Proverbs Chapter 3
Proverbs
Chapter 3
1. My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart. This is not given like a stern command. My son. It is our Father's voice speaking. This is the endearing persuasiveness of a promise. Having told us to search for wisdom, he now calls us to put this into practice when he says, do not forget my teaching. The deliberate forgetfulness of the heart (2:17; Psalm 9:17; 10:4), rather than a lapse of memory, is implied here.
In your heart. As the ark of the covenant was kept in the tabernacle, we must keep [God's] commands in our hearts (4:4; Deuteronomy 11:18; Isaiah 51:7).
Indeed, no laws except God's laws bind the heart. All obedience that is acceptable to God starts here. The heart is the first thing that wanders away from God, and it is also the first thing that returns to God. This is a crucial principle (4:23; Romans 6:17 [kjv]). All religion without this is only religion in name. Even if it is practiced in a thousand different ways, it is bound to fail (Isaiah 5:24). Even if you carried out kind deeds every second of the day, if your heart is not alive so that it can keep God's commands, the following rebuke will ring in your ears: "The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?" (Isaiah 1:11). Delight and perseverance in carrying out God's will flows from God's grace working in our hearts.
2. For they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. We have an obligation laid on us, and we benefit from obeying God. The reward of obeying God from the heart is a long and happy life—the best thing that can happen on earth (Psalm 34:12-13). A life prolonged for many years is promised to the righteous, and this can apply to earth as well as to heaven, as the Father sees fit.
3. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Here love and faithfulness are the basis of our salvation. Also, these two graces should always be held together. As F. Taylor has commented, "The lack of one of these graces buries the commendation of the other. Such a person may be loving to the poor without being faithful to God. Such a person may be faithful but have no love in his heart." As Bishop Sanderson said in one of his sermons, "As a rich sparkling diamond adds both value and luster to a gold ring, so do these virtues love and faithfulness bring extra glory to the crowns of the greatest monarchs."
But these virtues must not just be used occasionally—they must never leave you. You must bind them like jewels around your neck (4:21; 7:3; Deuteronomy 6:8). You must write them not on stone tablets but in your heart (7:3; 2 Corinthians 3:3).
4. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. God is not in your debt. But nobody serves God to no avail. We see the truth of this verse in the examples of Joseph in Egypt (Genesis 39:2-4, 21-23; 41:37-43), David in the family of Saul (1 Samuel 18:5, 14-16), and the early Christians with the people around them (Acts 2:44-47). What is better than to defeat reproach by consistent godliness? What is more acceptable to God or more edifying to the church (Romans 14:16-19)? Scripture links God's favor with man's favor. This was true of the Holy Child (Luke 2:52).
5. This is the polestar for a child of God—faith in his Father's providence, promises, and grace. This trust is not the mere cold assent of enlightened judgment. It is trust___with all your heart. It is a childlike, unwavering confidence in our Father's well-proved wisdom, faithfulness, and love. He is truth itself. Therefore, he wants us to take him at his word and to prove his word to the very limit of his power.
But our trust must not only be complete—it must be exclusive. No other confidence, no confidence in the flesh, can exist alongside it (Philippians 3:3). Man with all his pride feels that he wants something to lean on. As a fallen being, he naturally leans on his own understanding and on himself. Human power is his idol. His understanding is his God. Many people would prefer to have a lack of principle rather than a lack of talent. This is the history of man from the Fall on; this is the lamentable sin of every person created by God. Do we need to call this the sin of youth? How rare it is to see the younger submitting to the elder (1 Peter 5:5). If advice is sought, is it not just to confirm what has already been decided?
Those who refuse to lean on their own understanding are those who trust in the Lord. For they are trusting in his divine power and are using it as a lamp, so they can find their way. The Christian on his knees, as if he throws away his own understanding, confesses that he is completely unable to find the way by himself. But observe how he behaves. He takes trouble to improve bis mind. He conscientiously follows its dictates. In this way practical faith strengthens, not destroys, its power.
So it is our clear duty not to neglect our understanding but to cultivate it diligently. In a world where knowledge abounds, ignorance is the fruit of laziness. So lean not on your own understanding. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Self-dependence is foolishness (28:26), rebellion (Jeremiah 2:13; 9:23), and ruin (Genesis 3:5-6; Isaiah 47:10-11). "The great folly of man in trials," as Dr. Owen has rightly remarked, "is leaning to or on his own understanding and counsels. What is the result of this? Whenever in our trials we consult our own understanding, listen to our own reason, even though they appear to be good, the principle of living by faith is stifled, and we will in this way be let down by our own counsels."
6. The next thing to note is that our trust should be constant: in all your ways acknowledge him. Take one step at a time, and make sure that each step is under God's direction. Always make your plans in total dependence on God. It is nothing short of self-idolatry to imagine that we can carry out even the ordinary matters of daily life without God's counsel. God loves to be consulted. Therefore, take all your difficulties to him. Before you consult your friends, consult God.
In all your ways. This includes the small things as well as the big things. In all your concerns, temporal or eternal, let God be supreme. Have we not all found the unimaginable peace of taking to God things that seem too small or personal to be entrusted to the most confidential ear? In this way Abraham acknowledged God. Wherever he pitched his tent for himself, he always built an altar for God (Genesis 12:7; 13:18).
He will make your paths straight. If we go to the Lord every morning in true humility, knowing that we do not know how to order our day, light will come down to us. We are not looking for new revelations or visible signs. Study the Word with prayer, and note how God's Spirit sheds light on it. Make sure that your will is ready to move in the direction God indicates. No step well prayed over will bring ultimate regret.
7. This warning against self-confidence is closely linked to the preceding verses. The person who is wise in [his] own eyes is the person who leans on his own understanding. That kind of wisdom is foolishness and self-delusion. Even a non-Christian could remark, "I suppose that many might have attained to wisdom, had they not thought they had already attained it" (Seneca). Throw that kind of wisdom away, and let your wisdom be to fear the Lord and shun evil. There is a striking link between the fear of the Lord and the fear of sin (14:27; 16:6; Genesis 39:9-10; Nehemiah 5:15; Job 28:28). Where God is honored, sin is hated, loathed, and resisted (Romans 7:18-24). It lives, but it is condemned to die (Romans 6:6). It clings to the child of God, but his heart will shun it. It often makes the body ill, and always makes the soul ill.
8. Exercising self-denial and godly discipline will bring health to your body and revive your soul.
9. A worldly person finds this a hard precept. But for God's servant it is a privilege to put to one side part of his wealth and label it, "This is for God."
Giving the firstfruits of all your crops was the way that God's redemption out of Egypt was acknowledged (Exodus 13:12-13; Deuteronomy 26:1-10). Should we who have been redeemed from sin, Satan, death, and hell deny this claim? As Bishop Hall has said, "Well may we think our wealth is our due, when we really owe our very selves to God."
We must honor the Lord, not ourselves. We should do this in a spirit of renouncing self (1 Chronicles 29:14-16; Matthew 6:1-4). Have no doubt that the Lord will add his own seal of approval to this: "Those who honor me I will honor" (1 Samuel 2:30).
11. Prosperity and adversity are part of our present situation. Each can honor the Lord. In prosperity this can be done by consecrating our wealth to the Lord (verses 9-10). In adversity this can be done by being humble and cheerful in whatever the Lord sends us. As Bishop Patrick has written, "In prosperity it is well to expect discipline; and if it is the Lord's pleasure, do not let this make you doubt God's gracious providence." In no other way does the Lord act more like a father toward us than in this. It is wonderful to be addressed as my son at any time, but most of all when we experience the Lord's discipline.
Our corruption is never so evident and our graces are never so apparent as when we are being disciplined by the Lord. We need this as much as we need our daily bread. Children of God are still children of Adam who have Adam's will, pride, independence, and waywardness.
We especially need God's grace in this so that we do not become hardened or despondent. Some people resent God's rebuking them, while others faint under its weight. So do not give way to heartless despondency or anxious impatience.
12. But these rules imply much more than something that is just negative. Instead of resenting God's rebuke, we are to be like the son who delights in it. Always remember that you are under the Father's discipline. So do not resent it, but hang onto his rebuking hand and pour out your soul into his heart. Kiss the rod. Acknowledge that it is humbling but also enriching. Expect a richer grace from sustaining strength than from the affliction being removed.
The Lord's discipline is like that in a family, not in a school, let alone in a prison. The Lord corrects his children and does not treat them as criminals. "I love the rod of my heavenly Father," exclaimed the saintly Fletcher. "How gentle are the stripes I feel. How heavy those I deserve." As Bishop Hall once prayed, "O God, I have made an ill use of your mercies if I have not learned to be content with your discipline." Never is Christ more precious to us than in the middle of discipline.
13. Who does not admire this glowing picture of happiness? The wisdom of this world can give no such happiness (Ecclesiastes 1:18). Blessed is the man who finds wisdom where he possibly least expected it, being disciplined by the Lord. David found "God's house of correction to be a school of instruction" (Trapp). Under all circumstances, however, prayerful diligence in searching for wisdom ensures success (2:1-6). The naturally wise man is a fool when it comes to heavenly wisdom. But the man of prayer gains understanding.
14. Here the wise man, himself enriched with silver and gold, points out to us a more profitable merchandise.
15. This is the search for the pearl of great price that is more precious than rubies (Matthew 13:45-46; 23:23; see also Philippians 3:4-8). Complete happiness will never be experienced unless this is in your mind. The man who doubts falls short of this. Determined perseverance wins the prize.
16. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Note how this heavenly queen dispenses her blessings! Her right hand presents the promise of both worlds (verse 2; Psalm 91:16; 1 Timothy 6:8)—the rich enjoyment of the world's lawful comforts (1 Timothy 6:17) and the yet higher joy of serving the Lord and his church—a privilege for which the apostle Paul was content to be detained from heaven for a while.
Her left hand offers earthly riches and honor, insofar as they are good for her children. But even when they shine most brightly, they are only a faint shadow of wisdom's more durable riches and the honor of a heavenly crown.
17. What are we to say of her ways? Is wisdom a sullen matron who entertains her followers only with sighs and tears? Does this mean that to gain the joys of the next life we must bid eternal farewell to the benefits of this life? Is it true that "we must never more expect a cheerful hour, a clear day, a bright thought to shine upon us" (Bishop Hopkins)? This is the world's creed, and it is a slander from the great liar. In this way we are opposed as we try to follow wisdom's ways. They are pleasant ways because they have been decreed by the Lord. And if we do not find them pleasant, we do not know them.
The man of pleasure utterly mistakes both his object and his pursuit. The only happiness worth seeking is found here in this proverb. This happiness lives through all circumstances and copes with all the endless changes of this mortal life. The ways may be dark and lonely, but how the sunshine of reconciliation shines on them! Every step is given light from above and showered with heavenly promises. They are steps in happiness and steps in heaven. Wisdom's work is her own reward (Psalm 19:11; Isaiah 32:17). This life is strict, but it is not imprisonment. So the sacrifices of love should be pleasant. When the heart is free, the journey is not burdensome.
We should go beyond saying that these ways are consistent with being pleasant. They are the basic principles of the most elevated pleasure. "The verdict of Christ," says Dr. South, "makes the discipline of self-denial and the cross—those terrible blows to flesh and blood—the indispensable requisite to being his disciples." And yet, paradoxical as it may appear, in this deep gloom is the sunshine of glory. For if we are naturally God's enemies (Romans 8:7), we must also be our own worst enemy and so will never be happy. Our pleasure, therefore, must be to deny, not to indulge, ourselves. We must put to death our sinful appetites, which only end in death (Romans 7:5). Even what may be called the austerities of godliness are more enjoyable than the pleasures of sin. It is far better to annoy the will than to wound the conscience. Christ's chains are glorious (Acts 5:41-42; 26:24-25). Moses did not endure his reproach as if it were a trial (Hebrews 11:26). Our principles are never more consoling than when we are making a sacrifice for them. Hannah gave up her dearest earthly joy. But did she shrink under the trial? Did she begrudge the sacrifice? No. When Hannah prayed, she rejoiced in the Lord (1 Samuel 1:26; 2:1). And as if to demonstrate that no one serves God for nothing, for the one child Hannah gave to God, five more were given to her (1 Samuel 2:20-21).
In fact, those in the world have no conception about the real nature of wisdom's pleasant ways. To them, religion is associated with cold, heartless forms and irritating restraints, where there is much to do but little to enjoy. But they only see half the picture. They see what religion takes away, but they do not see what it gives. They cannot comprehend that while it denies sinful pleasures, it overflows with spiritual pleasures.
18. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. The glory, beauty, and fruitfulness of wisdom, the paradise of God alone, furnish the full counterpart to life apart from God (Revelation 2:7). "The tree of life was the means ordained of God for the preservation of lasting life and continual vigor and health before man sinned. So true wisdom maintains man in the spiritual life of God's grace and the communion of his Spirit" (Bishop Sanderson). Once our way was barred, and nobody could touch wisdom (Genesis 3:22-24). Now our way is opened to her in a better paradise (Hebrews 10:19-22). We sit under her shadow in great delight. For what is so refreshing as fellowship with God, access to him, boldness in his presence, and admission to his most holy delights?
Those who lay hold of her will be blessed. The promises are to those who overcome (Revelation 2—3). God honors perseverance in the weakest saint.
This lovely description of wisdom's blessing is no fanciful picture but a divine reality. Do not rest until your heart is filled with it. Pray to the Lord about this, and before long you will rejoice in experiencing it.
19. We have noted wisdom in human lives, with all its enriching blessings. Now we see its majesty as it is displayed in all of God's works. "Hereby he shows that this wisdom that he speaks about was everlasting, because it was before all creatures; and all things, even the whole world, were made by it" {Reformers'Notes). The earth's foundations are so sure that they cannot be moved (Psalm 93:1). Note how this great Architect set the heavens in place, arranging their bright lights in their various orbits (Genesis 1:14-18; Psalm 136:5; Jeremiah 10:12)—"such a glorious canopy set with such sparkling diamonds" (Leighton).
20. The universe is a parable, a mirror of the Gospel. The manifestation of these divine acts in the field of creation opens a rich provision for our happiness. So in an even greater way the glorious demonstration of the great work of God's redemption fills us with adoring praise (Romans 11:28). "That which moves God to work is goodness; that which orders his work is wisdom; that which completes his work is power. All things, which God in these times and seasons has brought forth, were eternally and before all time in God, as a work unbegun is in the artificer, which later is brought into being. Therefore whatever we do behold now in the book of Eternal Wisdom are held in the hands of Omnipotent Power, the first foundations of the earth being as yet unlaid. So all things that God has made are in that respect the Offspring of God. They are in him as effects in their highest cause. He likewise is actually in them; the assistance and influence of his Deity is their life" (Hooker).
21. Again we listen to wisdom's voice. Her repetitions are not vain repetitions but need to be impressed on young people (Isaiah 28:9-10). They should be your much-loved treasure and your daily guide; so do not let them out of your sight. God's teaching is sound judgment, full of light and substance. Keep it so that you may have discernment in everything you do.
23. Keeping one's eye constantly on the Word of God prevents one's feet from slipping. When the psalmist did not pay attention to wisdom's words, he nearly fell (73:2-17).
24. The hours during which we are asleep, no less than our waking hours, are divinely guarded (Psalm 127:1-2). God's servants enjoy a childlike repose, sleeping in the Father's care without any fear. When Peter was in prison, in chains, between two soldiers, on the eve of his expected execution, when there seemed but a step between him and death, he was able to lie down and not be afraid.
25. Sudden disaster may come, but we are to have no fear. It is the wicked who will be ruined.
26. Child of God, run with confidence, for God will keep you safe, and your foot will not be snared. Noah found this security when all the ungodly were drowned. Lot found this safety when Sodom was destroyed (2 Peter 2:5-9). Luther sang his song of confidence: "God is our strength and refuge."
27. The wise man comes now to some practical points. He shows that the result of selfishness is to withhold good. This dishonesty takes many forms: in borrowing without making any repayment (Psalm 37:21), in evading paying taxes, in keeping back wages due to employees (James 5:4; Jeremiah 22:13-17). But this instruction is deeper than this. Even if we are not legally indebted to anyone, we have an outstanding debt to "love one another" (Romans 13:8). Even the poor person is bound by this universal law to his poorer neighbor. Everyone has a claim on our love. Every opportunity to do good is our calling to do so. Kindness is not an option but an obligation. It is an act of justice, no less than an act of mercy. If we withhold it, that will be to our eternal condemnation (Matthew 25:41-45).
28. Christian kindness will also be carried out in the most loving way. Delay is an offense against the law of love. Too often the cold rebuttal, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow" is just a cover for selfishness. There is a hidden hope that the matter will be forgotten or dropped or taken up by somebody else.
When you now have it with you. A little given in time of need is more than a larger amount when the needy moment has passed. We should cultivate the habit of being sensitive to the needs of others, putting ourselves in their place. We should not only do good but be prepared to do good (Titus 3:1; 1 Timothy 6:18). The Gospel presents every neighbor to us as a brother or sister who needs our help, who is to be loved and cared for in the same way that we look after ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). Why are we so slow to acknowledge this? May the Lord deliver us from our selfishness and mold us to his own image of love and mercy.
"Was ever the hungry fed or the naked clothed with good looks or fair speeches? These are but thin garments to keep out the cold, and but a slender repast to conjure down the rage of craving appetite. My enemy, perhaps, is ready to starve, and I tell him that I am heartily glad to see him and am very ready to serve him. But still my hand is closed, and my purse shut. I neither bring him to my table, nor lodge him under my roof. He asks for bread, and I give him a compliment—a thing indeed not so hard as a stone, but altogether as dry. I treat him as an outsider, and lastly, at parting, with all the ceremonial dearness, I shake him by the hand but put nothing into it. I play with his distress and dally with that which was not to be dallied with—want, and misery, and a clamorous necessity" (Dr. South).
29. The command not to withhold good is naturally followed by the instruction not to plot harm against your neighbor. This treachery was a scandal even among the godless. It is generally abhorred by the world and should be doubly hated by a godly man. With the latter everything should be as clear and open as the day. A harmful plot against your neighbor is a serious sin (6:14-19; Deuteronomy 27:24). This is the kind of wisdom that comes from the devil (James 3:15). Such was the cunning of Jacob's sons against the unsuspecting Shechemites (Genesis 34:13-29; 49:5-7), Saul's malice against David when he was under the king's protection (1 Samuel 18:22-25), Joab's murder of Abner and Amasa (2 Samuel 3:27; 20:9-10), and Ishmael's murder of Gedaliah (Jeremiah 41:1-2). This was part of the bitter cup of suffering our Savior drank (John 13:21). Many a wounded spirit has been cheered with our Lord's poignant sorrow (Hebrews 4:15).
30. We must not only guard against secret malice but against accusing a man for no reason. We must beware of becoming involved in quarrels (17:14; 18:6; 25:8-9) instead of pursuing peace (Romans 12:18). A spirit of strife is a great hindrance to holiness (Hebrews 12:14; Colossians 3:12-15) and is inconsistent for any of God's servants (2 Timothy 2:24). Irritable people are always strongly insisting on their own rights, or what they imagine is due to them from other people. How we need to earnestly seek to have Christ's own meek and loving spirit (1 Peter 2:21-23).
"O Lord, pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace, and of all virtues; without which, whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee" (Collect for Quinquagesima Sunday [Sunday before Lent], from the Book of Common Prayer).
31. What, we may ask, is there to envy in a violent man? The love of power is a ruling passion. But we have little reason to envy such a man, let alone choose any of his ways.
32. Can anyone be happy when he deliberately contradicts God's will? "For he who hateth nothing that he hath made, abhors those who have thus marred themselves. They are not only abominable, but the Lord detests the sight of them" (Reformers' Notes). Sinners are detested by the Lord. Saints are his delight. "They are God's friends, to whom he gives, as men used to do to their friends, his mind and counsels or his secret favor and comforts, to which other men are strangers" (Poole). "He loves them dearly as his intimate friends, to whom he communicates the very secrets of his heart" (Diodati). Is it not infinitely more worthwhile to live with God in heaven than in all the vain pomp of this ungodly world?
33. The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. The contrast between the wicked and the righteous does not just affect us as individuals, but as families. The curse or the blessing of the Lord follows us to our homes. Many modest cottages that are lived in by a child of Abraham shine more splendidly than the princely palaces of the ungodly, for heirs of glory live there. A family altar of prayer and praise consecrates it as the temple of Jehovah (Genesis 12:8). Promises, like clouds of blessings, rest over it. God has been honored, and God will honor it (2 Samuel 6:11; Jeremiah 35:18-19). Is my house under the Lord's curse or under his blessing?
34. He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble. God's mind is never more fully declared than it is against pride and proud mockers. Such behavior displeases man, and would, if it were possible, disturb God himself. God hates the sinner who refuses to submit himself to his righteousness and who mocks the cornerstone of salvation. How dreadfully this becomes a rock of offense for the eternal ruin of the sinner (Romans 10:3). Proud mockers will not escape God's frown.
A humble spirit, a deep conviction of utter nothingness and guilt, is a most adorning grace. Nor is it an occasional or temporary feeling, the result of some unexpected disclosure, but a habit that clothes a person (1 Peter 5:5) from head to toe. It combines the highest elevation of joy with the deepest abasement of spirit. "God pours his grace plentifully upon humble hearts. His sweet dews and showers of grace slide off the mountains of pride and fall on the low valleys of humble hearts and make them pleasant and fertile" (Leighton). But the soul that swells with pride has no room for God's humbling grace.
35. The wise inherit honor, but fools he holds up to shame. This is the last contrast made to restrain our envy of the prosperity of the wicked (verse 31). Self-knowledge, the principle of lowliness, is the essence of wisdom. Fools will discover the vanity of this world's glory when it is too late to make a wise choice. Shame is their present fruit. Honor even now sits uneasily on the wise. How solemn and complete will be the great separation in eternity.