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Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart - This is a most important precept: God is the Fountain of all good. He has made his intelligent creatures dependent upon himself. He requires them to be conscious of that dependence. He has promised to communicate what they need. He commands them to believe his promise, and look for its fulfillment. And to do this without doubt, fear, or distrust; "with their whole heart." Lean not unto thine own understanding - תשען אל al tishshaen ... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:6

In all thy ways acknowledge him - Begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and device, with God. Earnestly pray for his direction at the commencement; look for his continual support in the progress; and so begin and continue that all may terminate in his glory: and then it will certainly be to thy good; for we never honor God, without serving ourselves. This passage is well rendered in my old MS. Bible: Have trost in the Lord of all thin herte and ne lene thou to thi prudence: in all... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:8

It shall be health to thy navel - We need not puzzle ourselves to find out what we may suppose to be a more delicate meaning for the original word שר shor than navel; for I am satisfied a more proper cannot be found. It is well known that it is by the umbilical cord that the fetus receives its nourishment all the time it is in the womb of the mother. It receives nothing by the mouth, nor by any other means: by this alone all nourishment is received, and the circulation of the blood kept... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:9

Honor the Lord with thy substance - The מנחה Minchah or gratitude-offering to God, commanded under the law, is of endless obligation. It would be well to give a portion of the produce of every article by which we get our support to God, or to the poor, the representatives of Christ. This might be done either in kind, or by the worth in money. Whatever God sends us in the way of secular prosperity, there is a portion of it always for the poor, and for God's cause. When that portion is... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:11

Despise not the chastening of the Lord - The word מוסר musar signifies correction, discipline, and instruction. Teaching is essentially necessary to show the man the way in which he is to go; discipline is necessary to render that teaching effectual; and, often, correction is requisite in order to bring the mind into submission, without which it cannot acquire knowledge. Do not therefore reject this procedure of God; humble thyself under his mighty hand, and open thy eyes to thy own... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 3:12

Whom the Lord loveth - To encourage thee to bear correction, know that it is a proof of God's love to thee; and thereby he shows that he treats thee as a father does his son, even that one to whom he bears the fondest affection. The last clause the Septuagint translate μαστιγοι δε παντα υἱον ὁν παραδεχεται , "and chasteneth every son whom he receiveth;" and the apostle, Hebrews 12:6 , quotes this literatim. Both clauses certainly amount to the same sense. Every son whom he receiveth,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 3:1-10

Precepts and promises of wisdom I. THE CONNECTION OF PRECEPT AND PROMISE . 1 . Precept needs confirmation. We cannot but ask— Why should we pursue this or that line of conduct in preference to another? Why should men be God-fearing, honest, chaste? We are rational creatures, not "dumb driven cattle," to be forced along a given road. We must have reasons; and it is to reason in us that the Divine reason ever makes appeal. 2 . The confirmation is found in experience.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 3:1-18

4. Fourth admonitory discourse. The third chapter introduces us to a group of admonitions, and the first of these ( Proverbs 3:1-18 ) forms the fourth admonitory discourse of the teacher. To all intents and purposes this is a continuation of the discourse in the preceding chapter, for inasmuch as that described the benefits, spiritual and moral, which follow from the pursuit of Wisdom, in promoting godliness and providing safety from evil companions, so this in like manner depicts the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the Lord ( b'takh el yehovah ); literally, trust in Jehovah. Entire reliance upon Jehovah, implied in the words, "with all thine heart," is here appropriately placed at the head of a series of admonitions which especially have God and man's relations with him in view, inasmuch as such confidence or trust, with its corresponding idea of the renunciation of reliance on self, is, as Zockler truly remarks, a "fundamental principle of all religion." It is the first lesson to be... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 3:5-6

Divine guidance I. THE NEED OF DIVINE GUIDANCE . Several considerations force this upon us; e.g. : 1 . The complexity of life. The longer we live, the more do we feel the profound mystery that touches us on every side. Innumerable avenues open out to us. Innumerable claims are made upon us. Conflicting duties perplex us. We feel as autumn leaves before the driving winds. We are helpless to choose and follow the right. 2 . Our ignorance of the future. Like Columbus,... read more

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