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THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
First Series , 1887-88. Colossians. By A. Maclaren , D.D. St. Mark. By Very Rev. the Dean of Armagh. Genesis. By Prof. Marcus Dods , D.D. 1 Samuel. By Prof. W. G. Blaikie , D.D. 2 Samuel. By the same Author. Hebrews. By Principal T.C. Edwards , D.D. Second Series , 1888-89. Galatians. By Prof. G. G. Findlay , B.A. The Pastoral Epistles. By Rev. A. Plummer , D.D. Isaiah i.-xxxix. By G. A. Smith , M.A. Vol. I. The Book of Revelation. By Prof. W. Milligan , D.D. 1 Corinthians. By Prof. Marcus Dods
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London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON,
London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON,
Printed by Hazell Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury....
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
In attempting to make the book of Proverbs a subject of Expository Lectures and practical sermons it has been necessary to treat the book as a uniform composition, following, chapter by chapter, the order which the compiler has adopted, and bringing the scattered sentences together under subjects which are suggested by certain more striking points in the successive chapters. By this method the great bulk of the matter contained in the book is brought under review, either in the way of exposition
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I.
I.
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."— Prov. i. 7. ( Cf. Eccles. i. 14, "To fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and it was created with the faithful in the womb;" also Ps. cxi. 10.) The book of Proverbs belongs to a group of works in the Hebrew literature the subject of which is Wisdom. It is probably the earliest of them all, and may be regarded as the stem, of which they are the branches. Without attempting to determine the relative ages of these compositions, the ordinar
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II.
II.
Wisdom is concerned, as we have seen, with the whole universe of fact, with the whole range of thought; she surveys and orders all processes of nature. We might say of her, But while she is occupied in these high things, she is no less attentive to the affairs of human life, and her delight is to order human conduct, not despising even the smallest detail of that which is done by men under the sun. Side by side with physical laws, indeed often intertwined with them, appear the moral laws which i
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III.
III.
Prov. iii. 1-10. The general teaching of these nine introductory chapters is that the "ways of Wisdom are pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." We are taught to look for the fruit of righteousness in long life and prosperity, for the penalty of sin in premature destruction. "The upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the land, and they that deal treacherously shall be rooted out of it." [32] The foolish "shall eat of the fr
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IV.
IV.
This chapter begins with a charming little piece of autobiography. Unhappily the writer is unknown. That it was not Solomon is plain from the fact that an only son is speaking, and we know from 1 Chron. iii. 5 that Solomon was not an only son of his mother. [54] But the naïveté and beauty of the confession are the same, whoever was the speaker. The grateful memories of a father's teaching and of a mother's tenderness give point and force to the exhortations. "Do I urge upon you, young people, th
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V.
V.
It is the task of Wisdom, or, as we should say, of the Christian teacher,—and a most distasteful task it is,—to lay bare with an unsparing hand (1) the fascinations of sin, and (2) the deadly entanglements in which the sinner involves himself,—"there is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." [72] It would be pleasanter, no doubt, to avoid the subject, or at least to be content with a general caution and a general denunciation; one is tempted to take ref
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VI.
VI.
"The surety ... the sluggard ... and the worthless person."— Prov. vi. 1, 6, 12. From the solemn principle announced at the close of the last chapter the teacher passes, almost unconscious of the thought which determines his selection of subjects, to illustrate the truth by three examples,—that of the Surety, that of the Sluggard, that of the Worthless Man. And then, because the horrors of impurity are the most striking and terrible instance of all, this subject, coming up again at v. 20, like t
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VII.
VII.
"I looked forth through my lattice; and I beheld."— Prov. vii. 6. The three chapters which close the introduction of our book (vii.-ix.) present a lively and picturesque contrast between Folly and Wisdom—-Folly more especially in the form of vice; Wisdom more generally in her highest and most universal intention. Folly is throughout concrete, an actual woman, pourtrayed with such correctness of detail that she is felt as a personal force. Wisdom, on the other hand, is only personified; she is an
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VIII.
VIII.
"Doth not Wisdom cry?"— Prov. viii. 1. In the last chapter a dark and revolting picture of Vice was drawn. This chapter contains a lovely and living picture of Wisdom. In this contrast, as we have already seen, Vice can be presented as a vicious woman, because it is unhappily only too easy to find such an incarnation in actual experience; Wisdom, on the other hand, cannot be presented as an actual person, but only as a personification, because there was, as yet, no Incarnation of Wisdom; far fro
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IX.
IX.
Ch. ix., vv. 14 with 3, and 16 with 4. After the lengthened contrast between the vicious woman and Wisdom in chaps. vii. and viii., the introduction of the book closes with a little picture which is intended to repeat and sum up all that has gone before. It is a peroration, simple, graphic, and beautiful. There is a kind of competition between Wisdom and Folly, between Righteousness and Sin, between Virtue and Vice; and the allurements of the two are disposed in an intentional parallelism; the c
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X.
X.
No moral system is complete which does not treat with clearness and force the subject of wealth. The material possessions of an individual or of a nation are in a certain sense the pre-requisites of all moral life; for until the human being has food to eat he cannot be virtuous, he cannot even live; until he has clothing he cannot be civilised; and unless he has a moderate assurance of necessaries, and a certain margin of leisure secured from the toil of life, he cannot live well, and there can
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XI.
XI.
"The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them."— Prov. xi. 6. "An unjust man is the abomination of the righteous, and he who goes right in his way is the abomination of the wicked."— Prov. xxix. 27. The book of Proverbs abounds with sayings which have the sound of truisms, sayings which repeat, with innumerable variations and shades of colouring, that wickedness is an evil, hateful to God and to men, and that righteousness is a blessing not only to the righteous themselves, but to all wit
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XII.
XII.
"A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth : and the doings of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him."— Prov. xii. 14. "In the transgression of the lips is a snare to an evil man: but the righteous shall come out of trouble."— Prov. xii. 13. "A fool's vexation is presently known : but a prudent man concealeth shame."— Prov. xii. 16. "He that uttereth truth showeth forth righteousness, but a false witness deceit."— Prov. xii. 17. "The lip of truth shall be established for ev
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XIII.
XIII.
"A wise son heareth his father's instruction, but a scorner heareth not rebuke."— Prov. xiii. 1. "Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth correction, but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured."— Prov. xiii. 18. "By pride cometh only contention, but with the well advised is wisdom."— Prov. xiii. 10. "Whoso despiseth the word bringeth destruction on himself; but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."— Prov. xiii. 13. This last proverb appears in another form, as, "He tha
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XIV.
XIV.
"The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy."— Prov. xiv. 10. "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of mirth is heaviness."— Prov. xiv. 13. We know each other's appearance, it is true, but there for the most part our mutual knowledge ceases. Some of us unveil nothing of ourselves to anyone; some of us unveil a little to all; some a good deal to a few; but none of us can unveil all even to the most intimate friend. It is possible to live
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XV.
XV.
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but a grievous word stirreth up anger." In the LXX. there is another clause inserted at the beginning, Ὀργὴ ἀπόλλυσι καὶ φρονίμους, ἀπόκρισις δὲ ὑποπίπτουσα ἀποστρέφει θυμόν, λόγος δὲ λυπηρὸς ἐγείρει ὀργάς."— Prov. xv. 1. "A meek tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit."— Prov. xv. 4. "A wrathful man stirreth up contention: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife."— Prov. xv. 18. Bad temper causes more suffering than
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XVI.
XVI.
"A just balance and scales are the Lord's: all the weights of the bag are His work."— Prov. xvi. 11. "A false balance is an abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is His delight."— Prov. xi. 1. "Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord."— Prov. xx. 10. "Divers weights are an abomination to the Lord; and a false balance is not good."— Prov. xx. 23. The sixteenth chapter opens—and we may annex to it the last verse of chap. xv.—with a series of sayi
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XVII.
XVII.
"A friend loveth at all times, and as a brother is born for adversity."— Prov. xvii. 17. (This rendering, based upon the margin of the R.V., yields a much better sense than the loosely connected, "And a brother is born for adversity.") One of the most striking contrasts between the ancient and the modern world is in the place which is given to Friendship by moralists and religious teachers. In Aristotle's famous treatise on Ethics two books out of nine are devoted to the moral bearings of Friend
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XVIII.
XVIII.
"He that separates himself follows after his own desire, but against all sound wisdom he shows his teeth."— Prov. xviii. 1. From the value of friendship there is a natural and easy transition to the evil of isolation. We must try to fathom the profound meaning which is hidden under this simple but striking proverb. To begin with, what are we to understand by "one that separates himself"? This same word occurs in 2 Sam. i. 23 concerning Saul and Jonathan, that "in their death they were not separa
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XIX.
XIX.
There is such a valuable expansion and commentary on this proverb in the book of Ecclesiasticus that it seems worth while to quote it in full: "Say not, it is through the Lord that I fell away, for the things He hates thou shalt not do. Say not, it is He that caused me to err, for He has no use for a sinful man. Every abomination the Lord hates, neither is it lovely to those that fear Him. He Himself at the outset made Man, and left him in the power of his own control, that, if thou wilt, thou s
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XX.
XX.
"After the autumn gathering the slothful does not plough; he asks in the harvest, and there is nothing."— Prov. xx. 4. We have already in the sixth lecture caught a glimpse of the sluggard, and in the ninth we have seen in passing that diligence in work is enjoined by the teacher; but we must give a more concentrated attention to this subject if we would realize the stress which this book of Wisdom lays on work as the grand condition of life in this earnest world. They who will not work have no
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XXI.
XXI.
The Septuagint translation has an interesting addition to the proverb in xii. 11. After "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread, but he that followeth after vain persons is void of understanding," it adds, "He who is sweet in pastimes of wine-drinking shall leave dishonour in his strongholds." Drinking is the natural opposite of hard and honest work. When the love of it takes possession of a man he is sure to become a useless and unproductive member of society. A drunken people are
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XXII.
XXII.
"The rich and the needy meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all."— Prov. xxii. 2. "He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed, for he giveth of his bread to the poor."— Prov. xxii. 9. "He that oppresseth the poor, it is for his increase; he that giveth to the rich, it is for want."— Prov. xxii. 16. "Rob not the poor because he is poor, neither oppress the humble in the gate, for the Lord will plead their cause and despoil of life those that despoil them."— Prov. xxii. 22, 23. If we w
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XXIII.
XXIII.
"Train up a child according to his way, and even when he is old he will not depart from it."— Prov. xxii. 6. "Withhold not correction from the child; if thou beat him with the rod he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol."— Prov. xxiii. 13, 14. In Lecture IV. we examined two of the main principles which should be inculcated on children in a Christian home. In the present lecture we approach the question of education again. It is necessary for us to
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XXIV.
XXIV.
"Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause, and deceive not with thy lips. Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."— Prov. xxiv. 28, 29. "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thy heart be glad when he is overthrown, lest the Lord see it and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him."— Prov. xxiv. 17, 18. "He that is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished."— Prov. xvii. 5. "If thine enemy be hungry,
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XXV.
XXV.
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. The heaven for height and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and there cometh forth a vessel for the finer; Take away the wicked from before the king , and his throne shall be established in righteousness. Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king , and stand not in the presence of great men: Far better is it that it be said unto t
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XXVI.
XXVI.
"As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.... A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off his own feet, and drinketh in damage. The legs of the lame hang loose: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. As a bag of gems in a
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XXVII.
XXVII.
"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day will bring forth."— Prov. xxvii. 1. "The grave and destruction are never satisfied; and the eyes of men are never satisfied;" and LXX. adds, "An abomination to the Lord is he who sets his eye, and undisciplined men uncontrolled in tongue."— Prov. xxvii. 20. "Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof, so he that waits on his Lord eats of the honour."— Prov. xxvii. 18. Here is a wholesome lesson for us. We are to trust n
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XXVIII.
XXVIII.
"He that hideth (מְכַסֶּה) his transgressions shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy."— Prov. xxviii. 13. "Happy is the man that feareth alway; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."— Prov. xxviii. 14. "The fear of the Lord tendeth to life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied. He shall not be visited with evil."— Prov. xix. 23. "By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil."— Prov. xvi
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XXIX.
XXIX.
"Where no vision is, a people casts off restraint, but he that keepeth the law is happy."— Prov. xxix. 18. The form of the proverb shows that we are not to treat the vision and the law as opposite, but rather as complementary terms. Visions are, it is true, especially the mark of the prophets, and the law is often confined in a special sense to the Pentateuch; but there is a much wider usage of the words, according to which the two together express, with tolerable completeness, what we mean by R
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XXX.
XXX.
The rendering of the first verse of this chapter is very uncertain. Without attempting to discuss the many conjectural emendations, we must briefly indicate the view which is here taken. A slight alteration in the pointing (לָאִיתִי אֵל instead of the Masoretic reading לְאִיתִיאֵל) changes the proper name Ithiel into a significant verb; and another slight change (וָאֵכֶל for וְאֻכָל) gives us another verb in the place of Ucal. To remove the difficulty of the word "oracle," a difficulty which ari
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XXXI.
XXXI.
The last chapter of the book of Proverbs consists of two distinct compositions, and the only connection between them is to be found in their date. The words of King Lemuel, "a saying which his mother taught him," [695] and the description of a good woman, [696] must both be referred to a very late epoch of Hebrew literature. The former contains several Aramaic words [697] and expressions which connect it with the period of the exile; and the latter is an alphabetical acrostic, i.e. , the verses
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HODDER & STOUGHTON'S NEW WORKS.
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THE FOREIGN BIBLICAL LIBRARY.
THE FOREIGN BIBLICAL LIBRARY.
I. Sermons by Schleiermacher , with a Biographical Sketch. Translated by Mary F. Wilson . Crown 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. II. A Commentary on Isaiah. By Professor Franz Delitzsch . Translated by the Rev. James Denney , B.D. Vol. I. Crown 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d. Canon T. K. Cheyne , D.D., says:—"By far the most complete and equal commentary is that of Dr. Franz Delitzsch. He who will patiently read and digest the new edition of this masterly work will receive a training both for head and heart which he wil
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THE THEOLOGICAL EDUCATOR.
THE THEOLOGICAL EDUCATOR.
Edited by the Rev. W. Robertson Nicoll , M.A., LL.D. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. each. I. An Introduction to the Old Testament. By the Rev. C. H. H. Wright , D.D. II. The Writers of the New Testament: Their Style and Characteristics. By the Rev. William Henry Simcox , M.A. A Good Start : A Book for Young Men. By J. Thain Davidson , D.D., Author of "Talks with Young Men," etc. Crown 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. Famous Men of Science. By Sarah K. Bolton , Author of "Successful Men who have Risen from the Ran
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THE NEWBERRY BIBLE.
THE NEWBERRY BIBLE.
Formerly known as " The Englishman's Bible ," edited by THOMAS NEWBERRY . Comprising : The English-Hebrew Bible and the English-Greek Testament, designed to give, as far as practicable, the Accuracy, Precision, and Certainty of the Original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures on the Page of the Authorised Version. Adapted both for the Biblical Student and for the Ordinary English Reader. Large Type Handy Reference Edition. This Edition of "The Englishman's Bible" contains numerous additional references;
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THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
THE EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE.
Edited by Rev. W. R. NICOLL, M.A., LL.D. All Volumes sold separately. Price 7s. 6d. each. Genesis. By the Rev. Marcus Dods , D.D., Professor of New Testament Exegesis, New College, Edinburgh, Author of "The Parables of Our Lord," etc. Fourth Edition. Exodus. By the Very Rev. G. A. Chadwick , D.D., Dean of Armagh, Author of "Christ Bearing Witness to Himself," etc. The Book of Leviticus. By the Rev. S. H. Kellogg , D.D. Judges and Ruth. By the Rev. R. A. Watson , M.A., Author of "Gospels of Yeste
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