Proverbs 16:15 - Exposition

In the light of the king's countenance is life ( Proverbs 15:30 ; Psalms 4:6 ). As the king's anger and the darkening of his countenance are death ( Proverbs 16:14 ), so, when his look is cheerful and bright, it sheds joy and life around, as the rain refreshes the parched ground. A cloud of the latter rain . The former rain in Palestine falls about the end of October or the beginning of November, when the seed is sown; the latter rain comes in March or April, and is absolutely necessary for the due swelling and ripening of the grain. It is accompanied, of course) with cloud, which tempers the heat, while it brings fertility and vigour. To this the king's favour is well compared. "He shall come down," says the psalmist, "like the rain upon the mown grass, as showers that water the earth" ( Psalms 72:6 ). The LXX ; reading בני ( beni ) for פני ( peni ) , translates, "In the light of life is the son of the king; and they who are acceptable to him are as a cloud of the latter rain."