gives a spring of life and earnestness to run into it. A man's gift maketh room for him and bringeth him before great men. a. It is to a man of this stagnant and lazy temperament an exertion quite unbearable to keep his mind so long on the stretch as to listen even to a statement, and still more to an argument or pleading, that cannot be finished in a breath and done with. David has recorded as his experience that he had seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-treebut he passed by, and lo, he was not (Psalms 37:35). We talk about fetching up a lost hour, but the thing is impossible. That is, the fool's lips enters into contention, and by his mouth, the strokes is really, is blows.
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