proverbs-23

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:23

The freedom and the price of truth We have often to insist upon— I. THE FREEDOM OF THE TRUTH . In one sense, truth is essentially free. If firm and strong as the granite rock, it is also fluent as the water, elastic as the air. It belongs to no man, and cannot be patented or monopolized; it is the inheritance of mankind. We are all of us bound to communicate it freely, to "pass it on like bread at sacrament." This is emphatically the case with the truth of the gospel. "Ho!... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:24

The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice. The father of a righteous son who has won truth and profited by the possession has good cause to be glad ( Proverbs 10:1 ). Septuagint erroneously, "A righteous father brings up children well." The second clause repeats the first in different words, with the further idea that the wise son affords his father practical proof of the excellence of his moral training. The contrast is seen in Proverbs 17:21 . read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:24

(See homily on Proverbs 10:1 .)—C. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:25

Shall be glad; or, let them be glad ; gaudeat, Vulgate; εὐφραινέσθω , Septuagint. She that bare thee. As in Proverbs 23:24 the father's joy was expressly mentioned, so here prominence is given to that of the mother. In the former case it is "he that begetteth;" here, "she that beareth." read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26

Give me thine heart. Do not waste thy powers and affections on evil objects, but set thy soul with all its best faculties on me, Wisdom, who alone can satisfy its desires and aspirations. There is an eloquent passage in a tract that has gone by St. Bernard's name, though not written by him, which is worth quoting: " Cor nostrum nihil dignius perficere potest, quam ut ei se restituat a quo factum est: et hoc a nobis Dominus expetit dicens, 'Fili, da mihi cor tuum.' Tunc siquidem cor hominum... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26

Our Father's claim I. GOD CLAIMS NOTHING LESS THAN THE HEART . 1 . Some offer belief of the intellect. It is well to understand truth and to believe in that which is revealed about God. We may give many thoughts to God; but these, without the heart, will not satisfy him. 2 . Some offer external service. This is claimed by God, but only as the fruit of a loving heart. Given in hard, mechanical work, without love or devotion, it is worthless in the sight of God. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26-28

A hexastich, in which Wisdom herself is the speaker, and warns against unchastity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26-28

The harlot's true character I. IT IS DANGEROUS AND PERNICIOUS . ( Proverbs 23:27 , Proverbs 23:28 .) It may be compared to a deep pit or to a narrow and deep well, out of which, if one falls therein, there is no easy escape. Or to a fell robber lying in wait for the unwary and the weak. II. THE TRUE RESOURCE OF SAFETY . This is in the heart given up to God ( Proverbs 23:26 ). If that heart be already polluted, he can wash it and make it clean. But he who... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:27

The need of the emphatic injunction in Proverbs 23:26 is exemplified by the dangers of impurity. A deep ditch; as Proverbs 22:14 . A strange woman is a narrow pit. (For "strange woman," equivalent to "harlot," see on Proverbs 2:16 .) A narrow pit is one with a narrow month, from which, if one falls into it, it is difficult to extricate one's self. The verse indicates the seductive nature of the vice of unchastity: how easy it is to be led into it! how difficult to rise from it! Thus... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:28

She also lieth in wait as for a prey. "Yea, she [ Proverbs 22:19 ] lieth in wait," as is graphically described in Proverbs 7:1-27 . (comp. Jeremiah 3:2 ). Chetheph is better taken, not as "prey," but in a concrete sense as the person who snatches it, the robber. Vulgate, Insidiatur in via quasi latro (comp. Psalms 10:9 ). And increaseth the transgressors among men. The Greek and Latin versions have taken רוֹסִיף as meaning "kills," "destroys." But the verb yasaph always... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:23

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:24

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:24

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:25

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:26-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:27

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 23:28

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