Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Proverbs
Book: Proverbs
Chapter: 22
Overview:
1 We should be more careful to do that
By which we may get and
keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate. 2.
Divine
Providence has
So ordered it, that some are rich, and
others
Poor, but all are guilty before
God; and at the
Throne of
God's
Grace the
Poor are as welcome as the rich. 3.
Faith
foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to
Jesus Christ
as the sure
Refuge from the storm. 4. Where the fear of
God
is, there will be
Humility. And much is to be enjoyed
By it;
spiritual riches, and eternal
Life at last. 5. The way of
Sin
is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and
easy. 6. Train children, not in the way they would go, that of
their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which,
if you
Love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible
every
Child should be led to the knowledge of the
Saviour. 7.
This shows how important it is for every
Man to keep out of
Debt. As to the things of this
Life, there is a difference
between the rich and the
Poor; but let the
Poor remember, it is
the
Lord that made the difference. 8. The power which many
abuse, will soon fail them. 9. He that seeks to relieve the
wants and miseries of others shall be blessed. 10. Profane
scoffers and revilers disturb the peace. 11.
God will be the
Friend of a
Man in whose
Spirit there is
No guile; this honour
have all the saints. 12.
God turns the counsels and designs of
treacherous men to their own confusion. 13. The slothful
Man
talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from
the
Devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own
slothfulness, which kills him. 14. The vile
Sin of
licentiousness commonly besots the mind
Beyond recovery. 15.
Sin is foolishness, it is in the
Heart, there is an inward
inclination to
Sin: children bring it into the world with them;
and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected
By
our heavenly
Father. 16. We are but stewards, and must
distribute what
God intrusts to our care, according to his will.
17-21. To these words, to this knowledge, the
Ear must be
bowed down, and the
Heart applied
By Faith and
Love. To live a
Life of delight in
God and dependence
On him, is the foundation
of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the
Word of
Truth, is to make
Conscience of our duty. 22,23. He
that robs and oppresses the
Poor, does
So at his peril. And if
men will not appear for them,
God will. 24,25. Our corrupt
hearts have
So much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have
to do with those that throw about the sparks of their
Passion.
26,27. Every
Man ought to be just to himself, and his family;
those are not
So, who,
By folly or other carelessness, waste
what they have. 28. We are taught not to trespass
On another
Man's right. And it is hard to find a truly industrious
Man.
Such a
Man will rise. Seest thou a
Man diligent in the business
of religion? He is likely to excel. Let us then be diligent in
God's work.