Proverbs 1:26-27

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 1:20-33

Solomon, having shown how dangerous it is to hearken to the temptations of Satan, here shows how dangerous it is not to hearken to the calls of God, which we shall for ever rue the neglect of. Observe, I. By whom God calls to us?by wisdom. It is wisdom that crieth without. The word is plural?wisdoms, for, as there is infinite wisdom in God, so there is the manifold wisdom of God, Eph. 3:10. God speaks to the children of men by all the kinds of wisdom, and, as in every will, so in every word,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 1:26

I also will laugh at your calamity ,.... By way of retaliation, measuring measure for measure; even as they scorned him, and delighted in their scorning, now he in his turn will "laugh" at them and their distress; which act is ascribed to the Lord by an anthropopathy; see Psalm 2:4 ; signifying that he should not at all pity them, show no compassion to them, and have no mercy upon them; but rather express a pleasure and delight in displaying the glory of his justice in their destruction:... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 1:27

When your fear cometh as desolation ,.... When such will be the calamity that will occasion this fear, that it shall be like some desolating judgment, as famine, sword, and pestilence, which lays all waste: and such was the destruction of the Jews by the Romans; it not only laid Jerusalem and the temple waste, but the whole country of Judea. These are the "desolations" said to be "determined", or "the consummation and that determined", which should be "poured upon the desolate", Daniel 9:26... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 1:27

Your destruction cometh as a whirlwind - כסופה kesuphah , as the all-prostrating blast. Sense and sound are here well expressed. Suphah here is the gust of wind. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:20-33

2. Second admonitory discourse. Address of Wisdom personified, exhibing the folly of those who wilfully reject, and the security of those who hearken to, her counsels. The sacred writer, in this section, as also in Proverbs 8:1-36 ; uses the rhetorical figure of prosopopceia, or impersonation. Wisdom is represented as speaking and as addressing the simple, scorners, and fools. The address itself is one of the noblest specimens of sacred eloquence, expressing in rapid succession the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:20-33

Warning cry of Wisdom In dramatic style, Wisdom is presentiated, personified, endued with visible and audible attributes. As contempt for religion has been animadverted upon, so now contempt for Wisdom calls for rebuke. The motto ( Proverbs 1:7 ) is still in the preacher's mind. I. THE CRY OF WISDOM IS PUBLIC AND CLEAR . In the street, "where merchants most do congregate," and in all places of general resort, the cry is heard. Hers is no esoteric doctrine; it is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:24-30

Left to their doom Broad and encouraging as are the promises of Divine grace, if we forget the darker facts of life we shall be deluded into a false security; for nothing could be more unreasonable than to suppose that the mercy of God takes no account of moral considerations. Legally our sovereign is vested with an unfettered right of pardoning every criminal, but principles of justice and public order put great restraints upon the exercise of such a right. Bald representations of prayer... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:24-33

The Divine ultimatum There is something which is fearful and appalling in these verses. We are ready to tremble as we read them. We are ready to exclaim, "How far may human perversity, and Divine retribution gel" With hushed voice, with subdued spirit, as those before whose eyes the lightnings of heaven are flashing, we consider the significance of the words. But first we see— I. THAT GOD MAKES MANY APPEALS TO THE HUMAN SOUL . He calls, and we refuse; he stretches out... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:26

I also will laugh at your calamity; or, more accurately, in the time of your calamity ; as in the Vulgate, in interitu vestro ridebo. The preposition prefixed to the substantive b ' eyd ' chem ( בְּאֵידְכֵם ) refers to the time, or state, or condition. In the time of their calamity wisdom will exult or rejoice. The LXX ; τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ἀπλείᾳ ἐπιγελάσομαι , however, favours the rendering of the Authorized Version. Calamity ( אֵיד , eyd ) is heavy... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 1:27

When your fear cometh as desolation. The imagery in this verse is borrowed from nature—from the tempest and whirlwind, which, in their impetuous fury, involve all in irretrievable ruin. The two leading ideas here in the writer's mind are calamity and fear. These—their fear, that which causes their fear; and their destruction, i.e. calamity—both representing Wisdom's, and so God's, judgment, will come on sinners as a wasting tempest and sweeping hurricane. The terror and devastation caused... read more

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