"What though on hamely fare we dine,Wear hoddin-grey, and a' that;Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine,A man's a man for a' that.For a' that and a' that,Their tinsel show and a' that,The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,Is king o' men for a' that."[561]Prov. xiv. 21.[562]Prov. xi. 26. The following description of Persia, in theMissionary Review of the World, October, 1889, p. 782, aptly illustrates the practices against which the text inveighs:—"The sole end for which the Persian Government exists is the collection of the revenue, the fleecing of the people. Large portions of the land, confiscated from time to time, belong to the Sovereign, and are farmed out on terms well-nigh ruinous to the tenant. Even where property belongs to the subject, it is taxed to the last degree as a starting-point, while the successions of sub-rulers and collectors make still further drains upon the moiety that must save the labourer's family from absolute want. The whole burden of taxation thus comes really upon the labouring class. Added to this extortion is the constant uncertainty as to whether the planter will be permitted to reap his crop at all. Downright robbery of fields or households by the retainers of petty chiefs is of frequent occurrence, and the poor are liable any day to be deprived of their very last resource. Agriculture and other industries so discouraged and paralysed barely sustain the lives of the people at the best, and when drought is added thousands must perish." In times of scarcity, "The king sets the example—locks up his granaries, and withholds every kernel of wheat except at famine prices. Every nabob and landowner who has a stock on hand follows this example. Rapacity and cupidity rule; money is coined out of the sufferings of the poor."[563]Prov. xxviii. 3. Oddly enough the commentators, who seem never to have heard of "sweating," propose to read for רָשׁ, either עָשִׁיר = rich, or רשׁ = רֹאש = head, for the head of the State; an example of conjectural emendation which may well make us cautious of the mere scholar's method of treating the sacred text."The cruellest landlords, receiving 10, 20, and 30 per cent. from detestable habitations (in London), are nearly connected by birth and circumstance to those they oppress" (Lecture delivered at Essex Hall, November 18th, 1889,by Thomas Locke Worthington).[564]Prov. xxviii. 8. The difficult verse Proverbs xxii. 16 should find a place here, "He that oppresses the poor to increase for him, he that gives to the rich only for need," but it is impossible to accurately determine its meaning. If the rendering of the English Bible is correct, we may interpret the proverb as a statement of the folly of oppression which leads to want as inevitably as the more obvious folly of giving to the rich. But possibly Nowack is right in an interpretation which gives quite another turn to the saying, and makes it not a condemnation of the oppressor, but a suggestion of the advantage which may be gained from the oppression by the oppressed. "He who oppresses the poor—it turns to his (viz., the poor man's) gain," because it calls out all his energy and endurance, "while he who gives to the rich—it turns only to want," because it still further enervates and unfits him for the duties of life. This is not very satisfactory, and is decidedly far-fetched; but it is better than Delitzsch's suggestion, which strips the proverb of all moral significance, viz., "He that oppresses the poor, it is at any rate for his own gain; but he who gives to the rich, it is only to get want." The conclusion from this would be, that it is better to oppress the poor than to give to the rich, a sentiment quite out of harmony with the ethical teaching of the Proverbs. In a case like this we can only suppose that the saying has reached us in a mutilated form.[565]Prov. xi. 17.[566]Prov. xxviii. 27.[567]Prov. xi. 24.[568]Can the shareholders of the G. W. R., for instance, hold themselves free from responsibility in the case referred to in the following paragraph from theJournal of the People's Palace? "TheSaturday Review, always trustworthy and read-worthy on subjects of law, calls attention to a case which concerns a great many. It is a case in which the decision is most unfortunate to the interests of all working men. One Membery was employed at Paddington to shunt trunks: he was taken on by a contractor, but his real employers were the G.W.R. The trucks were drawn by a horse, and the horse ought to have had a boy to hitch on or off at a moment's notice: but the contractor refused to supply boys. Membery in vain asked for one, pointing out the great dangers to which he was exposed. He complained on the very day of the accident by which he was knocked down and injured seriously. He sued the Company; he won his case with damages; the Company, being a rich body, appealed. Now, considering the vexation, the anxiety, and the expense of carrying on such a case, a Company which appeals ought in justice to have the damages doubled if it loses. The Company lost. They appealed to the Lords, still on the principle of being rich and their opponent poor. This time the Company won. The Lords have ruled that the Company did not employ Membery, and that he was not obliged to work without a boy: he might have refused to work at all. Indeed! Then, if he refused to work, what about the children at home? A more mischievous doctrine was never upheld. Why, there are thousands and thousands of men and women who work daily under ineffectual protest,—who work at trades unwholesome, for wages inefficient, and for excessive hours; yet they work because they must—because they must. Membery worked without a boy, knowing that he would some day be run over and perhaps killed, because he must: he had no choice. When all the Trade Unions are merged into one immense Trade Union, it will not be the wages alone that will be determined, but the cases of such unfortunate men as Membery."[569]Prov. xxi. 13.[570]Prov. xxiv. 11, 12.[571]Prov. xxii. 9.[572]Prov. xxix. 7.[573]Prov. xxix. 14. Has William II. of Germany been considering this text? If so, it is full of promise for the prosperity of Germany and of Europe? (International Labour Conference, March 1890.)[574]Prov. xxxi. 30.[575]Prov. xxii. 15.[576]John v. 39.[577]"I am the eldest child, born in 1795, December 4th, and trace deeply in myself the character of both parents, also the upbringing and example of both."—Carlyle's Reminiscences, vol. i., p. 54.[578]Eccles. xxx. 2.[579]Prov. xvii. 21.[580]Prov. xvii. 25, xix. 13, 26.[581]Prov. xv. 20.Cf.x. 1, xxvii. 11, xxix. 3.[582]Prov. xxiii. 15, 16, 24.[583]See that invaluable little book, "The Education of a Christian Home," edited by Ella S. Armitage.[584]Prov. xxiii. 17.[585]"The Education of a Christian Home."[586]Prov. xiii. 24.[587]Prov. xix. 18.[588]Prov. xx. 30.[589]Prov. xxiii. 13, 14.[590]Prov. xxix. 15.[591]Prov. xxix. 17.[592]Lev. xxvi. 41: "If then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity, then will I remember My covenant with Jacob."[593]Prov. xxix. 15.[594]Prov. xxiii. 17-21.[595]"The Education of a Christian Home."[596]Psalm cxl. 9, 10.[597]Jer. xviii. 23.[598]Prov. xvii. 5b.[599]Paradise Lost, ix., 171.[600]Burke said of Pitt after his fall, that the manner in which he made his own justification, without impeaching the conduct of his colleagues or taking any measure that might seem to arise from disgust or opposition, set a seal upon his character. (Lecky, "England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. iii., 61.)[601]See Rom. xii. 20.[602]Matt. xviii. 35.[603]Cf.the proverb, "When a man's ways please the Lord He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. xvi. 7).[604]It will be observed that, speaking generally, the early proverbs present the more favourable side of the kingship, and the later proverbs suggest a period of decline (seeIntroduction). Possibly the same test may serve to distinguish the passages in Deuteronomy and the book of Samuel; the brighter thought that the king was originally intended by God may come from the early days when the kings still promised well, and the darker thought which crosses the optimistic picture may emanate from the period when their failure and decline were unmistakable.[605]Prov. xvi. 12, 13.[606]Prov. xx. 8, 26.[607]Prov. xxii. 11.[608]Prov. xvi. 14.[609]Prov. xix. 12.[610]Prov. xvi. 15.[611]Prov. xx. 28.[612]Prov. xxi. 1.[613]Prov. xiv. 35.[614]Prov. xxix. 14.[615]Prov. xxv. 2-5.[616]Prov. xxv. 6, 7.[617]Prov. xxx. 31.[618]Prov. xx. 2.[619]Prov. xxiv. 21, 22.[620]The LXX. of xxiv. 23, which adds a passage not appropriate to Christ, "Whosoever is delivered up to him shall be crushed. For if his temper be exasperated, he consumes men, sinews and all, and crunches their bones, and burns them up as a flame, so that they are uneatable to the young of eagles."[621]Prov. xxviii. 15, 16.[622]Prov. xi. 15. The image from steering survives in our own governor (gubernator).[623]Prov. xx. 18.[624]Prov. xv. 22.[625]See 1 Kings xvi. 7.[626]Prov. xxx. 22.[627]Prov. xvii. 7.[628]Prov. xxviii. 2.[629]Prov. xxviii. 12.[630]Prov. xiv. 28.[631]Prov. xxix. 2.[632]Prov. xxix. 4.[633]Prov. xxix. 12.Cf.Ecclesiasticus x. 2: "As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers; and what manner of man the ruler of the city is, such are they also that dwell therein."[634]Prov. xxiii. 1-3.Cf.the Eastern adage, "Dainties of a king burn the lips." It was a common occurrence at the court of Pope Alexander VI. to invite an obnoxious person to the Papal table and there dispose of him by means of poisoned food.[635]Prov. xxxi. 8, 9.[636]Luke xix. 38.[637]Prov. xxix. 25, 26.[638]Prov. x. 23.[639]Prov. x. 18.[640]Prov. xii. 23.[641]Prov. xiv. 33.[642]Prov. xiv. 7.[643]Prov. xvii. 16.[644]Prov. xxi. 20.[645]Prov. xvii. 21.[646]Prov. xxx. 22.[647]Prov. xxvii. 22.[648]Prov. xxii. 15.[649]Prov. xvi. 22.[650]Prov. xiv. 24. This seems simpler than supposing that the clause אִוֶּלֶת אִוֶּלֶת כְּמִילִים contains a play upon the possible double meaning of אִוֶּלֶת, which, though it yields an excellent sense,—"the power of fools is only folly,"i.e., when they have power they turn it only to a foolish account (cf.xxvi. 1),—must be regarded as very obscure, especially seeing that we have no positive instance of אִוֶּלֶת as a derivative of אוּל in the sense of "power."[651]Prov. xxvii. 3.[652]Prov. xxix. 9.[653]Prov. xxiv. 9.[654]Prov. xix. 10.[655]This is reading לוֹ for לֹא, a constant source of confusion and interchange in Hebrew MSS.[656]Prov. x. 13.[657]Prov. xix. 29.[658]"Quos divi conscia factiMens habet attonitos et surdo verbere cædit,Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum."—Juv.,Sat., xiii., 193.[659]Matt. xiii. 15.[660]Prov. xvii. 12.[661]Prov. xxvi. 4.[662]Prov. xxvi. 5.[663]Prov. xxix. 11.[664]Prov. xxvi. 8.[665]Prov. xxvi. 6.[666]Prov. xxvi. 7.[667]Prov. xxvi. 9.[668]Prov. xxvi. 10. This rendering Delitzsch obtained by altering the vowel points in the first שׂכֵר into שְׂכַר, and the sense is good, if a little far-fetched. On the other hand, the received reading gives a plain though a somewhat insipid meaning: "Much produces all,"—whoever has a little and uses it well quickly gets more,—"but he that hires a fool is as he who hires passers by,"i.e.the employment of a fool is a barren undertaking which practically leads to nothing.[669]Prov. xxvi. 11.[670]Prov. xxviii. 26;cf.ix. 8 and xxiii. 9.[671]Prov. xxvi. 12.[672]נָבָל, Psalm xiv. 1.[673]Browning,Pippa Passes.[674]Prov. xxiv. 27.[675]Prov. xxii. 3; xxvii. 12.[676]Psalm xliv. 8.[677]Prov. xxvii. 20.[678]See heading ofchapter.[679]Prov. xxvii. 4.[680]Sir Edward Dyer (b.1540).[681]Prov. xv. 15.[682]Matthew Arnold.[683]Phil. i. 21.[684]Prov. xxvii. 18.[685]Prov. xxviii. 17.[686]It may be necessary to point out to the reader that in approaching the subject of atonement from the standpoint of the book of Proverbs, and merely in the expository treatment of the passages before us, the so-called objective ground of atonement in the sacrifice of Christ does not come into view, but its necessity becomes manifest as each step in the exposition reveals how impossible it would be for us, apart from the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, to realize those conditions which are here laid down as indispensable to pardon and acceptance with God.[687]Voltaire rose once from the table at Ferney, where some atheists were discussing their views. He said he could not let his servants hear this talk, for they would rob and murder him if that was true.[688]Isa. xliii. 25.[689]See Rom. v. 11. This is the only place in the New Testament where even in the Authorised Version the word "atonement" occurs. But the contention of the text is not one of words, but of facts. Whatever terms are used, the Gospels and the Epistles all agree in identifying the salvation of God with an actual and practical righteousness wrought out by the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe in Christ as their Saviour.[690]Isa. ii. 3.[691]"Modern Science and Modern Thought" (pp. 289, 290), by S. Laing. Chapman & Hall: 1890.[692]Cf.Prov. xxviii. 4, 9:—"They that forsake the law praise the wicked:But such as keep the law contend with them.He that turneth away his ear from hearing the lawEven his prayer is an abomination."[693]Cf.the Sanscrit Hitopadesa, "Fire is never satisfied with fuel, nor the ocean with rivers, nor death with all creatures, nor bright-eyed women with men;" also the Arabic proverb, "Three things are of three never full, women's womb of man, wood of fire, and earth of rain."[694]Joel ii. 7.[695]Prov. xxxi. 1-9.[696]Prov. xxxi. 10-31.[697]E.g., בַּר ver. 2 and מְלָכִין ver. 3:cf.the strange expressions כָּל־בְּנֵי־עֹנִי and כָּל־בְּנֵי הֲלוֹף in vv. 5, 8.[698]Prov. xxxi. 8, 9.[699]Prov. xxii. 14, xxiii. 27.[700]Prov. xix. 13, xxi. 9, xxv. 24, xxi. 19, xxvii. 15.[701]Prov. xxvii. 16.[702]Prov. xi. 22.[703]Prov. xiv. 1.[704]Prov. xi. 16.[705]Prov. xviii. 22.[706]Prov. xix. 14. In the LXX. this clause is beautifully rendered παρὰ δὲ κυρίου ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί. By the Lord's ordinance woman and man are dovetailed together in a complete harmony. The thought is well expanded in Ecclesiasticus (xxvi. 1-3): "Blessed is the man that has a virtuous wife, for thereby his life is doubled. A woman made for a man rejoices her husband, and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace. A virtuous wife is a good portion, in the portion of them that fear the Lord shall she be given."[707]Prov. xxxi. 12.[708]Prov. xii. 4.[709]Prov. xxxi. 23.[710]Prov. xxxi. 29.[711]Prov. xxxi. 11.[712]Prov. xxxi. 14.[713]Prov. xxxi. 15.[714]Prov. xxxi. 16.[715]Prov. xxxi. 17.[716]Prov. xxxi. 18.[717]Prov. xxxi. 24.[718]Prov. xxxi. 27.[719]Prov. xxxi. 21.[720]Prov. xxxi. 25.[721]Prov. xxxi. 20.[722]Prov. xxxi. 30.
"What though on hamely fare we dine,Wear hoddin-grey, and a' that;Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine,A man's a man for a' that.For a' that and a' that,Their tinsel show and a' that,The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,Is king o' men for a' that."
"What though on hamely fare we dine,Wear hoddin-grey, and a' that;Gie fools their silks and knaves their wine,A man's a man for a' that.For a' that and a' that,Their tinsel show and a' that,The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,Is king o' men for a' that."
[561]Prov. xiv. 21.
[562]Prov. xi. 26. The following description of Persia, in theMissionary Review of the World, October, 1889, p. 782, aptly illustrates the practices against which the text inveighs:—"The sole end for which the Persian Government exists is the collection of the revenue, the fleecing of the people. Large portions of the land, confiscated from time to time, belong to the Sovereign, and are farmed out on terms well-nigh ruinous to the tenant. Even where property belongs to the subject, it is taxed to the last degree as a starting-point, while the successions of sub-rulers and collectors make still further drains upon the moiety that must save the labourer's family from absolute want. The whole burden of taxation thus comes really upon the labouring class. Added to this extortion is the constant uncertainty as to whether the planter will be permitted to reap his crop at all. Downright robbery of fields or households by the retainers of petty chiefs is of frequent occurrence, and the poor are liable any day to be deprived of their very last resource. Agriculture and other industries so discouraged and paralysed barely sustain the lives of the people at the best, and when drought is added thousands must perish." In times of scarcity, "The king sets the example—locks up his granaries, and withholds every kernel of wheat except at famine prices. Every nabob and landowner who has a stock on hand follows this example. Rapacity and cupidity rule; money is coined out of the sufferings of the poor."
[563]Prov. xxviii. 3. Oddly enough the commentators, who seem never to have heard of "sweating," propose to read for רָשׁ, either עָשִׁיר = rich, or רשׁ = רֹאש = head, for the head of the State; an example of conjectural emendation which may well make us cautious of the mere scholar's method of treating the sacred text.
"The cruellest landlords, receiving 10, 20, and 30 per cent. from detestable habitations (in London), are nearly connected by birth and circumstance to those they oppress" (Lecture delivered at Essex Hall, November 18th, 1889,by Thomas Locke Worthington).
[564]Prov. xxviii. 8. The difficult verse Proverbs xxii. 16 should find a place here, "He that oppresses the poor to increase for him, he that gives to the rich only for need," but it is impossible to accurately determine its meaning. If the rendering of the English Bible is correct, we may interpret the proverb as a statement of the folly of oppression which leads to want as inevitably as the more obvious folly of giving to the rich. But possibly Nowack is right in an interpretation which gives quite another turn to the saying, and makes it not a condemnation of the oppressor, but a suggestion of the advantage which may be gained from the oppression by the oppressed. "He who oppresses the poor—it turns to his (viz., the poor man's) gain," because it calls out all his energy and endurance, "while he who gives to the rich—it turns only to want," because it still further enervates and unfits him for the duties of life. This is not very satisfactory, and is decidedly far-fetched; but it is better than Delitzsch's suggestion, which strips the proverb of all moral significance, viz., "He that oppresses the poor, it is at any rate for his own gain; but he who gives to the rich, it is only to get want." The conclusion from this would be, that it is better to oppress the poor than to give to the rich, a sentiment quite out of harmony with the ethical teaching of the Proverbs. In a case like this we can only suppose that the saying has reached us in a mutilated form.
[565]Prov. xi. 17.
[566]Prov. xxviii. 27.
[567]Prov. xi. 24.
[568]Can the shareholders of the G. W. R., for instance, hold themselves free from responsibility in the case referred to in the following paragraph from theJournal of the People's Palace? "TheSaturday Review, always trustworthy and read-worthy on subjects of law, calls attention to a case which concerns a great many. It is a case in which the decision is most unfortunate to the interests of all working men. One Membery was employed at Paddington to shunt trunks: he was taken on by a contractor, but his real employers were the G.W.R. The trucks were drawn by a horse, and the horse ought to have had a boy to hitch on or off at a moment's notice: but the contractor refused to supply boys. Membery in vain asked for one, pointing out the great dangers to which he was exposed. He complained on the very day of the accident by which he was knocked down and injured seriously. He sued the Company; he won his case with damages; the Company, being a rich body, appealed. Now, considering the vexation, the anxiety, and the expense of carrying on such a case, a Company which appeals ought in justice to have the damages doubled if it loses. The Company lost. They appealed to the Lords, still on the principle of being rich and their opponent poor. This time the Company won. The Lords have ruled that the Company did not employ Membery, and that he was not obliged to work without a boy: he might have refused to work at all. Indeed! Then, if he refused to work, what about the children at home? A more mischievous doctrine was never upheld. Why, there are thousands and thousands of men and women who work daily under ineffectual protest,—who work at trades unwholesome, for wages inefficient, and for excessive hours; yet they work because they must—because they must. Membery worked without a boy, knowing that he would some day be run over and perhaps killed, because he must: he had no choice. When all the Trade Unions are merged into one immense Trade Union, it will not be the wages alone that will be determined, but the cases of such unfortunate men as Membery."
[569]Prov. xxi. 13.
[570]Prov. xxiv. 11, 12.
[571]Prov. xxii. 9.
[572]Prov. xxix. 7.
[573]Prov. xxix. 14. Has William II. of Germany been considering this text? If so, it is full of promise for the prosperity of Germany and of Europe? (International Labour Conference, March 1890.)
[574]Prov. xxxi. 30.
[575]Prov. xxii. 15.
[576]John v. 39.
[577]"I am the eldest child, born in 1795, December 4th, and trace deeply in myself the character of both parents, also the upbringing and example of both."—Carlyle's Reminiscences, vol. i., p. 54.
[578]Eccles. xxx. 2.
[579]Prov. xvii. 21.
[580]Prov. xvii. 25, xix. 13, 26.
[581]Prov. xv. 20.Cf.x. 1, xxvii. 11, xxix. 3.
[582]Prov. xxiii. 15, 16, 24.
[583]See that invaluable little book, "The Education of a Christian Home," edited by Ella S. Armitage.
[584]Prov. xxiii. 17.
[585]"The Education of a Christian Home."
[586]Prov. xiii. 24.
[587]Prov. xix. 18.
[588]Prov. xx. 30.
[589]Prov. xxiii. 13, 14.
[590]Prov. xxix. 15.
[591]Prov. xxix. 17.
[592]Lev. xxvi. 41: "If then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity, then will I remember My covenant with Jacob."
[593]Prov. xxix. 15.
[594]Prov. xxiii. 17-21.
[595]"The Education of a Christian Home."
[596]Psalm cxl. 9, 10.
[597]Jer. xviii. 23.
[598]Prov. xvii. 5b.
[599]Paradise Lost, ix., 171.
[600]Burke said of Pitt after his fall, that the manner in which he made his own justification, without impeaching the conduct of his colleagues or taking any measure that might seem to arise from disgust or opposition, set a seal upon his character. (Lecky, "England in the Eighteenth Century," vol. iii., 61.)
[601]See Rom. xii. 20.
[602]Matt. xviii. 35.
[603]Cf.the proverb, "When a man's ways please the Lord He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. xvi. 7).
[604]It will be observed that, speaking generally, the early proverbs present the more favourable side of the kingship, and the later proverbs suggest a period of decline (seeIntroduction). Possibly the same test may serve to distinguish the passages in Deuteronomy and the book of Samuel; the brighter thought that the king was originally intended by God may come from the early days when the kings still promised well, and the darker thought which crosses the optimistic picture may emanate from the period when their failure and decline were unmistakable.
[605]Prov. xvi. 12, 13.
[606]Prov. xx. 8, 26.
[607]Prov. xxii. 11.
[608]Prov. xvi. 14.
[609]Prov. xix. 12.
[610]Prov. xvi. 15.
[611]Prov. xx. 28.
[612]Prov. xxi. 1.
[613]Prov. xiv. 35.
[614]Prov. xxix. 14.
[615]Prov. xxv. 2-5.
[616]Prov. xxv. 6, 7.
[617]Prov. xxx. 31.
[618]Prov. xx. 2.
[619]Prov. xxiv. 21, 22.
[620]The LXX. of xxiv. 23, which adds a passage not appropriate to Christ, "Whosoever is delivered up to him shall be crushed. For if his temper be exasperated, he consumes men, sinews and all, and crunches their bones, and burns them up as a flame, so that they are uneatable to the young of eagles."
[621]Prov. xxviii. 15, 16.
[622]Prov. xi. 15. The image from steering survives in our own governor (gubernator).
[623]Prov. xx. 18.
[624]Prov. xv. 22.
[625]See 1 Kings xvi. 7.
[626]Prov. xxx. 22.
[627]Prov. xvii. 7.
[628]Prov. xxviii. 2.
[629]Prov. xxviii. 12.
[630]Prov. xiv. 28.
[631]Prov. xxix. 2.
[632]Prov. xxix. 4.
[633]Prov. xxix. 12.Cf.Ecclesiasticus x. 2: "As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers; and what manner of man the ruler of the city is, such are they also that dwell therein."
[634]Prov. xxiii. 1-3.Cf.the Eastern adage, "Dainties of a king burn the lips." It was a common occurrence at the court of Pope Alexander VI. to invite an obnoxious person to the Papal table and there dispose of him by means of poisoned food.
[635]Prov. xxxi. 8, 9.
[636]Luke xix. 38.
[637]Prov. xxix. 25, 26.
[638]Prov. x. 23.
[639]Prov. x. 18.
[640]Prov. xii. 23.
[641]Prov. xiv. 33.
[642]Prov. xiv. 7.
[643]Prov. xvii. 16.
[644]Prov. xxi. 20.
[645]Prov. xvii. 21.
[646]Prov. xxx. 22.
[647]Prov. xxvii. 22.
[648]Prov. xxii. 15.
[649]Prov. xvi. 22.
[650]Prov. xiv. 24. This seems simpler than supposing that the clause אִוֶּלֶת אִוֶּלֶת כְּמִילִים contains a play upon the possible double meaning of אִוֶּלֶת, which, though it yields an excellent sense,—"the power of fools is only folly,"i.e., when they have power they turn it only to a foolish account (cf.xxvi. 1),—must be regarded as very obscure, especially seeing that we have no positive instance of אִוֶּלֶת as a derivative of אוּל in the sense of "power."
[651]Prov. xxvii. 3.
[652]Prov. xxix. 9.
[653]Prov. xxiv. 9.
[654]Prov. xix. 10.
[655]This is reading לוֹ for לֹא, a constant source of confusion and interchange in Hebrew MSS.
[656]Prov. x. 13.
[657]Prov. xix. 29.
[658]
"Quos divi conscia factiMens habet attonitos et surdo verbere cædit,Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum."—Juv.,Sat., xiii., 193.
"Quos divi conscia factiMens habet attonitos et surdo verbere cædit,Occultum quatiente animo tortore flagellum."—Juv.,Sat., xiii., 193.
[659]Matt. xiii. 15.
[660]Prov. xvii. 12.
[661]Prov. xxvi. 4.
[662]Prov. xxvi. 5.
[663]Prov. xxix. 11.
[664]Prov. xxvi. 8.
[665]Prov. xxvi. 6.
[666]Prov. xxvi. 7.
[667]Prov. xxvi. 9.
[668]Prov. xxvi. 10. This rendering Delitzsch obtained by altering the vowel points in the first שׂכֵר into שְׂכַר, and the sense is good, if a little far-fetched. On the other hand, the received reading gives a plain though a somewhat insipid meaning: "Much produces all,"—whoever has a little and uses it well quickly gets more,—"but he that hires a fool is as he who hires passers by,"i.e.the employment of a fool is a barren undertaking which practically leads to nothing.
[669]Prov. xxvi. 11.
[670]Prov. xxviii. 26;cf.ix. 8 and xxiii. 9.
[671]Prov. xxvi. 12.
[672]נָבָל, Psalm xiv. 1.
[673]Browning,Pippa Passes.
[674]Prov. xxiv. 27.
[675]Prov. xxii. 3; xxvii. 12.
[676]Psalm xliv. 8.
[677]Prov. xxvii. 20.
[678]See heading ofchapter.
[679]Prov. xxvii. 4.
[680]Sir Edward Dyer (b.1540).
[681]Prov. xv. 15.
[682]Matthew Arnold.
[683]Phil. i. 21.
[684]Prov. xxvii. 18.
[685]Prov. xxviii. 17.
[686]It may be necessary to point out to the reader that in approaching the subject of atonement from the standpoint of the book of Proverbs, and merely in the expository treatment of the passages before us, the so-called objective ground of atonement in the sacrifice of Christ does not come into view, but its necessity becomes manifest as each step in the exposition reveals how impossible it would be for us, apart from the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, to realize those conditions which are here laid down as indispensable to pardon and acceptance with God.
[687]Voltaire rose once from the table at Ferney, where some atheists were discussing their views. He said he could not let his servants hear this talk, for they would rob and murder him if that was true.
[688]Isa. xliii. 25.
[689]See Rom. v. 11. This is the only place in the New Testament where even in the Authorised Version the word "atonement" occurs. But the contention of the text is not one of words, but of facts. Whatever terms are used, the Gospels and the Epistles all agree in identifying the salvation of God with an actual and practical righteousness wrought out by the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who believe in Christ as their Saviour.
[690]Isa. ii. 3.
[691]"Modern Science and Modern Thought" (pp. 289, 290), by S. Laing. Chapman & Hall: 1890.
[692]Cf.Prov. xxviii. 4, 9:—
"They that forsake the law praise the wicked:But such as keep the law contend with them.He that turneth away his ear from hearing the lawEven his prayer is an abomination."
"They that forsake the law praise the wicked:But such as keep the law contend with them.He that turneth away his ear from hearing the lawEven his prayer is an abomination."
[693]Cf.the Sanscrit Hitopadesa, "Fire is never satisfied with fuel, nor the ocean with rivers, nor death with all creatures, nor bright-eyed women with men;" also the Arabic proverb, "Three things are of three never full, women's womb of man, wood of fire, and earth of rain."
[694]Joel ii. 7.
[695]Prov. xxxi. 1-9.
[696]Prov. xxxi. 10-31.
[697]E.g., בַּר ver. 2 and מְלָכִין ver. 3:cf.the strange expressions כָּל־בְּנֵי־עֹנִי and כָּל־בְּנֵי הֲלוֹף in vv. 5, 8.
[698]Prov. xxxi. 8, 9.
[699]Prov. xxii. 14, xxiii. 27.
[700]Prov. xix. 13, xxi. 9, xxv. 24, xxi. 19, xxvii. 15.
[701]Prov. xxvii. 16.
[702]Prov. xi. 22.
[703]Prov. xiv. 1.
[704]Prov. xi. 16.
[705]Prov. xviii. 22.
[706]Prov. xix. 14. In the LXX. this clause is beautifully rendered παρὰ δὲ κυρίου ἁρμόζεται γυνὴ ἀνδρί. By the Lord's ordinance woman and man are dovetailed together in a complete harmony. The thought is well expanded in Ecclesiasticus (xxvi. 1-3): "Blessed is the man that has a virtuous wife, for thereby his life is doubled. A woman made for a man rejoices her husband, and he shall fulfil the years of his life in peace. A virtuous wife is a good portion, in the portion of them that fear the Lord shall she be given."
[707]Prov. xxxi. 12.
[708]Prov. xii. 4.
[709]Prov. xxxi. 23.
[710]Prov. xxxi. 29.
[711]Prov. xxxi. 11.
[712]Prov. xxxi. 14.
[713]Prov. xxxi. 15.
[714]Prov. xxxi. 16.
[715]Prov. xxxi. 17.
[716]Prov. xxxi. 18.
[717]Prov. xxxi. 24.
[718]Prov. xxxi. 27.
[719]Prov. xxxi. 21.
[720]Prov. xxxi. 25.
[721]Prov. xxxi. 20.
[722]Prov. xxxi. 30.