Proverbs 17:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 17:22

Note, 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that the best medicine is a merry heart, not a heart addicted to vain, carnal, sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is not medicine, but madness; it is not food, but poison; what doth it? But he means a heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with gladness, and then taking the comfort of outward enjoyments and particularly that of... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doth good like a medicine ,.... Does the body good, makes it healthful and vigorous. Cheerfulness of spirit has a great influence upon the body, and much contributes to the health and welfare of it; see Ecclesiastes 9:7 ; and especially a heart full of spiritual joy, peace of conscience, flowing from the blood of Christ, joy in the Holy Ghost, a rejoicing in Christ Jesus and his righteousness, and in hope of the glory of God, much affect even the outward man. Or, "a merry... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine - Instead of גהה gehah , a medicine, it appears that the Chaldee and Syriac had read in their copies גוה gevah , the body, as they translate in this way. This makes the apposition here more complete: "A merry heart doeth good to the body; but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Nothing has such a direct tendency to ruin health and waste out life as grief, anxiety, fretfulness, bad tempers, etc. All these work death. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:6-25

Fatherhood and sonship Certainly, some of our very greatest mercies are those that come to us in our domestic relationships. I. THE JOY AND CROWN OF FATHERHOOD AND OF GRANDFATHERHOOD . Our Lord speaks of the mother forgetting her anguish "for joy that a man is born into the world" ( John 16:21 ). The joy of parentage is keen , and it is common; it may, indeed, be said to be universal. And it is pure and good; it elevates and enlarges the soul, taking thought... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:16-24

Use and neglect "There is everything in use," we say. And certainly a man's position at any time depends far less upon his bestowments and advantages than upon the use he has made of them. The wise man, in these verses, laments the fact that the price of wisdom should so often be in the hand of a man who fails to turn it to account ( Proverbs 17:16 ), and that the foolish man wastes his capacities by directing them to things at a distance instead of giving his attention to that which is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:21-25

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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:21-28

Varied experiences of good and evil in life We may divide them into the sorrowful, the joyous, and the mixed experiences. I. SAD EXPERIENCES . The sorrow of thankless children . ( Proverbs 17:21 , Proverbs 17:25 .) To name it is enough for thereto who have known it. It has its analogue in Divine places. How pathetically does the Bible speak of the grief of God over the rebellious children he has nourished and brought up! and of Christ's lamentation as of a mother over... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:22

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. So Aben Ezra, understanding the particle of comparison, which is not in the Hebrew. The ward translated "medicine" ( gehah ) occurs nowhere else, and probably means "healing" "relief." The clause is better rendered, a cheerful heart maketh a good healing (comp. Proverbs 15:13 ; Proverbs 16:25 ). Vulgate, aetatem floridam facit ; Septuagint, εὐεκτεῖν ποιεῖ , "makes one to be in good case." A cheerful, contented disposition enables a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Proverbs 17:22

The healing effects of cheerfulness I. CHEERFULNESS IS COMMENDED IN SCRIPTURE . The Bible does not put a premium on sombreness. It never suggests that there is a merit in gloom. It urges the need of repentance, calls upon men to grieve for their sins, threatens the wrath of God against impenitence, and so brings up occasions for distress of soul; it also rebukes "the laughter of fools," the empty merriment of frivolity and the riot and revelry of dissipation ( Ecclesiastes 7:6 ... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Proverbs 17:22

Proverbs 17:22. A merry heart Cheerfullness of mind, especially that which is solid, and ariseth from the testimony of a good conscience; doeth good like a medicine Even to the body; it contributes very much to the restoration or preservation of bodily health and vigour, as physicians observe and experience shows; but a broken spirit A spirit sad and dejected; drieth the bones Wasteth the marrow of the bones, and the moisture and strength of the body. read more

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