Bible Commentaries

Man's Chief Business, Etc.

Proverbs 19:11).

Probably no finer imitation of the divine character can be conceived than that which is given in this statement. Man here represents some of the most attractive attributes of the divine character. The man is great, and therefore he can afford to wait; he is noble, and therefore he can defer his anger, saying even to his hottest passion, Stand back, for thou shalt not find expression to-day. This is an instance of self-control of the highest kind. Anger will speak, will splutter, will flash, will insist upon having vent; here discretion says that anger shall not disclose its fires, but shall wait to know what is the will of the well-regulated mind, the will of justice, and the will of magnanimity. Pleasant it Proverbs 19:18).

This is what Almighty God does in his parental relation to the human race. The very fact that we are being chastened shows that there is still hope that we may be recovered and established in goodness. The very fact that the rod is being laid upon us shows that our soul is yet within lines that are consistent with the hope that the soul may be saved. This text has a peculiar meaning which is not obvious on the surface. We might read it thus: Set not thy soul on his destruction,—that is to say, dp not go too far in thy chastening or correction. Anger, pure and simple, can only be satisfied by utter destruction. Interpreted in a Christian sense, anger is controlled by righteousness, it is limited by conscience, it is under the restraint and inspiration of reason, and, therefore, men are to see to it that those whom they strike are not over-punished, but that the hand is withheld in order to give time for the expression of penitence. Wrong-headed people cannot be cured by beating. Sometimes the rod is employed when reasoning alone ought to be called into exercise. If the reason has lost its faculty, or lost interest in all processes of moral inquiry, it is in vain that the back should be beaten with many stripes. Where the sin is one of the flesh, or ill-temper, or obstinacy, then the rod must be applied strongly and hopefully. The text teaches the necessity of discrimination in the administration of punishment. Do not punish a man too much. Do not go beyond the limits of reason; give the man himself to feel that his punishment is calculated and regulated, and therefore is all the more potent.

"The desire of a man is his kindness: and a poor man is better than a liar" ( Proverbs 19:22).

This text is obscure. The second part of it is plain enough as to its letters; but what possible reason can there be in putting a poor man and a liar in comparison? The text should be so rendered as to express the idea that kindness makes a man desired or beloved. We draw near to kindness as if by a species of right. As a cold man approaches the fire, so does a desolate heart approach any one whose spirit is marked by kindness. By "kindness" we are to understand sympathy, philanthropy, geniality, approachableness. There are men whose very appearance seems to invite confidence. We say of some men, though we do not know them intimately, that we could tell them our troubles and seek their advice in our perplexities, because of the sweetness of their manner, the gentle dignity of their whole demeanour. Who ever draws near to mere dignity, pomp, circumstance, haughtiness? Who would go up to an iceberg when he is shivering with cold? Who would go to a nest of stone in the wilderness when his head is aching from weariness? There are houses on whose fronts are marked the word Hospitality and the word Welcome; there are faces which indicate readiness to sympathise with and help those who are in trouble, darkness, or fear; there are voices full of the music of sympathy; to hear them is like hearing a gospel. This, then, is the meaning of the text—what makes a man desired or beloved is kindness. Little children run to him, poor women feel that they are in the presence of a defender, and helpless souls recognise in kindness a desire to protect, assist, and strengthen. When the text says "a poor man is better than a liar," the sentence must be regarded as incomplete. Put in its proper sense it would run thus, A poor man who cannot help is better than a man who says he would help if he could, when all the time he knows he is telling a lie. The "poor man" of the text is an honest man. According to the limit of his ability he is willing to assist The liar in the text is a man who may have much but is unprepared to part with anything, and who makes up for want of charity by profuseness of asseveration and false and heartless promises. Poor men, when they are honest, are amongst the best helpers of their fellow-men. They do not stand on ceremony or on dignity, or on any exchange of rights. The poor woman with many children of her own is more likely to assist the child of some poor neighbour than is a rich woman who has no sympathy with littleness, feebleness, cold, and want, and yet who speaks the word of charity and utters the sentiment and cant of heartless regard for the general wants of society. We are called upon to be honest, true, and simple, and to do according to the best of our ability, and to shame those who tell lies, saying how much they would do if they could, whilst all the time they will part with nothing of their strength and nothing of their luxury. There is a spirit of judgment in society, and at last the liar is unmasked and proved to be what he is in reality, unsympathetic, untrue, unlike Jesus Christ,—a living and mischievous lie.

"Cease, my Proverbs 19:27).

The instruction of bad men can only tend to badness. It may have all the form and colour of philosophical teaching, but its moral inspiration is bad, and therefore it must come to darkness and confusion in the end. The passage might be rendered, "Cease to hear instruction if you are going to err afterwards." This gives another view of the exhortation. Do not attend church if you mean to turn your religious service into an excuse for immorality: do not go to college if you are gathering information merely for the sake of increasing your power to do mischief: do not read books if you are simply seeking for a key that will enable you to open gates that are forbidden: better not appear to care for instruction than to accept it as an instrument which is perverted to mischievous purposes: be honest, be sincere in your love of ignorance, in your profession of unbelief, in your disregard for all things sacred,—on no account pretend to love the right and yet do the wrong, because you add to the wrong the aggravation of hypocrisy. Get instruction for the purpose of being stronger. Pursue knowledge that you may have both hands filled with instruments which will enable you to do a great and useful work in society. Thus the Bible doctrine always seeks to establish harmony as between purpose and conduct, motive and policy; the Bible will have no discrepancy or contradiction in any man's constitution; it will insist upon the man moving in his integrity or completeness in whatever direction he has chosen to pursue. How honest a book is the Bible; how it insists upon bad men showing themselves in their true colours; how it further insists that the good man shall not be good merely in parts and sections of his character, but good through and through! The best exposition of this text is to repeat the rendering—"Cease to hear instruction if you are going to err afterwards."