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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
P R O V E R B S
CHAP. XX.
| Miscellaneous Maxims. | |
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1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever
is deceived thereby is not wise.
Here is,
1. The mischief of drunkenness: Wine is a mocker; strong drink is
raging. It is so to the sinner himself; it mocks him, makes a fool
of him, promises him that satisfaction which it can never give him. It
smiles upon him at first, but at the last it bites. In
reflection upon it, it rages in his conscience. It is raging in the
body, puts the humours into a ferment. When the wine is in the wit
is out, and then the man, according as his natural temper is,
either mocks like a fool or rages like a madman. Drunkenness, which
pretends to be a sociable thing, renders men unfit for society, for it
makes them abusive with their tongues and outrageous in their passions,
2. The folly of drunkards is easily inferred thence. He that is
deceived thereby, that suffers himself to be drawn into this sin
when he is so plainly warned of the consequences of it, is not
wise; he shows that he has no right sense or consideration of
things; and not only so, but he renders himself incapable of getting
wisdom; for it is a sin that infatuates and besots men, and takes away
their heart. A drunkard is a fool, and a fool he is likely to be.
2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso
provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
See here,
1. How formidable kings are, and what a terror they strike upon those
they are angry with. Their fear, with which (especially when
they are absolute and their will is a law) they keep their subjects in
awe, is as the roaring of a lion, which is very dreadful to the
creatures he preys upon, and makes them tremble so that they cannot
escape from him. Those princes that rule by wisdom and love rule like
God himself, and bear his image; but those that rule merely by terror,
and with a high hand, do but rule like a lion in the forest, with a
brutal power. Oderint, dum metuant—Let them hate, provided
they fear.
2. How unwise therefore those are that quarrel with them, that are
angry at them, and so provoke them to anger. They sin against
their own lives. Much more do those do so that provoke the King of
kings to anger. Nemo me impune lacesset—No one shall provoke
me with impunity.
3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every
fool will be meddling.
This is designed to rectify men’s mistakes concerning strife.
1. Men think it is their wisdom to engage in quarrels; whereas it is
the greatest folly that can be. He thinks himself a wise man that is
quick in resenting affronts, that stands upon every nicety of honour
and right, and will not abate an ace of either, that prescribes, and
imposes, and gives law, to every body; but he that thus meddles is a
fool, and creates a great deal of needless vexation to himself.
2. Men think, when they are engaged in quarrels, that it would be a
shame to them to go back and let fall the weapon; whereas really it
is an honour for a man to cease from strife, an honour to withdraw
an action, to drop a controversy, to forgive an injury, and to be
friends with those that we have fallen out with. It is the honour of a
man, a wise man, a man of spirit, to show the command he has of himself
by ceasing from strife, yielding, and stooping, and receding
from his just demands, for peace-sake, as Abraham, the better man,
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore
shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
See here the evil of slothfulness and the love of ease.
1. It keeps men from the most necessary business, from ploughing and
sowing when the season is: The sluggard has ground to occupy,
and has ability for it; he can plough, but he will not; some
excuse or other he has to shift it off, but the true reason is that it
is cold weather. Though ploughing time is not in the depth of
winter, it is in the borders of winter, when he thinks it too cold for
him to be abroad. Those are scandalously sluggish who, in the way of
their business, cannot find in their hearts to undergo so little toil
as that of ploughing and so little hardship as that of a cold blast.
Thus careless are many in the affairs of their souls; a trifling
difficulty will frighten them from the most important duty; but good
soldiers must endure hardness.
2. Thereby it deprives them of the most necessary supports: Those that
will not plough in seed-time cannot expect to reap in harvest;
and therefore they must beg their bread with astonishment when the
diligent are bringing home their sheaves with joy. He that will not
submit to the labour of ploughing must submit to the shame of begging.
They shall beg in harvest, and yet have nothing; no, not
then when there is great plenty. Though it may be charity to relieve
sluggards, yet a man may, in justice, not relieve them; they deserve to
be left to starve. Those that would not provide oil in their vessels
begged when the bridegroom came, and were denied.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man
of understanding will draw it out.
A man’s wisdom is here said to be of use to him for the pumping of
other people, and diving into them,
1. To get the knowledge of them. Though men’s counsels and designs are
ever so carefully concealed by them, so that they are as deep
water which one cannot fathom, yet there are those who by sly
insinuations, and questions that seem foreign, will get out of them
both what they have done and what they intend to do. Those therefore
who would keep counsel must not only put on resolution, but stand upon
their guard.
2. To get knowledge by them. Some are very able and fit to give
counsel, having an excellent faculty of cleaving a hair, hitting the
joint of a difficulty, and advising pertinently, but they are modest,
and reserved, and not communicative; they have a great deal in them,
but it is loth to come out. In such a case a man of understanding
will draw it out, as wine out of a vessel. We lose the benefit we
might have by the conversation of wise men for want of the art of being
inquisitive.
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a
faithful man who can find?
Note,
1. It is easy to find those that will pretend to be kind and liberal.
Many a man will call himself a man of mercy, will boast what good he
has done and what good he designs to do, or, at least, what an
affection he has to well-doing. Most men will talk a great deal of
their charity, generosity, hospitality, and piety, will sound a trumpet
to themselves, as the Pharisees, and what little goodness they have
will proclaim it and make a mighty matter of it.
2. But it is hard to find those that really are kind and liberal, that
have done and will do more than either they speak of or care to hear
spoken of, that will be true friends in a strait; such a one as one may
trust to is like a black swan.
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are
blessed after him.
It is here observed to the honour of a good man,
1. That he does well for himself. He has a certain rule, which with an
even steady hand he governs himself by: He walks in his
integrity; he keeps good conscience, and he has the comfort of it,
for it is his rejoicing. He is not liable to those uneasinesses,
either in contriving what he shall do or reflecting on what he has
done, which those are liable to that walk in deceit.
2. That he does well for his family: His children are blessed after
him, and fare the better for his sake. God has mercy in store for
the seed of the faithful.
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away
all evil with his eyes.
Here is,
1. The character of a good governor: He is a king that deserves
to be called so who sits in the throne, not as a throne of
honour, to take his ease, and take state upon him, and oblige men to
keep their distance, but as a throne of judgment, that he may do
justice, give redress to the injured and punish the injurious, who
makes his business his delight and loves no pleasure comparably to it,
who does not devolve the whole care and trouble upon others, but takes
cognizance of affairs himself and sees with his own eyes as much as may
be,
2. The happy effect of a good government. The presence of the prince
goes far towards the putting of wickedness out of countenance; if he
inspect his affairs himself, those that are employed under him will be
kept in awe and restrained from doing wrong. If great men be good men,
and will use their power as they may and ought, what good may they do
and what evil may they prevent!
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my
sin?
This question is not only a challenge to any man in the world to prove
himself sinless, whatever he pretends, but a lamentation of the
corruption of mankind, even that which remains in the best. Alas!
Who can say, “I am sinless?” Observe,
1. Who the persons are that are excluded from these pretensions–all,
one as well as another. Here, in this imperfect state, no person
whatsoever can pretend to be without sin. Adam could say so in
innocency, and saints can say so in heaven, but none in this life.
Those that think themselves as good as they should be cannot, nay, and
those that are really good will not, dare not, say this.
2. What the pretension is that is excluded. We cannot say, We have
made our hearts clean. Though we can say, through grace, “We are
cleaner than we have been,” yet we cannot say, “We are clean and pure
from all remainders of sin.” Or, though we are clean from the gross
acts of sin, yet we cannot say, “Our hearts are clean.” Or, though we
are washed and cleansed, yet we cannot say, “We ourselves made our own
hearts clean;” it was the work of the Spirit. Or, though we are pure
from the sins of many others, yet we cannot say, “We are pure from
our sin, the sin that easily besets us, the body of death
which Paul complained of,”
10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are
alike abomination to the LORD.
See here,
1. The various arts of deceiving that men have, all which evils the
love of money is the root of. In paying and receiving money,
which was then commonly done by the scale, they had divers
weights, an under-weight for what they paid and an over-weight for
what they received; in delivering out and taking in goods they had
divers measures, a scanty measure to sell by and a large measure
to buy by. This was done wrong with plot and contrivance, and under
colour of doing right. Under these is included all manner of fraud and
deceit in commerce and trade.
2. The displeasure of God against them. Whether they be about the
money or the goods, in the buyer or in the seller, they are all
alike an abomination to the Lord. He will not prosper the trade
that is thus driven, nor bless what is thus got. He hates those that
thus break the common faith by which justice is maintained, and will be
the avenger of all such.
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be
pure, and whether it be right.
The tree is known by its fruits, a man by his doings, even a
young tree by its first fruits, a child by his childish things,
whether his work be clean only, appearing good (the word is used
or whether it be right, that is, really good. This intimates,
1. That children will discover themselves. One may soon see what their
temper is, and which way their inclination leads them, according as
their constitution is. Children have not learned the art of dissembling
and concealing their bent as grown people have.
2. That parents should observe their children, that they may discover
their disposition and genius, and both manage and dispose of them
accordingly, drive the nail that will go and draw out that which goes
amiss. Wisdom is herein profitable to direct.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even
both of them.
Note,
1. God is the God of nature, and all the powers and faculties of nature
are derived from him and depend upon him, and therefore are to be
employed for him. It was he that formed the eye and planted
the ear
(Ps. xciv. 9),
and the structure of both is admirable; and it is he that preserves to
us the use of both; to his providence we owe it that our eyes are
seeing eyes and our ears hearing ears. Hearing and seeing
are the learning senses, and must particularly own God’s goodness in
them.
2. God is the God of grace. It is he that gives the ear that hears
God’s voice, they eye that sees his beauty, for it is he that opens the
understanding.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes,
and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
Note,
1. Those that indulge themselves in their ease may expect to want
necessaries, which should have been gotten by honest labour.
“Therefore, though thou must sleep (nature requires it), yet love
not sleep, as those do that hate business. Love not sleep for its
own sake, but only as it fits for further work. Love not much sleep,
but rather grudge the time that is spent in it, and wish thou couldst
live without it, that thou mightest always be employed in some good
exercise.” We must allow it to our bodies as men allow it to their
servants, because they cannot help it and otherwise they shall have no
good of them. Those that love sleep are likely to come to
poverty, not only because they lose the time they spend in excess
of sleep, but because they contract a listless careless disposition,
and are still half asleep, never well awake.
2. Those that stir up themselves to their business may expect to have
conveniences: “Open thy eyes, awake and shake off sleep, see how
far in the day it is, how thy work wants thee, and how busy others are
about thee! And, when thou art awake, look up, look to thy advantages,
and do not let slip thy opportunities; apply thy mind closely to thy
business and be in care about it. It is the easy condition of a great
advantage: Open thy eyes and thou shalt be satisfied with bread;
if thou dost not grow rich, yet though shalt have enough, and that is
as good as a feast.”
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he
is gone his way, then he boasteth.
See here
1. What arts men use to get a good bargain and to buy cheap. They not
only cheapen carelessly, as if they had no need, no mind for the
commodity, when perhaps they cannot go without it (there may be
prudence in that), but they vilify and run down that which yet they
know to be of value; they cry, “It is naught, it is naught; it
has this and the other fault, or perhaps may have; it is not good of
the sort; and it is too dear; we can have better and cheaper elsewhere,
or have bought better and cheaper.” This is the common way of dealing;
and after all, it may be, they know the contrary of what they affirm;
but the buyer, who may think he has no other way of being even with the
seller, does as extravagantly commend his goods and justify the price
he sets on them, and so there is a fault on both sides; whereas the
bargain would be made every jot as well if both buyer and seller would
be modest and speak as they think.
2. What pride and pleasure men take in a good bargain when they have
got it, though therein they contradict themselves, and own they
dissembled when they were driving the bargain. When the buyer has
beaten down the seller, who was content to lower his price rather than
lose a customer (as many poor tradesmen are forced to do–small profit
is better than none), then he goes his way, and boasts what excellent
goods he has got at his own price, and takes it as an affront and a
reflection upon his judgment if any body disparages his bargain.
Perhaps he knew the worth of the good better than the seller himself
did and knows how to get a great deal by them. See how apt men are to
be pleased with their gettings and proud of their tricks; whereas a
fraud and a lie are what a man ought to be ashamed of, though he have
gained ever so much by them.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of
knowledge are a precious jewel.
The lips of knowledge (a good understanding to guide the lips
and a good elocution to diffuse the knowledge) are to be preferred far
before gold, and pearl, and rubies; for,
1. They are more rare in themselves, more scarce and hard to be got.
There is gold in many a man’s pocket that has no grace in his
heart. In Solomon’s time there was plenty of gold
and abundance of rubies; every body wore them; they were to be
bought in every town. But wisdom is a rare thing, a precious jewel; few
have it so as to do good with it, nor is it to be purchased of the
merchants.
2. They are more enriching to us and more adorning. They make us rich
towards God, rich in good works,
Most people are fond of gold, and a ruby or two will not serve, they
must have a multitude of them, a cabinet of jewels; but he that has the
lips of knowledge despises these, because he knows and possesses better
things.
16 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger: and take a
pledge of him for a strange woman.
Two sorts of persons are here spoken of that are ruining their own
estates, and will be beggars shortly, and therefore are not to be
trusted with any good security:–
1. Those that will be bound for any body that will ask them, that
entangle themselves in rash suretiship to oblige their idle companions;
they will break at last, nay, they cannot hold out long; these waste by
wholesale.
2. Those that are in league with abandoned women, that treat them, and
court them, and keep company with them. They will be beggars in a
little time; never give them credit without good pledge. Strange women
have strange ways of impoverishing men to enrich themselves.
17 Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his
mouth shall be filled with gravel.
Note,
1. Sin may possibly be pleasant in the commission: Bread of
deceit, wealth gotten by fraud, by lying and oppression, may be
sweet to a man, and the more sweet for its being ill-gotten,
such pleasure does the carnal mind take in the success of its wicked
projects. All the pleasures and profits of sin are bread of
deceit. They are stolen, for they are forbidden fruit; and they
will deceive men, for they are not what they promise. For a time,
however, they are rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel, and
the sinner blesses himself in them. But,
2. It will be bitter in reflection. Afterwards the sinner’s mouth
shall be filled with gravel. When his conscience is awakened, when
he sees himself cheated, and becomes apprehensive of the wrath of God
against him for his sin, how painful and uneasy then is the thought of
it! The pleasures of sin are but for a season, and are succeeded with
sorrow. Some nations have punished malefactors by mingling gravel with
their bread.
18 Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good
advice make war.
Note,
1. It is good in every thing to act with deliberation, and to consult
with ourselves at least, and, in matters of moment, with our friends,
too, before we determine, but especially to ask counsel of God, and beg
direction from him, and observe the guidance of this eye. This is the
way to have both our minds and our purposes established, and to succeed
well in our affairs; whereas what is done hastily and with
precipitation is repented of at leisure. Take time, and you will have
done the sooner. Deliberandum est diu, quod statuendum est
semel—A final decision should be preceded by mature
deliberation.
2. It is especially our wisdom to be cautious in making war. Consider,
and take advice, whether the war should be begun or no, whether it be
just, whether it be prudent, whether we be a match for the enemy, and
able to carry it on when it is too late to retreat
(Luke xiv. 31);
and, when it is begun, consider how and by what arts it may be
prosecuted, for management is as necessary as courage. Going to law is
a kind of going to war, and therefore must be done with good advice,
The rule among the Romans was nec sequi bellum, nec
fugere—neither to urge war nor yet to shun it.
19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets:
therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Two sorts of people are dangerous to be conversed with:–
1. Tale-bearers, though they are commonly flatterers, and by fair
speeches insinuate themselves into men’s acquaintance. Those are
unprincipled people that go about carrying stories, that make mischief
among neighbours and relations, that sow in the minds of people
jealousies of their governors, of their ministers, and of one another,
that reveal secrets which they are entrusted with or which by unfair
means they come to the knowledge of, under pretence of guessing at
men’s thoughts and intentions, tell that of them which is really false.
“Be not familiar with such; do not give them the hearing when they tell
their tales and reveal secrets, for you may be sure that they will
betray your secrets too and tell tales of you.”
2. Flatterers, for they are commonly tale-bearers. If a man fawn upon
you, compliment and commend you, suspect him to have some design upon
you, and stand upon your guard; he would pick that out of you which
will serve him to make a story of to somebody else to your prejudice;
therefore meddle not with him that flatters with his lips. Those
too dearly love, and too dearly buy, their own praise, that will put
confidence in a man and trust him with a secret or business because he
flatters them.
20 Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be
put out in obscure darkness.
Here is,
1. An undutiful child become very wicked by degrees. He began with
despising his father and mother, slighting their instructions,
disobeying their commands, and raging at their rebukes, but at length
he arrives at such a pitch of impudence and impiety as to curse them,
to give them scurrilous and opprobrious language, and to wish mischief
to those that were instruments of his being and have taken so much care
and pains about him, and this in defiance of God and his law, which had
made this a capital crime
and in violation of all the bonds of duty, natural affection, and
gratitude.
2. An undutiful child become very miserable at last: His lamp shall
be put out in obscure darkness; all his honour shall be laid in the
dust, and he shall for ever lose his reputation. Let him never expect
any peace or comfort in his own mind, no, nor to prosper in this world.
His days shall be shortened, and the lamp of his life extinguished,
according to the reverse of the promise of the fifth commandment. His
family shall be cut off and his posterity be a curse to him. And it
will be his eternal ruin; the lamp of his happiness shall be put out
in the blackness of darkness (so the word is), even that which is
for ever,
Jude 13, Matt. xxii. 13.
21 An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning; but
the end thereof shall not be blessed.
Note,
1. It is possible that an estate may be suddenly raised. There are
those that will be rich, by right or wrong, who make no conscience of
what they say or do if they can but get money by it, who, when it is in
their power, will cheat their own father, and who sordidly spare and
hoard up what they get, grudging themselves and their families food
convenient and thinking all lost but what they buy land with or put out
to interest. By such ways as these a man may grow rich, may grow very
rich, in a little time, at his first setting out.
2. An estate that is suddenly raised is often as suddenly ruined. It
was raised hastily, but, not being raised honestly, it proves soon
ripe and soon rotten: The end thereof shall not be blessed of God,
and, if he do not bless it, it can neither be comfortable nor of any
continuance; so that he who got it at the end will be a fool. He had
better have taken time and built firmly.
22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the
LORD, and he shall save thee.
Those that live in this world must expect to have injuries done them,
affronts given them, and trouble wrongfully created them, for we dwell
among briers. Now here we are told what to do when we have wrong done
us.
1. We must not avenge ourselves, no, nor so much as think of revenge,
or design it: “Say not thou, no, not in thy heart, I will
recompense evil for evil. Do not please thyself with the thought
that some time or other thou shalt have an opportunity of being quits
with him. Do not wish revenge, or hope for it, much less resolve upon
it, no, not when the injury is fresh and the resentment of it most
deep. Never say that thou wilt do a think which thou canst not in faith
pray to God to assist thee in, and that thou canst not do in
mediating revenge.”
2. We must refer ourselves to God, and leave it to him to plead our
cause, to maintain our right, and reckon with those that do us wrong in
such a way and manner as he thinks fit and in his own due time:
“Wait on the Lord, and attend his pleasure, acquiesce in his
will, and he does not say that he will punish him that has injured thee
(instead of desiring that thou must forgive him and pray for him), but
he will save thee, and that is enough. He will protect thee, so
that thy passing by one injury shall not (as is commonly feared) expose
thee to another; nay, he will recompense good to thee, to balance thy
trouble and encourage thy patience,” as David hoped, when Shimei cursed
him,
23 Divers weights are an abomination unto the LORD; and a
false balance is not good.
This is to the same purport with what was said
1. It is here repeated, because it is a sin that God doubly hates (as
lying, which is of the same nature with this sin, is mentioned twice
among the seven things that God hates,
and because it was probably a sin very much practised at that time in
Israel, and therefore made light of as if there were no harm in it,
under pretence that, being commonly used, there was no trading without
it.
2. It is here added, A false balance is not good, to intimate
that it is not only abominable to God, but unprofitable to the sinner
himself; there is really no good to be got by it, no, not a good
bargain, for a bargain made by fraud will prove a losing bargain in the
end.
24 Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then
understand his own way?
We are here taught that in all our affairs,
1. We have a necessary and constant dependence upon God. All our
natural actions depend upon his providence, all our spiritual actions
upon his grace. The best man is no better than God makes him; and every
creature is that to us which it is the will of God that it should be.
Our enterprises succeed, not as we desire and design, but as God
directs and disposes. The goings even of a strong man (so the word
signifies) are of the Lord, for his strength is weakness without
God, nor is the battle always to the strong.
2. We have no foresight of future events, and therefore know not how to
forecast for them: How can a man understand his own way? How can
he tell what will befal him, since God’s counsels concerning him are
secret, and therefore how can he of himself contrive what to do without
divine direction? We so little understand our own way that we know not
what is good for ourselves, and therefore we must make a virtue of
necessity, and commit our way unto the Lord, in whose hand it is,
follow the guidance and submit to the disposal of Providence.
25 It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is
holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
Two things, by which God is greatly affronted, men are here said to be
ensnared by, and entangled not only in guilt, but in trouble and ruin
at length:–
1. Sacrilege, men’s alienating holy things and converting them to their
own use, which is here called devouring them. What is devoted in
any way to the service and honour of God, for the support of religion
and divine worship or the relief of the poor, ought to be
conscientiously preserved to the purposes designed; and those that
directly or indirectly embezzle it, or defeat the purpose for which it
was given, will have a great deal to answer for. Will a man rob God
in tithes and offerings?
Mal. iii. 8.
Those that hurry over religious offices (their praying and preaching)
and huddle them up in haste, as being impatient to get done, may be
said to devour that which is holy.
2. Covenant-breaking. It is a snare to a man, after he has made
vows to God, to enquire how he may evade them or get
dispensed with, and to contrive excuses for the violating of them. If
the matter of them was doubtful, and the expressions were ambiguous,
that was his fault; he should have made them with more caution and
consideration, for it will involve his conscience (if it be tender) in
great perplexities, if he be to enquire concerning them afterwards
(Eccl. v. 6);
for, when we have opened our mouth to the Lord, it is too late to think
of going back,
26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel
over them.
See here,
1. What is the business of magistrates. They are to be a terror to
evil-doers. They must scatter the wicked, who are linked in
confederacies to assist and embolden one another in doing mischief; and
there is no doing this but by bringing the wheel over them, that
is, putting the laws in execution against them, crushing their power
and quashing their projects. Severity must sometimes be used to rid the
country of those that are openly vicious and mischievous, debauched and
debauching.
2. What is the qualification of magistrates, which is necessary in
order to do this. They have need to be both pious and prudent, for it
is the wise king, who is both religious and discreet, that is likely to
effect the suppression of vice and reformation of manners.
27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all
the inward parts of the belly.
We have here the dignity of the soul, the great soul of man, that light
which lighteth every man.
1. It is a divine light; it is the candle of the Lord, a candle
of his lighting, for it is the inspiration of the Almighty that
gives us understanding. He forms the spirit of man within
him. It is after the image of God that man is created in knowledge.
Conscience, that noble faculty, is God’s deputy in the soul; it is a
candle not only lighted by him, but lighted for him. The Father of
spirits is therefore called the Father of lights.
2. It is a discovering light. By the help of reason we come to know
men, to judge of their characters, and dive into their designs; by the
help of conscience we come to know ourselves. The spirit of a man has a
self-consciousness
it searches into the dispositions and affections of the soul, praises
what is good, condemns what is otherwise, and judges of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. This is the office, this the power, of
conscience, which we are therefore concerned to get rightly informed
and to keep void of offence.
28 Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is
upholden by mercy.
Here we have,
1. The virtues of a good king. Those are mercy and truth,
especially mercy, for that is mentioned twice here. He must be strictly
faithful to his word, must be sincere, and abhor all dissimulation,
must religiously discharge all the trusts reposed in him, must support
and countenance truth. He must likewise rule with clemency, and by all
acts of compassion gain the affections of his people. Mercy and
truth are the glories of God’s throne, and kings are called
gods.
2. The advantages he gains thereby. These virtues will preserve his
person and support his government, will make him easy and safe, beloved
by his own people and feared by his enemies, if it be possible that he
should have any.
29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty
of old men is the gray head.
This shows that both young and old have their advantages, and therefore
must each of them be, according to their capacities, serviceable to the
public, and neither of them despise nor envy the other.
1. Let not old people despise the young, for they are strong and fit
for action, able to go through business and break through difficulties,
which the aged and weak cannot grapple with. The glory of young men
is their strength, provided they use it well (in the service of God
and their country, not of their lusts), and that they be not proud of
it nor trust to it.
2. Let not young people despise the old, for they are grave, and fit
for counsel, and, though they have not the strength that young men
have, yet they have more wisdom and experience. Juniores ad
labores, seniores ad honores—Labour is for the young, honour
for the aged. God has put honour upon the old man; for his gray
head is his beauty. See
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes
the inward parts of the belly.
Note,
1. Many need severe rebukes. Some children are so obstinate that their
parents can do no good with them without sharp correction; some
criminals must feel the rigour of the law and public justice; gentle
methods will not work upon them; they must be beaten black and blue.
And the wise God sees that his own children sometimes need very sharp
afflictions.
2. Severe rebukes sometimes do a great deal of good, as corrosives
contribute to the cure of a wound, eating out the proud flesh. The rod
drives out even that foolishness which was bound up in the heart, and
cleanses away the evil there.
3. Frequently those that most need severe rebukes can worse bear them.
Such is the corruption of nature that men are as loth to be rebuked
sharply for their sins as to be beaten till their bones ache.
Correction is grievous to him that forsakes the way, and yet it
is good for him,
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