John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 19:17
He that hath pity unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord ,.... A man, whose heart is full of compassion to the poor, and whose hands distribute to their necessities, from a true principle of love and charity to men, and with a view to the glory of God, and not from any selfish principle and with a end; such a man's gift to the poor is a loan to the Lord; it is not cast away upon the creature, but is a "depositum" in the hands of God, and shall be returned with advantage; and that which he... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 19:17
Here is, I. The duty of charity described. It includes two things:?1. Compassion, which is the inward principle of charity in the heart; it is to have pity on the poor. Those that have not a penny for the poor, yet may have pity for them, a charitable concern and sympathy; and, if a man give all his goods to feed the poor and have not this charity in his heart, it is nothing, 1 Cor. 13:3. We must draw out our souls to the hungry, Isa. 58:10. 2. Bounty and liberality. We must not only pity the... read more