Proverbs 4:1-13

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Proverbs 4:1-13

Here we have, I. The invitation which Solomon gives to his children to come and receive instruction from him (Prov. 4:1, 2): Hear, you children, the instruction of a father. That is, 1. ?Let my own children, in the first place, receive and give good heed to those instructions which I set down for the use of others also.? Note, Magistrates and ministers, who are entrusted with the direction of larger societies, are concerned to take a more than ordinary care for the good instruction of their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:1

Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father ,.... Either of God their father, as Gersom interprets it; or rather of Solomon their father: and so he recommends his instruction from the relation he stood in to them; for, since he was their father, he would give them no bad instruction; and, since they were his children, they ought to receive it: by whom are meant, not his children in a natural sense, or the children of his body; but his disciples, such who applied to him for knowledge, and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:2

For I give you good doctrine ,.... Whose author, matter, use, and tendency, are good, and therefore should be received; so the Gospel is called, 1 Timothy 4:6 ; and no other is here meant: it is the doctrine concerning Wisdom or Christ, as the following verses show; which serves to exalt him, and makes for the good and welfare of immortal souls; and such is the doctrine of the Scriptures, of Christ and his apostles, even all the doctrines and truths of the Gospel; forsake you not my law... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:3

For I was my father's son ,.... Or, "a son to my father" F16 בן הייתי לאבי "filius fui patri meo", Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Cocceius, Schultens. ; so Solomon was to God, his heavenly Father, 2 Samuel 7:14 ; which Jarchi observes, and gives as the sense of this place: but his father David is meant, whose son he was; though he was not his only one, he had others besides him. But the sense is, that he was his darling, his beloved son, whom he loved... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:4

He taught me also, and said unto me ,.... The Targum is, "they taught me,' his father and his mother; and so the Septuagint version, "who said and taught me;' and the Arabic version, "they both taught me, and said unto me;' but in the Hebrew it is singular, and is restrained to the father. He taught him when he was very young, and also gave him instructions when he was older, and a little before his own death; see 1 Chronicles 28:8 ; he taught him by the several psalms he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:5

Get wisdom, get understanding ,.... Not only moral and political wisdom and understanding, but that which is spiritual and evangelical; Christ, and the knowledge of him; he being the only happy man that has an interest in him, and is possessed of him by faith, which is the meaning of getting him; See Gill on Proverbs 3:13 ; by which it appears, that what Solomon had before delivered, and afterwards repeats and urges, was the same his father David, that wise, great, and good man, taught... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:6

Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee ,.... That is, Wisdom, or Christ. Men may be said to forsake Christ when they forsake the assembly of his church and people, which are his other self; when they forsake his ministers, his ambassadors, and representatives; when they forsake his word and ordinances; when they drop the doctrines of the Gospel, or depart from them; when they quit the profession they have formerly made. Nominal believers and formal professors may forsake him finally... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:7

Wisdom is the principal thing ,.... Or principal, one; the principal of persons and things; the principal of persons, angels or men: Christ is superior to angels, having a more excellent name and nature than they; he is the God, the Creator, and head of them, and is above them in the human nature; he is superior to men, to the greatest of men, he is King of kings and Lord of lords, and to the best of men the saints. Are they kings? he is their King: are they priests? he is the great High... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:8

Exalt her, and she shall promote thee ,.... Christ is to be exalted in his person, by asserting his proper deity; by ascribing all divine perfections to him; by allowing him to be the author of all divine works; by giving him divine worship and homage; by owning his divine and eternal sonship, and distinct personality: he is to be exalted in all his offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, and as the only Redeemer and Saviour; by trusting in him, embracing his Gospel, and submitting to his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Proverbs 4:9

She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace ,.... This, and the following clause, explain what that honour is Christ promotes and brings his followers to here and hereafter: he gives them grace and more grace; "an increase of grace", so the Vulgate Latin version renders it; and some think James refers to this passage, Proverbs 4:6 . The grace that Christ gives is very ornamental to his people: justifying grace greatly beautifies and adorns them; it not only covers the nakedness of... read more

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