Proverbs Chapter 18
Proverbs
Chapter 18
1-2. An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends; he defies all sound judgment. A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions. Desire is the wheel of the soul, the spring of energy and delight. The businessman or scientist is filled with the object of his desire. This one thing is everything to him. A Christian minister must give himself wholly to his office. There is much to be looked into and pondered. Men who live without doing this may be fluent speakers and accurate preachers; but the lack of unction paralyzes all spiritual impact. No intelligent Christian can fail to feel the immense importance of combining holy solitude with active life. He needs to nourish his faith as well as demonstrate every other Christian grace. Sir M. Hale left us this prayer: "I have endeavored to husband this short, uncertain, important talent [time] by dedicating and setting apart some part of it to prayer and the reading of your word; which I have constantly and peremptorily observed, whatever occasions interposed, or whatever importunity persuaded to the contrary."
Yet a fool finds no pleasure in understanding. His whole desire is to pour out his own frivolity.
3. When wickedness comes, so does contempt, and with shame comes disgrace. Selfishness is the characteristic of the wicked. "Wherever he comes, he is apt to cast contempt and reproach on every man's face" (Bishop Hall). His neighbor's circumstances or illnesses provide him with an opportunity to ridicule him. The word of God finds no favor in his sight. God's people are the object of his contempt. Their seriousness he calls gloom, their cheerfulness levity (Matthew 11:18-19).
A scornful spirit against the godly is never forgotten. Every bitter word is registered. But the Lord has declared that the rebuke of his people will someday be taken away from the whole earth (Isaiah 25:8).
4. The words of a man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. "This sentence expresses the depth, the abundance, the clearness, and the force of the counsels of the wise man" (Calmet). When a person has immersed himself in wisdom, his words are in themselves deep waters, and as they are spoken they become as fruitful as a bubbling brook. His wisdom is a fountain that "sends up full brooks that are ready to overflow their banks. So plentiful is he in good discourse and wholesome counsel" (Bishop Hall).
The fountain is especially invigorating when, as with Chrysostom, it gives a heavenly glow to outward eloquence. Consecrated mind and talent are gifts of God. May we improve in simplicity, not for the creature's honor, but for the glory of the great Giver.
5. It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive the innocent of justice. "Whatever excuses man may make for its [partiality's/ injustice's] course, it is an offense to God, an affront to justice, a wrong to mankind, and a real service done to the kingdom of sin and Satan" (Henry). For justice to happen, the cause must be heard, not the person. Let the person be punished for his wickedness, not the wickedness be covered for the person's sake. When one is partial to the wicked, the rights of God are despised, and the claims of his justice are thrown away.
6-7. A fool's lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a beating. A fool's mouth is his undoing, and his lips are a snare to his soul. It is most remarkable that the apostle Paul, when analyzing man's depravity, focuses on the little member and all that is linked to it—the throat, the tongue, the lips, and the mouth (Romans 3:13-14). The tongue is such a world of iniquity that it defiles the whole body. We often see how it harms other people; here we note how it harms the man himself.
A fool's lips bring him strife. This is folly indeed. He makes a rod for his own back. There is no need to dig a pit for a fool, for he digs a pit for himself. The mouths of wild beasts devour each other. A fool's mouth is his own destruction. And he is not only the cause but the agent of his own destruction.
Will not the child of God watch in godly fear in case his own folly should call for his Father's rod?
8. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. Do men deny, question, or water down the depravity of our nature? Note again how the virulent poison of only one part of the body destroys practical godliness, social order, and mutual friendship. The man who spreads slander is condemned by the law (Leviticus 19:16). No character is more despicable, no influence more detestable.
The words of a gossip in an unguarded moment may inflict irreparable injury. This evil may be welcomed in certain circles that thrive on scandal. But that does not alter the real character of a gossip, who is detested by both God and man. Other than the power of holy love opening freely the channels of kindness and forbearance, what can overcome this mischievous propensity? And what can bring about this spirit of love other than a genuine interest in Christian privileges and a corresponding sense of Christian obligation (Colossians 3:12-14)?
9. One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. Observe the affinity of the different principles and workings of corruption. The sluggard and the prodigal belong to the same family. The man who hid the Lord's talent was equally unfaithful as the person who squandered his goods (Matthew 25:25; Luke 16:1). The slothful has no heart for his work. Important opportunities slip by. His stock, instead of increasing by being traded, gradually dwindles into penury. God has filled the world with his abundant gifts. But unless we have a diligent hand to receive them, we will starve. "He who by the sloth of his hand disfurnisheth himself of the means of getting, he is as near of kin to a waster as may be" (Bishop Sanderson). He is brother to one who destroys. He is like the lord of a large estate who, instead of improving it and looking after it, destroys it with extravagance and folly.
It is the same in religion. One person is content with heartless orthodoxy. His family worship is a routine of formality that has no influence on the day itself. What is the big distinction between him who prays, reads, and does good deeds only in a formal way and the person who throws away these privileges? Both arrive at the same destination, though by different tracks. The one folds his arms in sloth; the other opens his hands in wastefulness. The one gets nothing; the other spends what he gets. Thus fearful is the guilt, solemn is the account, certain is the ruin of both. God gives talents not only to enrich, but to use. And whether those talents are selfishly neglected or carelessly thrown away, the wicked servant is condemned to outer darkness (Matthew 25:26-30).
Servant of Christ, let your Master's life be your pattern and standard. He was equally fervent in his daily work and in nightly prayer. Follow him in his work, and you will be honored with his reward (John 12:26).
10-11. The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall. Being aware of danger induces even the animal creation to seek a refuge. To man a strong tower is such a defense. But does man as a sinner realize his imminent death? Oh, may he accept his welcome into the strong tower set before him. Such is the name of the Lord—not the bare outward words, operating as a charm, but his character, that by which he is known, as a man is known by his name.
Think of the sinner as he becomes convicted of his evil condition. He trembles at the thought of eternal condemnation. He looks forward, and all is terror; he looks backwards, and all is remorse; he looks inward, and all is darkness. Until now he had no idea about his need of salvation. His soul's enemy now suggests that it is beyond his reach, that he has sinned for too long and in too many different ways. He has sinned against so much light and so much knowledge—how can he be saved? But the name of the Lord meets his eye. He spells out every letter and putting them together cries out, "Who is a God like you?" He runs to the Lord as to a strong tower. His burden of conscience is relieved, his soul is set free, and he enjoys his safety.
Think of the child of God who is feeble, distressed, and assaulted. "What if I should return to the world, look back, give up my Christian faith, give way to my own deceitful heart, and perish in the end with aggravated condemnation?" Perhaps you are walking outside the gates of the tower. No wonder that your imprudence exposes you to the arrows of the wicked one. Read again about the name of the Lord. Go back inside the walls. Look at the name on the tower: "I am the Lord; I do not change." Note how you are to trust in his name (Isaiah 50:10; Psalm 9:10).
Thus a sense of danger, knowledge of the way, and confidence in the strength of the tower all give a spring of life and earnestness to run into it. Here the righteous, the person justified by the grace and sanctified by the Spirit of God, runs every day, every hour. He is aware of both his serious danger and his perfect security. Within these walls, which of us needs to worry that the sharpest arrow can harm us? We realize our security from external trouble as we exercise our faith. We are safe from God's avenging justice, from the curse of the law, from sin, from condemnation, from the second death.
But only the righteous are found here. What do the ungodly know about this refuge? "Our God's mercy is holy mercy. He knows how to pardon sin, not to protect it. He is a sanctuary to the penitent, not to the presumptuous" (Bishop Reynolds). Yet how joyful it is that the gates of this city are always open. No time is a bad time to enter. No distance, no weakness, hinders the entrance. All who enter are protected by God's salvation. "Satan is raising batteries against the fort, using all means to take it, by strength and stratagem, unwearied in his assaults, and very skillful to know his advantages" (Leighton). But notwithstanding that enemy's disturbing power, the peace of God daily fortifies our hearts from fear of evil. Such is our strong tower. How much we owe to our gracious Savior who has made our way to it so free and so bright. We rest in the heart of God and are at peace.
But the rich man has his strong city and his high walls (compare 10:15). Well does the writer add that such a man is only wise in his own conceit. Little does he think that in a moment his walls may crumble to dust and leave him in a ruin and totally unprotected. "Trouble will find an entrance into his castle. Death will storm and take it. And judgment will sweep both him and it into perdition" (Scott).
Every man is as secure as his trust. A trust in God communicates a divine and lofty spirit. We feel that we are surrounded by God and living on high with him. Oh, the sweet security of the weakest believer, shut up in an impregnable fortress. But a vain trust brings a vain and proud heart, the immediate forerunner of ruin.
12. Before his downfall a man's heart is proud, but humility comes before honor. We have had both of these proverbs separately (16:18; 15:33). Surely this repetition was intended to deepen our sense of their importance. It is hard to persuade a man that he is proud. Everyone protests against this sin. Yet who does not cherish the viper in his own heart? Man so little understands that dependence upon his God constitutes the creature's happiness, and that the principle of independence is madness, and its end destruction. The proud walk on the edge of a fearful precipice. Only a miracle preserves them from instant ruin. The security of the child of God is when he lies prostrate in the dust. If he soars high, danger is imminent, even if he is on the edge of heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1-7).
There is danger here for a young Christian. The glow of his first love, the awakened awareness of the condition of his perishing fellow sinners, ignorance about the subtle working of inbred vanity, and the mistaken zeal of injudicious friends all tend to foster self-pleasing. Oh, let him know that humility comes before honor.
The spring of this humility is true self-knowledge. Whatever may be seen externally to a man's advantage, let him keep his eyes looking within. The true sight of himself must lay him low. When he compares his secret follies with his external decency, what appears to his fellow creatures with what he knows of himself, he can only cry out, "I am a vile sinner." The center of this precious grace is not in words, emotions, or tears but in the heart. No longer will he delude himself with a false conceit about what he has not, or with a vain conceit of what he has. There can be no true greatness without this deep-toned humility.
13. He who answers before listening—that is his folly and his shame. All too often this proverb is proved to be true in everyday life. Men will hardly hear out what is unacceptable to them. They will interrupt the speaker before they have fully heard him, and so give an injudicious answer.
This folly was specifically forbidden by God's law [in the context of the worship of false gods] (Deuteronomy 13:12-14). It was no less contrary to the Lord's own procedure. He examined Adam before he pronounced judgment [though he already knew what Adam had done]. He came down to see Babel and Sodom before they were destroyed, so that his justice would be clearly seen. While on earth, patient investigation marked his decisions (see Matthew 22:15-33). See also Deuteronomy 32:4.
14. A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? Man is born in a world of trouble, and he has considerable powers of endurance. Natural courage and vivacity of spirit will bear us up even under the pressure of ponderous evils, poverty, pain, sickness, and need. Christian principle strengthens natural strength. Outward troubles are bearable, yes, more than bearable, if there is peace within.
A man's spirit sustains him in sickness. But what if his spirit is crushed? "If the strength that is in me is weakness, how great is that weakness" (Bishop Sanderson). The wound to the spirit pierces more deeply than a flesh wound, as the spirit is more vital than the body. Grief gains the victory and becomes intolerable.
The most powerful minds are quite vulnerable. Even the great Isaac Newton, "endowed with an intellectual strength that had unbarred the strongholds of the universe," who was distinguished by "unbroken equanimity," in the middle of his life was prey to mental oppression that, as he informs us, shook his "former consistency." Boyle describes his wounded spirit as so overpowering for many months that "although his looks did little to betray his thoughts, nothing but the forbiddenness of self-dispatch [suicide] hindered his committing it." So long as the evil is outside us, it is bearable. Natural courage can cope with it. But a crushed spirit who can bear?
In the spiritual realm the pressure is much worse. When he who made the spirit wounds or allows Satan to wound us, we might challenge the whole creation: Who can bear it? Spiritual wounds, like the balm that heals them, can never be known until they are felt. It is sometimes as if the arrows of the Almighty were dipped in the lake of fire and shot alight into the middle of the soul. The best joys of earth can never soothe the envenomed sting. Mirth is then madness and vexation.
There is also a hell for the wicked on this side of eternity. Man becomes a burden to himself. Cain's punishment was more than he could bear. Saul was filled with the darkness of despair. Ahithophel and Judas chose to strangle themselves rather than to live. Thus the torments of eternity are suffered beforehand. One hell is kindled within before entering into the other. Such is the foretaste of hell—only a few drops of wrath, for a few moments. What will its reality be like for all eternity!
However, this crushed spirit can be the Christian's first seal of mercy. It can be the preparation for all future and eternal mercy. Bitter indeed is the anguish when the mass of sin is raised from the grave of oblivion and set before our eyes. But is not this the sight that makes Jesus and his free salvation inexpressibly precious? And does not this spirit place us within the sphere of his healing commission? We ask now not, who can bear, but who can heal? Well did Luther say, and there is no better judge on such matters, "It is as easy to make a world as to ease a troubled conscience." Both are creation-work, requiring the almighti-ness of God. To him who wounded us we must return for healing. His remedy is the sight of himself wounded for us. And that sight, so healing, so reviving—how it quickens the soul and animates faith, ending in a song of everlasting praise!
In these days of neglect of Christian teaching, when remedies other than the Gospel are applied to the crushed spirit, it is worth putting on record the way of healing in the British church back as far as the time of the Conquest, which, it will be seen, was not the baptism of tears, private confession, penance, or man's deeds, but the simple view of the great sacrifice as the one object of faith. In the form of a prayer for the Visitation of the Sick in the time of Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury in 1080, the sick person was asked, "Dost thou believe to come to glory, not by thine own merits, but by the virtue and merit of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ? Dost thou believe that our Lord Jesus Christ did die for our salvation, and that none can be saved by his own merits, or by any other means than by the merits of his passion?" The sick person answered, "All this I believe." Then the sick person was given the following instruction and comfort, as by a true physician of souls: "Give thou therefore as long as thy soul remaineth in this place, thy whole confidence in Christ's death only. Have confidence in no other thing. Commit thyself wholly to this death, with this alone comfort thyself. If he say, 'Thou deservest hell,' say, 'I put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ betwixt me and this judgment, and no otherwise do I contend with thee.' And if he say to thee, 'Thou art a sinner,' say, 'Lord, I put the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thee and my sins.' If he say to thee, 'Thou hast deserved damnation,' say, 'Lord, I set the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between thee and my bad merits; and I offer his merits instead of my merits.' If he say, he is angry with thee, say, 'Lord, I interpose the death of our Lord Jesus Christ between me and thine anger.'" This is indeed the sovereign treatment for a case aggravated by the application of any other remedy of man's devising.
15. The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. Here we see that knowledge shines its rays all around us. But everything that is intrinsically valuable centers in divine knowledge. "All arts," as Bishop Hall teaches, "are maids to divinity. Therefore they both adorn to her and do her service." For while we readily admit the importance of intellectual knowledge, the great objective is the salvation of the soul. And all knowledge that is not grounded on this primary conviction or that does not directly or indirectly subserve this great end is valueless. It is power for evil. It is a weapon of mighty influence that will ultimately turn against man himself. Never let us forget that unsanctified knowledge is still what it was at the beginning—gathering death, not life.
The young must remember how important it is to acquire this knowledge. You must grow in knowledge (2 Peter 3:18). Happiness and usefulness, light and glory are before you. While you sit at your Master's feet, you will enter more fully into the spirit of the saying of Ignatius: "I am now beginning to be a disciple."
16. A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. We have seen how gifts can corrupt (17:8, 23). But we may justly apply this proverb and see how it can be legitimately used. The minister of the Gospel recognizes the value of gifts as they usher him into the presence of people, who perhaps will value his message also. Sympathy gives weight to his instruction when, after the example of his divine Master, he combines kindness to the body with love for the soul. A wise consideration may usher us into the presence of the great for the advancement of the Christian cause.
Blessed be God! We do not lack any gifts to bring before him. Our welcome is free. The door of access is forever open. Our treasure of grace in his unchanging favor is unfathomable.
17. The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him. We have recently had a proverb about judging other people (verse 13). Here we are warned against justifying ourselves. Self-flattery is our cherished nature. We rate our supposed excellencies and are blind to our real imperfections. We are so ready to present our own cause in a good light and sometimes, almost unconsciously, to throw a shade over or even omit what might seem to balance it on the other side. It is so difficult to state facts and circumstances with perfect accuracy when our own name or credit is concerned. All the evidence must be sifted. Guard against a self-justifying spirit. Cultivate a spirit of self-distrust. Judge as if you are under God's eye. In sincere prayer lay yourself open to his searching out of your secret sins.
18. Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart. The lot is here used as a way to settle disputes peacefully. Contending parties might agree to abide by the decision of the lot, especially when a legal appeal might have doubtful authority. Important matters of order under the divine theocracy were determined in this way (see 1 Chronicles 6:54). When Matthias became an apostle, his election by lot was hailed as if it were the voice of God. There seems, therefore, no scriptural prohibition against using this ordinance, so long as it is exercised in a reverential dependence on God and is not used for worldly purposes.
At the same time, the Word of God appears to be more fully recognized as the arbiter of the divine will. Sometimes it is easier to abide by the decision of the lot than that of the Word. The last requires more self-denial, humility, and patience and therefore is useful.
19. An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel. A brother, not an enemy, is more unyielding than a fortified city. It is as if the closer the relationship, the wider the breach. The thread, once snapped, is not easily joined. "What a view does it give us of our corruption that the natural love implanted in us should degenerate into Satanic hatred" (Geier).
Nowhere is concord so important as in the church. She can never prosper unless, like Jerusalem, she is "closely compacted together" (Psalm 122:3). As we are born by the same Word, as we feed on the same food, as we are animated by the same life, should we not, with all our lesser differences, hold to the unity of the Spirit? Two reasons made the godly and learned Strigelius long to leave the world: "1. That I might enjoy the sweet sight of the Son of God and the Church of God. 2. That I may be delivered from the cruel and implacable hatred of theologians." Chrysostom gives this rule: "Have but one enemy, the devil. With him never be reconciled; with your brother never fall out."
20-21. From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the harvest from his lips he is satisfied. The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. Who does not take care about what seeds he sows? The farmer knows that his harvest is dependent on which seeds he scatters. The fruit of our lips, the power of our tongue, can give one of two harvests. It can be poisonous or wholesome. It can lead to life or death. Evil words tend to death, good words to life. Good words bring comfort to the speaker as well as to the listener. There is no middle path. There are only extremes. It is either the worst of evils or the best of blessings.
Born as we are for eternity, no utterance of our tongue can be called trifling. A word, though light as air, may rise up as a witness at the throne of judgment for death or for eternal life. When I think of this dreadful power, shall I not, as Chrysostom warns, "guard this little member more than the pupil of the eye"? Are not the sins of the tongue an overwhelming manifestation of God's patience? In the inner man the heart is the main thing to guard, in the outer man the tongue. Oh, my God, take them both into your own keeping, under your own discipline, as instruments for your service and glory.
22. He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. This is obviously to be taken within certain limits. Manoah found a good thing in his wife (Judges 13:23), but Job did not (Job 2:9-10). To some their wives are a crown for their heads, while others find that their wives rot their bones (12:4).
What is good implies godliness. Godliness is found when the man marries in the Lord, and only one who is the Lord's. To be unequally yoked with an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14), union for life between a child of God and a child of Satan, is a most dreadful anomaly. "I wish," said pious Bishop Hall, "that Manoah could speak so loud that all our Israelites could hear him: 'Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all God's people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines?' If religion be anything other than a cipher, how dare we not regard it in our most important choice? Is she a fair Philistine? Why is not the deformity of the soul more powerful to dissuade us than the beauty of the face to allure us?"
23. A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly. It is natural for the poor, as they are so dependent on people, to plead for mercy. And this humiliation may be the discipline for that poverty of spirit that the Lord sealed with his first blessing (Matthew 5:3). But a rich man acts in a shameful way when he answers harshly. Instead of kind feelings flowing out, he seems to bind people in iron chains with his words. He listens with indifference to a tale of woe. As he himself has never experienced hard times, he has no sympathetic heart. The well-bred man of the world, who is all courtesy and refinement in his own circle, is often insufferably rude to those who are under him. His good breeding indeed is often only the polish of selfishness. The proud worm knows so little about the true use of power that when he exercises it, he is transformed into a tyrant. Would he but study the character of his divine Master, he would see the exercise of power brought to life with true greatness. Was Jesus not as considerate to blind Bartimaeus as to the nobleman of Capernaum? All classes of people alike shared in his tenderest sympathy.
And yet, as the rich in their conscious superiority may be overbearing, so the poor, by pleading for mercy, may show a servile spirit. They should not shrink from showing bold integrity that gives dignity to both the lowest and the highest of men. To all of us our providential circumstances bring their besetting temptations. Our only safeguard is to walk closely with God.
24. A man of many companions may come to ruin [kjv: a man that hath friends must show himself friendly], but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. To be without a friend indicates a state of painful desolation. On the other hand, a true friend is no common acquisition. Many people only pretend to be faithful friends. But the jewel itself is as rare as it is precious. Yet what is life without this cheering, enriching blessing? To Alexander, the conquered world without his Hephaestion would have been a desert. But if a man has friends and wants to keep them, he must show himself to be friendly. To throw them away through neglect, caprice, or needless offense is to show oneself utterly unworthy of the blessing. Love begets love and is accompanied with love. Not that this will show itself in extravagant words or lavish praise, which is only gratifying to the weak and repulsive to the intelligent. The true expression of friendship will be in unmistakable integrity.
The bond of real friendship is often closer than the natural tie. The friendship between David and Jonathan is such an example. A friend who sticks closer than a brother. Bishop Coverdale's version is very beautiful: "a friend that delighteth in love, doth a man more friendship, and sticketh faster unto him than a brother."
Let the divine Friend be the first choice of youth, the tried and chosen Friend of middle age, and the Friend for eternity. Cultivate a closer acquaintance with him. Set the highest value on his friendship. Avoid whatever is displeasing to him. Be found in those places where he meets his people. Long to be with him forever. Is it not because men have no eyes to see him that they have no heart to love him? If their eyes were really open, they would soon affect the heart. Then everyone would be entirely devoted to his service.