17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul; But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink? And when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? And when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, `even' these least, ye did it unto me.
Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust shall be for a testimony against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have laid up your treasure in the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who mowed your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth out: and the cries of them that reaped have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived delicately on the earth, and taken your pleasure; ye have nourished your hearts in a day of slaughter.
But this `I say,' He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. `Let' each man `do' according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound unto you; that ye, having always all sufficiency in everything, may abound unto every good work: as it is written, He hath scattered abroad, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever. And he that supplieth seed to the sower and bread for food, shall supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the fruits of your righteousness: ye being enriched in everything unto all liberality, which worketh through us thanksgiving to God. For the ministration of this service not only filleth up the measure of the wants of the saints, but aboundeth also through many thanksgivings unto God; seeing that through the proving `of you' by this ministration they glorify God for the obedience of your confession unto the gospel of Christ, and for the liberality of `your' contribution unto them and unto all; while they themselves also, with supplication on your behalf, long after you by reason of the exceeding grace of God in you.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall by thy rearward. Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly; and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday; and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: `He is' gracious, and merciful, and righteous. Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth; He shall maintain his cause in judgment. For he shall never be moved; The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, Until he see `his desire' upon his adversaries. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy; His righteousness endureth for ever: His horn shall be exalted with honor.
Blessed is he that considereth the poor: Jehovah will deliver him in the day of evil. Jehovah will preserve him, and keep him alive, And he shall be blessed upon the earth; And deliver not thou him unto the will of his enemies. Jehovah will support him upon the couch of languishing: Thou makest all his bed in his sickness. I said, O Jehovah, have mercy upon me: Heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
For he hath oppressed and forsaken the poor; He hath violently taken away a house, and he shall not build it up. Because he knew no quietness within him, He shall not save aught of that wherein he delighteth. There was nothing left that he devoured not; Therefore his prosperity shall not endure. In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him. When he is about to fill his belly, `God' will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Proverbs 11
Commentary on Proverbs 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
Pro 11:1
As religion towards God is a branch of universal righteousness (he is not an honest man that is not devout), so righteousness towards men is a branch of true religion, for he is not a godly man that is not honest, nor can he expect that his devotion should be accepted; for,
Pro 11:2
Observe,
Pro 11:3
It is not only promised that God will guide the upright, and threatened that he will destroy the transgressors, but, that we may be the more fully assured of both, it is here represented as if the nature of the thing were such on both sides that it would do it itself.
Pro 11:4
Note,
Pro 11:5-6
These two verses are, in effect, the same, and both to the same purport with v. 3. For the truths are here of such certainty and weight that they cannot be too often inculcated. Let us govern ourselves by these principles.
The ways of wickedness are dangerous and destructive: The wicked shall fail into misery and ruin by their own wickedness, and be taken in their own naughtiness as in a snare. O Israel! thou hast destroyed thyself. Their sin will be their punishment; that very thing by which they contrived to shelter themselves will make against them.
Pro 11:7
Note,
Pro 11:8
As always in death, so sometimes in life, the righteous are remarkably favoured and the wicked crossed.
Pro 11:9
Here is,
Pro 11:10-11
It is here observed,
Pro 11:12-13
Pro 11:14
Here is,
Pro 11:15
Here we are taught,
Pro 11:16
Here,
Pro 11:17
It is a common principle, Every one for himself. Proximus egomet mihi-None so near to me as myself. Now, if this be rightly understood, it will be a reason for the cherishing of gracious dispositions in ourselves and the crucifying of corrupt ones. We are friends or enemies to ourselves, even in respect of present comfort, according as we are or are not governed by religious principles.
Pro 11:18
Note,
Pro 11:19
It is here shown that righteousness, not only by the divine judgment, will end in life, and wickedness in death, but that righteousness, in its own nature, has a direct tendency to life and wickedness to death.
Pro 11:20
It concerns us to know what God hates and what he loves, that we may govern ourselves accordingly, may avoid his displeasure and recommend ourselves to his favour. Now here we are told,
Pro 11:21
Observe,
Pro 11:22
By discretion here we must understand religion and grace, a true taste and relish (so the word signifies) of the honours and pleasures that attend an unspotted virtue; so that a woman without discretion is a woman of a loose and dissolute conversation; and then observe,
Pro 11:23
This tells us what the desire and expectation of the righteous and of the wicked are and how they will prove, what they would have and what they shall have.
Pro 11:24
Note,
Pro 11:25
So backward we are to works of charity, and so ready to think that giving undoes us, that we need to have it very much pressed upon us how much it is for our own advantage to do good to others, as before, v. 17.
Pro 11:26
See here,
Pro 11:27
Observe,
Pro 11:28
Observe,
Pro 11:29
Two extremes in the management of family-affairs are here condemned and the ill consequences of them foretold:-
Pro 11:30
This shows what great blessings good men are, especially those that are eminently wise, to the places where they live, and therefore how much to be valued.
Pro 11:31
This, I think, is the only one of Solomon's proverbs that has that note of attention prefixed to it, Behold! which intimates that it contains not only an evident truth, which may be beheld, but an eminent truth, which must be considered.