The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:1-7
These are specially religions maxims, and they all contain the name Jehovah. read more
Proverbs 16:7-10
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:1-9
Thought, action, prayer It may be said that the three main elements of human experience are those of thinking, of acting, and of praying. We have not done our best until we have done all of these. I. THOUGHT . "The preparations of the heart belong to man" (Revised Version). "Thy thoughts" ("thy purposes," Revised Version). We are told of Peter, after the denial, that "when he thought thereon, he wept" ( Mark 14:72 ). But if he had thought beforehand what grief he would cause his... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:4-9
The administration of rewards and punishments I. THE MORAL DESIGNS OF GOD . ( Proverbs 16:4 .) The creation is teleological ; it has a beginning, a process, and an end in view, all determined by the will and wisdom of God. If this is true of every plant, of every mollusc, it is true of every man. We are formed to illustrate his praise. Disobedience, with its consequences, ratifies his just and holy laws. II. THE MORAL FEELINGS OF GOD . ( Proverbs 16:5 .)... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways please the Lord, which they can do only when they are religious, just, and charitable. He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him; to submit themselves. Experience proves that nothing succeeds like success. Where a man is prosperous and things go well with him, even ill-wishers are content to east away or to dissemble their dislike, and to live at peace with him. Thus Abimelech King of Gerar fawned upon Isaac because he saw that the Lord was with him ( Genesis... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:8
Better is a little with righteousness ( Proverbs 15:16 ; Psalms 37:16 ). "Righteousness" may mean here a holy life or just dealing; as without right , or, with injustice, in the second clause, may refer either generally wickedness, or specially to fraud and oppression ( Jeremiah 22:13 ). Says Theognis— βούλεο δ εὐσεβέων ὀλίγοις σὺν χρήμασιν οἰκεῖν , η πλουτεῖν ἀδίκως χρήματα πασάμενος . "Wish thou with scanty means pious to live, Rather than rich with... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps ( Proverbs 16:1 ). "Man proposes, God disposes" or, as the Germans say, "Der Mensch denkt, Gott lenkt" (comp. Proverbs 20:24 ). The word rendered "deviseth" implies, by its spectra, intensity of thought and care. Man meditates and prepares his plans with the utmost solicitude, hut it rests with God whether he shall carry them to completion or not, and whether, if they are to be accomplished, it be done with ease or with... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:10
A Divine sentence is in the lips of the king. קֶסֶם ( quesem ) is "divination," "soothsaying," oracular utterance. Septuagint, μαντεῖον . The king's words have, in people's minds, the certainty and importance of a Divine oracle, putting an end to all controversy or division of opinion. It seems to be a general maxim, not especially referring to Solomon or the theocratic kingdom, but rather indicating the traditional view of the absolute monarchy. The custom of deifying kings and... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 16:10-15
Divine and human authority I. THE DERIVATION OF AUTHORITY AND LAW FROM GOD . ( Proverbs 16:10 .) The true ruler is the representative of God. Royal decrees and legal statutes profess to rest, and must rest ultimately, if they are to be binding, upon the moral Law itself. Hence the reverence in old days for "the Lord's anointed," though in the person of a Charles Stuart, was the popular witness to a deep truth, which lies at the foundation of society. II. PRINCIPLES ... read more
Joseph Benson
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 16:7
Proverbs 16:7. When a man’s ways please the Lord The best way to have our enemies reconciled unto us, is for us first to be reconciled unto God; for such is the love which the Lord hath to pious and virtuous persons, that when all their designs and actions are such as he approves, he often inclines even those that were their foes to become their friends, disposing their hearts to kindness toward them. read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 16:10
A divine sentence - קסם kesem , "divination," as the margin has it. Is the meaning as follows? Though divination were applied to a righteous king's lips, to induce him to punish the innocent and spare the guilty, yet would not his lips transgress in judgment; so firmly attached is he to God, and so much is he under the Divine care and influence. Whatever judgment such a one pronounces, it may be considered as a decision from God. read more