A false balance is an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 11:1 The heinousness of injustice done under the pretence of equity Laurence Echard, A.M. The proverbs of this book are often figurative, and of a very strong and extensive meaning. The words of the text imply the odiousness, not only of false weights or balances, but likewise of all things of the like nature and consequence; of all unfair and unfaithful actions; of all unequal and injurious proceedings. There are two kinds of injustice; the one open and barefaced, the other secret and disguised, so cunningly clothed and adorned, that it appears like justice itself. The text manifests the odiousness of this latter kind. A false balance is always made use of under the plausible pretence of doing justice, though it has the contrary effect. This latter kind of injustice is more abominable than the other.(1) In its nature. This is a complication of crimes and mischiefs, the other is simple injustice. This is always vile and ungenerous.(2) In its consequences. We have far less security against this kind of unjust actors, so that the mischiefs of it are more certain and inevitable. Force can repel force, but it cannot repel treachery. God does, in a great measure, reserve cases of this nature for His own peculiar tribunal in the great and dreadful day. This kind of injustice is an "abomination" to Him; the word implies an extraordinary degree of hatred and detestation. ( Laurence Echard, A.M. ) Uprightness H. Thorne. I. UPRIGHTNESS PORTRAYED. 1. Commercial integrity (ver. 1). There is an inspection of weights and measures going on daily of which few are cognisant. ( Leviticus 19:35, 36 ). The God of heaven is a God of detail. 2. Lowliness of spirit (ver.2). Uprightness is not uppishness. 3. Integrity of purpose (ver.3). "The crooked, winding policy of ungodly men," says Scott, "involves them in increasing wickedness." 4. A right estimate of wealth (ver.4). The upright man will consider how his gains will look in the day of judgment. II. UPRIGHTNESS REWARDED. 1. The favour of the Lord (ver. 1). 2. Guidance (ver. 3). He who does right will be rightly led ( John 7:17 ; Psalm 112:4 ). 3. Deliverance (ver. 4). 4. The respect of others (ver. 10). 5. The good of others (ver. 11). ( H. Thorne. ) The false balance Dean Alford. Text taken in literal and material sense, as applying to that great world of fraud and imposition and over-reaching in which we live, and the subject is our duty as Christians in the midst of it. I. THE MANIFEST TRUTH OF THE ASSERTION OF THE TEXT, AND THE GROUNDS ON WHICH IT RESTS. God is a God of justice. Truth, pure and unspotted, is the very essence of the Divine character. Wherever there is deceit in the world, wherever injury, wherever oppression, there is God's anger and loathing accompanying it. The false balance, which is an abomination to the Lord, where do we not see it around us? From the powerful guides of public opinion, each assuming to be written in the interest of justice and truth, but each, almost without exception, warping justice and truth by false statements, false inferences, predetermined conclusions, down to the petty fraud, in measure and weight, which you will find in any chance shop you enter, certain known and avowed avoidances or disguises of truth, are every day practised, and acquiesced in as inevitable. The evil is in every class. But the mischief is not universal. But Christian men and women sin by tacit acquiescence in these wrong things. II. HOW MAY WE REST SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM, AND DISCOURAGE THE FALSE BALANCE, AND UPHOLD AND CLEAVE TO THE JUST WEIGHT? We must not begin with mere practical details. The secret of all wrong is the false balance within the heart; the real cheating begins there. Is our estimate of men and things which guides our action the real and true one, or some artificial one, that is altogether wrong, and leading us altogether wrong? Men who know what is right are sometimes mixed up with the system of fraud. Why? Because they will not let recognised religious principle hold the balance nor regulate the estimate formed of the relative importance of men and things. "I must think," such a man says, "as others think; I must do as others do." If we would get rid of the false balance without, and in our streets and markets, we must begin within ourselves. Were buyers honest, sellers would, by compulsion, be honest too. Here the fault begins. Practical suggestions: conscientiously regulate the bestowal of employment and patronage: there are certain signs by which even the dull of discernment may discern the tokens of fraud and pretension. Be not an admirer of the system of universal cheapness. ( Dean Alford. ) Deception in business R. Wardlaw. Many are pleased at the dexterity with which they practise their deceptions. The fraud is undiscovered, and being undiscovered, is unfelt by those on whom it is practised, and what is never known and never felt can be no harm. So they think. But God sees it, and He estimates the action on no such principle; nor is it the principle on which you would estimate it were you the party defrauded. You have no idea, in your own case, of admitting that what is not missed is not lost; or that the cleverness of the fraud is any palliation of it. You do not think the better of the merchant with his "balances of deceit," that the unfairness of the balance is ingeniously concealed. You do not regard it as a compensation for the property abstracted from your plundered house or warehouse, that the impression of your keys has been adroitly obtained, or the mode of entrance skilfully devised and expertly executed. You do not approve the laws of ancient Sparta which, to encourage cleverness and sleight of hand, rewarded instead of punishing the youthful thief who could steal without detection. Depend upon it, if you plume yourself on the dexterity with which you have contrived and executed a plan for cozening your neighbour, it will be no palliation with God, nor will any amount of such dexterity produce any abatement of His sentence of condemnation. It is the moral principle, or want of principle, in which the evil lies, and the very measure of thought and contrivance expended for the purpose of ensuring success in the contravention of God's law, instead of diminishing, will serve to aggravate your guilt in His sight. The "abomination" will be only the more loathsome. ( R. Wardlaw. ) When pride cometh, then cometh shame. Proverbs 11:2 Pride R. Warner. I shall first describe to you the several kinds of pride among mankind, and show you their folly and wickedness; and, secondly, point out to you the beauty and advantage of their opposite virtue, humility. I. The vice of pride PUTS ON A GREAT VARIETY OF APPEARANCES, AND IS FOUND IN EVERY RANK AND CONDITION OF HUMAN LIFE. Pride of station claims our first notice. "Man being in authority," is too apt to be "proud at heart"; to be "puffed up" with this distinction; to consider himself as a being of a higher order than the rest of his fellow sinners; and to look upon those with disdain who are lower in the scale of society than himself. But what do the Scriptures say to such a vain and foolish mortal as this? They tell him that "man will not long abide in honour, seeing he may be compared to the beast that perisheth." They tell him that "men of high degree are a lie; to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity." 2. Nor is the pride of birth less unreasonable than that of rank. Even a heathen in ancient times could see its absurdity, and say, "for as to family and ancestors, and what we have not done ourselves, we can scarcely call those things ours." 3. Of the same wicked and foolish character is pride of riches. Reason tells us that riches cannot give dignity of character, superiority of intellect, vigour of body, endowments of mind, peace of conscience, cheerfulness of heart, or any one of those advantages which form the chief blessings of life; and, therefore, are a very insufficient foundation for "pride of heart." 4. Pride of talent, and pride of learning, also ill become "man that is born of a woman." A disease, an accident, "a sudden terror," may overset the mind, and turn all our light into "utter darkness." Of the pride of beauty, in order to show its folly, it need only be said, in the language of inspiration, "surely all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field ; the grass withereth, and the flower fadeth." 5. The pride of judgment, also, which is too often the pride of the young and ignorant, is of the like foolish description, and is equally rebuked by the Holy Scriptures. It is a common and a true observation, that those who know least generally imagine that they know most, and know best. 6. But, of all kinds of pride, spiritual pride, or the conceit and boast of being holier than others, is the worst description of this bad passion: most hateful to God, and most dangerous to our souls. II. Opposite, however, as the mid-day sun to "utter darkness," is THE CHARACTER GIVEN IN CRIPTURE OF LOWLINESS OR HUMILITY: AND THE VIEW OF THE BLESSINGS WHICH ARE PROMISED UPON THOSE IN WHOM IT IS FOUND. "When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." When we consider the nature of man, fallen and far gone from original righteousness, one might well think that men should of their own accord see the propriety, the necessity, of the grace of humility in their character. Our Lord has bound meekness and poverty of spirit upon our consciences by His injunctions, and encouraged our obedience to His injunctions by assuring us that "the meek and the poor in spirit shall inherit the kingdom of heaven." He has declared to us that those who "humble themselves shall be exalted"; and finally, to give the greatest possible weight and effect to what He said, He left us, in His own practice, the most perfect example of the graces which He enjoined to His followers: for "He made Himself of no reputation," etc. ( R. Warner. ) The advent and evil of pride D. Thomas, D.D. I. THE ADVENT OF PRIDE. Pride is inordinate self-appreciation. This feeling comes to a soul; it is not born in it. Infancy and childhood are free from it. How does it come? 1. By associating only with inferiors. 2. By practically ignoring the true standards of character. When we lose sight of the eternal law of rectitude, and judge ourselves only by the imperfect standards around us, pride is likely to come. 3. By a practical disregard to the majesty of God. The conscious presence of God humbles. II. THE EVIL OF PRIDE. "Then cometh shame." The man who has formed a false and exaggerated estimate of self must be disappointed one day. Man must always find his level; he must come to realities. 1. Shame of folly. The soul bursts with a sense of its own foolish estimate. 2. Shame of guilt. Pride is a wrong state of mind, and hence shame follows it. ( D. Thomas, D.D. ) The shame of pride The haughty and overbearing conduct of Cardinal Wolsey created him many secret enemies, and it was his ostentation and love of power which caused him to lose the favour of his sovereign. Proud of his talents, his wealth, his position, his sole aim was to raise himself still higher, all his actions being directed to his own aggrandisements; and this eagerness lay at the root of his downfall, it being impossible for him to please Henry in the matter of the divorce without losing all hope of the popedom. He felt severely the shame of his first disgrace, and offered to surrender both office and wealth to avert the king's displeasure; but, being allowed to retire to his archbishopric, he again excited the envy of his political rivals by his pride and love of show, and, being arrested for high treason, the whilom leader of the State died broken-hearted on his journey to London. Pride John Taylor, LL.D. Among all the vices against which Solomon has cautioned us (and he has scarce left one untouched), there is none upon which he animadverts with more severity, or to which he more frequently recalls our attention, than the vice of pride; for which there may be many reasons assigned, but, more particularly, two seem to deserve our consideration. 1. The first is the extensiveness of the sin. Other vices tyrannise over particular ages, and triumph in particular countries. Rage is the failing of youth, and avarice of age; revenge is the predominant passion of one country, and inconstancy the charasteristic of another; but pride is the native of every country, infects every climate, and corrupts every nation. 2. The second reason may be drawn from the circumstances of the preacher. Pride was probably a crime to which Solomon himself was most violently tempted, since he was placed in every circumstance that could expose him to it. He was a king absolute and independent, and by consequence surrounded with sycophants ready to second the first motions of self-love, to comply with every proposal, and flatter every failing. But Solomon had not only the pride of royalty to suppress, but the pride of prosperity, of knowledge, and of wealth. I. THE NATURE OF PRIDE, WITH ITS ATTENDANTS AND CONSEQUENCES. Pride, simply considered, is an immoderate degree of self-esteem, or an over-value set upon a man by himself, and, like most other vices, is founded originally on an intellectual falsehood. But this definition sets this vice in the fairest light, and separates it from all its consequences, by considering man without relation to society, and independent of all outward circumstances. Pride, thus defined, is only the seed of that complicated sin against which we are cautioned in the text. In speculation pride may be considered as ending where it began, and exerting no influences beyond the bosom in which it dwells; but in real life pride will always be attended with kindred passions, and produce effects equally injurious to others, and destructive to itself. 1. He that overvalues himself will undervalue others, and he that undervalues others will oppress them. Pride has been able to harden the heart against compassion, and stop the ears against the cries of misery. It makes masters cruel and imperious, and magistrates insolent and partial. It produces contempt and injuries, and dissolves the bond of society. Nor is this species of pride more hurtful to the world than destructive to itself. The oppressor unites heaven and earth against him. 2. He that sets too high a value upon his own merits will, of course, think them ill-rewarded with his present condition. He will endeavour to exalt his fortune and his rank above others, in proportion as his deserts are superior to theirs. Once fired with these notions, he will attempt to increase his fortune and enlarge his sphere; and how few there are that prosecute such attempts with innocence, a very transient observation will sufficiently inform us. To pride, therefore, must be ascribed most of the fraud, injustice, violence, and extortion, by which wealth is frequently acquired. 3. Another concomitant of pride is envy, or the desire of debasing others. A proud man is uneasy and dissatisfied, while any of those applauses are bestowed on another, which he is desirous of himself. 4. Another consequence of immoderate self-esteem is an insatiable desire of propagating in others the favourable opinion he entertains of himself. He therefore tortures his invention for means to make himself conspicuous, and to draw the eyes of the world upon him. But for the most part it is ordered by Providence that the schemes of the ambitious are disappointed, so that "still when pride cometh, then cometh shame, but with the lowly is wisdom." II. SOME OF THE USUAL MOTIVES TO PRIDE, AND HOW LITTLE THEY CAN BE PLEADED IN EXCUSE OF IT. A superior being that should look down upon the disorder and corruption of our world, that should observe the shortness of our lives, the weakness of our bodies, the continual accidents, or injuries, to which we are subject; the violence of our passions, the irregularity of our conduct, and the transitory state of everything about us, would hardly believe there could be among us such vice as pride. Yet so it is, that however weak or wicked we may be, we fix our eyes on some other that is represented by our self-love to be weaker, or more wicked, than ourselves, and grow proud upon the comparison. Another common motive to pride is knowledge, a motive equally weak, vain, and idle, with the former. Learning indeed, imperfect as it is, may contribute to many great and noble ends, and may be called in to the assistance of religion. But how little reason have we to boast of our knowledge, when we only gaze and wonder at the surface of things? When the wisest and most arrogant philosopher knows not how a grain of corn is generated, or why a stone falls to the ground? But were our knowledge far greater than it is, let us yet remember that goodness, not knowledge, is the happiness of man! There is another more dangerous species of pride, arising from a consciousness of virtue; so watchful is the enemy of our souls, and so deceitful are our own hearts, that too often a victory over one sinful inclination exposes us to be conquered by another. This kind of pride is generally accompanied with great uncharitableness, and severe censures of others, and may obstruct the great duty of repentance. III. THE AMIABLENESS AND EXCELLENCE OF HUMILITY. To evince beyond opposition the excellence of this virtue, we may observe that the life of our Lord was one continued exercise of humility. ( John Taylor, LL.D. ) Pride leading to shame Christian Weekly. Tirmond, one of the Czar's ablest surgeons, and to whom he was much attached, having died, his widow married a young barber from Dantzic, who was somewhat more expert in gallantry than in surgery; as he became very wealthy by this marriage, he made a great figure at Moscow. Being one day sent for by the Czar, he went to court in a magnificent dress, and in one of his elegant carriages. Peter examined him, and roughly told him he was a blockhead, and immediately sailed in a troop of valets and peasants, whom he ordered him instantly to shave. The gentleman barber was under the necessity of obeying, to the great amusement of the whole court, and with the same parade in which he had arrived, he was then permitted to return. ( Christian Weekly. ) Proud and lowly G. Lawson. Pride consists in an immoderate self-esteem, and places its happiness in esteem and honour from others. No sin is more foolish than this, it springs from ignorance of God, of ourselves and other men, and by the very means which it uses for the accomplishments of its ends, ensures disappointment. In seeking glory it finds disgrace. Pride made Nebuchadnezzar a brute. It destroyed Herod with worms. It turned Lucifer into Beelzebub. By other sins, man rebels against God; by pride he usurps His crown and dignity. No wonder, then, that God looks up all those that are proud, and abaseth them. Humble men think of themselves as they ought to think. They desire that God may be honoured, even at the expense of their own honour. ( G. Lawson. ) The integrity of the upright sham guide them. Proverbs 11:3 Integrity the best guide both in religious inquiries and in moral conduct Jas. Lindsay, D.D. The policy of the world, like the world itself, is fluctuating and deceitful. Uncertain both in its objects and its means, it knows nothing of that steadfastness which religious principle communicates both to mind and conduct. The shifts and windings of those who are guided by no higher principles than those of pride and avarice would be truly ludicrous if they were not accompanied with serious mischief. Integrity, originating in the honest feelings of nature, exalted by piety, and cherished by serious reflections upon the ends of a probationary state, is our purest guide amidst all the temptations and difficulties, through all the vicissitudes and perplexities, both in thought and in action, which are continually occurring in the journey of life. By integrity is meant, steady determination to abide by the profession of important truth, however unfashionable, and to be upright in all transactions with the world, at whatever expense of temporary ease and interest. I. INTEGRITY IS THE SUREST GUIDE TO EVERY PRACTICAL PURPOSE IN OUR RELIGIOUS INQUIRIES. These inquiries have unfortunately been perplexed and mystified by the polemics of Churches and sects. Of course it is integrity, enlightened, to a certain degree, by a right education, that is meant. Go to the Bible with the sincere desire of gaining the knowledge of practical and consolatory truths, without any sectarian bias, and it is impossible that you should err in anything that might affect your practice here, or your salvation hereafter. Your integrity will guide you in all that is essential. II. INTEGRITY IS OUR BEST GUIDE IN OUR WORLDLY TRANSACTIONS, AS MEN AND AS MEMBERS OF SOCIETY. It is the great solver of all moral difficulties. Whence do these originate? They are generated by that interference of complicated interests, which embarrasses and perverts the minds of those who have no settled principle to which they can refer amidst the ever-varying plans of worldly wisdom. Integrity, enlightened by the truths, and fortified by the promises of the gospel, admits of no hesitation on account of any temporary inconvenience, to which an honest conduct may expose us. In public concerns, the surest way to outwit cunning and artifice would be to fix only upon such objects as reason can indicate and conscience may approve. Truth, in the hands of wisdom and courage, has a commanding aspect, which would confound the subtle chicanery and pitiful arts of a selfish and low-minded diplomacy. And in private transactions between man and man it holds equally true that enlightened integrity, acting with perseverance upon a settled plan, ultimately gains the very end by upright means which in the cunning and dishonest tall a thousand times for once that they succeed. Integrity makes a man rich in character, and that ensures him the best chance of gaining earthly success and wealth. ( Jas. Lindsay, D.D. ) On integrity as the guide of life Hugh Blair, D.D. A man of integrity is one who makes it his constant rule to follow the road of duty according as the Word of God and the voice of his conscience point it out to him. The upright man is guided by a fixed principle of mind. Hence you find him ever and everywhere the same. In what manner does such integrity serve as the guide of his life? To conduct ourselves in human affairs with wisdom and propriety is often a matter of no small difficulty. Amidst that variety of characters, of jarring dispositions, and of interfering interests, which is found among those with whom we have intercourse, we are frequently at a stand as to the part most prudent for us to choose. In public and in private life, the doubt started by the wise man frequently occurs. Who knoweth what is good for man in this life? In such situations as these, the principle of integrity interposes to give light and direction. The virtuous man has one oracle, to which he resorts in every dubious case. He consults his conscience. The principle of integrity will always, if we listen to it impartially, give a clear decision. 1. The guidance of integrity is the safest under which we can be placed. The road in which it leads us is, upon the whole, freest from dangers. The man of the world aims at higher things, and more rapid success, than the man of moderation and virtue. But, at the same time, he incurs greater risks and dangers. No calculation of probabilities can ensure safety to him who is acting a deceitful part. He who follows the guidance of integrity, walks in the high road, on which the light of the sun shines. The principle of integrity by no means excludes prudence in the conduct of life. It implies no improvident or thoughtless simplicity. 2. The path of integrity is the most honourable. Integrity is the foundation of all that is high in character among mankind. He who rests upon an internal principle of virtue and honour will act with a dignity and boldness of which they are incapable who are wholly guided by interest. That firmness which the consciousness of rectitude inspires gives vigour and force to his exertions on every great occasion. It adds double weight to all the abilities of which he is possessed. They who oppose him are obliged to honour him. Such a man is trusted and relied on, as well as esteemed. 3. The plan of conduct on which the man of integrity proceeds is the most comfortable, attended with the greatest satisfaction to his own mind. His reference of all his actions to Divine approbation furnishes another source of satisfaction and peace. 4. The man of integrity has in view the prospect of immortal rewards. True integrity will prove the truest wisdom both for this world and the next. ( Hugh Blair, D.D. ) Integrity a good guide Nehemiah was brave and upright; and his integrity guided him to honour and renown, and his righteousness delivered his friends and their enterprise from disaster ( Nehemiah 6:10-16 ). Haman was perverse and wicked; his ways were crooked; he conspired to take away the lives of others; and on the gallows which he had set up for Mordecai he himself was hung: and so "the transgressor was taken in his own naughtiness" ( Esther 7:10 ). The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way. Proverbs 11:5 The Divine nature of righteousness W. R. Clarke, M.A. Not unreasonably this book of Proverbs charged with unspirituality. It is not a manual of devotion. It is not a setting forth of eternal principles of truth. It is a collection of homely aphorisms applicable to the practical life of man. But these proverbs rest upon spiritual principles, and they are saved from narrowness by the way in which they explain, amplify, and qualify each other. The great pervading principle of the book is righteousness, its Divine nature, and its blessed fruits. I. THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF THIS BOOK, AND OF ALL MORAL TEACHING. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap." This by the world is — 1. Denied in practice. 2. Denied in theory. The theory is false that, live as you like, the result will be the same. It is contradicted by experience. It is inconsistent with the very being of a God. II. SPECIAL STATEMENT OF THE PRINCIPLES. 1. "The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way." Note the leading words. "Perfect," not faultless, but upright. Not consciously or intentionally reserving anything from God. "His righteousness." Not his own, but God's; yet made his own by free adoption of his will. "Its work." Not an arbitrary reward. 2. "Wicked fall by his own wickedness." Generally speaking, failure is worked for, and comes as payment. Apply to (1) Man's earthly life. (2) To man's spiritual life. ( W. R. Clarke, M.A. ) Goodness required by God R. F. Herren, D.D. The main characteristic of all heathen religions is that their gods do not demand righteousness, but certain outward and formal observances. Sacrifices must be offered to them, their vindictive temper must be propitiated, their anger averted; if the dues of the gods are paid, the stipulated quantity of corn and wine and oil, the tithes, the first-fruits, the animals for the altar, the tribute for the temple, then the Worshipper, who has thus discharged his obligations, may feel himself free to follow out his own tastes and inclinations. In the Roman religion, for example, every dealing with the gods was a strictly legal contract; the Roman general agreed with Jupiter or with Mars that if the battle should be won a temple should be built. It was not necessary that the cause should be right, or that the general should be good; the sacrifice of the wicked, though offered with an evil intent, was as valid as the sacrifice of the good. In either case the same amount of marble and stone, of silver and gold, would come to the god. In the Eastern religions not only were goodness and righteousness dissociated from the idea of the gods, but evil of the grossest kinds was definitely associated with them. The Phoenician deities, like those of the Hindoos, were actually worshipped with rites of murder and lust. Every vice had its patron god or goddess, and it was forgotten by priest and people that goodness could be the way of pleasing God, or moral evil a cause of offence to Him. Even in Israel, where the teaching of revelation was current in the proverbs of the people, the practice generally followed the heathen conceptions. All the burning protests of the inspired prophets could not avail to convince the Israelite that what God required was not sacrifice and offering, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. Again and again we find that the high places were frequented, and the ritual supported by men who were sensual, unjust, and cruel. The Sabbath Day was kept, the feasts were duly observed, the priests were handsomely maintained, and there, it was supposed, the legitimate claims of Jehovah ceased. What more could He desire? This is surely the most impressive proof that the truth which is under consideration is far from being obvious. So far from treating the truth as a truism, our Lord in all His teaching laboured to bring it out in greater clearness, and to set it in the forefront of His message to men. He painted with exquisite simplicity and clearness the right life, the conduct which God requires of us, and then likened every one who practised this life to a man who builds his house on a rock, and every one who does not practise it to a man who builds his house on the sand. He declared, in the spirit of the Book of Proverbs, that teachers were to be judged by their fruits, and that God would estimate our lives not by what we professed to do, but by what we did; and He took up the very language of the book in declaring that every man should be judged according to his works. In every word He spoke He made it plain that goodness is what God loves, and that wickedness is what He judges and destroys. In the same way every one of the apostles insists on this truth with a new earnestness. St. John more especially reiterates it, in words which sound even more like a truism than the sayings of this book: "He that doeth righteousness, is righteous even as He is righteous"; and, "If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one also that doeth righteousness is begotten of Him." ( R. F. Herren, D.D. ) The hope of unjust men perisheth. Proverbs 11:7 The terrible in human history D. Thomas, D.D. There are two terrible events in this text. I. DEATH MEETING THE WICKED MAN. "The wicked man dieth." 1. Death does not wait for reformation of character. 2. The greatest enemies of God and His universe are overcome. There is a stronger power than that of the wicked. II. HOPE LEAVING THE HUMAN SOUL. What is dearer to the soul than hope? The soul lives in and by hope. Shakespeare Says, "The miserable hath no medicine, but only hope." When the wicked man dieth, he loses this hope. Hope of liberty, of improvement, of honour, of happiness. He dieth, and carrieth nothing away. ( D. Thomas, D.D. ) The hope of the wicked G. Lawson. Men derive almost the whole of their happiness from hope. The wicked man laughs at the righteous because he lives by hope; but the wicked man himself does the same. The present situation of the wicked man never yields him the pleasure which he wishes and expects, but there is ever something in view, in which, could he but obtain it, he would find rest. If his hopes are deferred, his heart is sick; if they are accomplished he is still unsatisfied; but he comforts himself with some other hope, like a child, who thinks he sees a rainbow on the top of a neighbouring hill, and runs to take hold of it, but sees it as far removed from him as before. Thus the life of a wicked man is spent in vain wishes and toils and hopes, till death kills at once his body, his hope, and his happiness. ( G. Lawson. ) The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. Proverbs 11:8 Trouble in its relation to the righteous and the wicked D. Thomas, D.D. All men have their troubles. The relation of the good and the bed to trouble is strikingly different. I. THE RIGHTEOUS ARE GOING OUT OF TROUBLE. The troubles of the righteous arise from physical infirmities, mental difficulties, secular anxieties, moral imperfections, social dishonesties, falsehoods, end bereavements. But the fact is, that they are being delivered out of these troubles. 1. Partially, they are being delivered out of trouble now. 2. Completel

Benson Commentary Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. Proverbs 11:1 . A false balance — The use of all false weights and measures in commerce; is abomination to the Lord — Highly abominable to him, both because this wickedness is practised under a colour of justice, and because it is destructive of human society, and especially of the poor, whose patron the Lord declares himself to be: see on Leviticus 19:35 . “This rule may hold, not in commerce only, but also in our judgments, and in our whole conduct toward our neighbour. In every thing respecting him, employ the balance of equity, void of all selfish views, passions, and prejudices. Let justice and truth ever hold the scale; and always do to him what you would have done to yourself.” Proverbs 11:2 When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2-3 . When pride cometh, then cometh shame — Pride, as it is the effect of folly, so it bringeth a man to contempt and destruction, such persons being under the displeasure of God, and disliked by all men. But with the lowly is wisdom — Whereby they are kept from those foolish and wicked actions which expose men to shame. The integrity of the upright, &c. — Their sincere obedience to God’s laws; shall guide them — Shall keep them from crooked and dangerous courses, and lead them in a right and safe way. But the perverseness of transgressors — Those wicked devices by which they design and expect to secure themselves; shall destroy them — Shall be the very causes of their destruction. Proverbs 11:3 The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death. Proverbs 11:4-6 . Riches profit not in the day of wrath — In the time of God’s judgments, when he is executing vengeance upon sinners; but righteousness delivereth, &c. — See note on Proverbs 10:2 . The righteousness of the perfect shall direct, &c. — Shall bring all his designs and endeavours to a happy issue, and deliver him from many snares and dangers, Proverbs 11:6 . Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. Proverbs 11:6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness. Proverbs 11:7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth. Proverbs 11:7-8 . When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish — All his hope and felicity, which he placed wholly in earthly things, are lost and gone with him; and the hope of unjust men, &c. — This clause, according to this translation, is a mere repetition of the former: but the word ????? , here rendered unjust men, is generally translated strengths, or powers, as indeed it properly means. Divers, therefore, interpret the clause, The hope of their strengths, that is, which they place in their riches, children, friends, and other carnal props and defences, perisheth. So this is added by way of aggravation. The righteous are delivered out of trouble — When, perhaps, he hardly expected it, or even was ready to despair of it; and the wicked cometh in his stead — Is, by God’s providence, brought into the same miseries, which the wicked either designed against, or had formerly inflicted on the righteous, but which were now lately removed from them. Thus Mordecai was saved from the gallows, Daniel from the lions’ den, and Peter from the prison, and their persecutors came in their stead. Israel was delivered out of the Red sea, and the Egyptians drowned in it. Proverbs 11:8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead. Proverbs 11:9 An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. Proverbs 11:9 . A hypocrite with his mouth — By his corrupt communication; destroyeth his neighbour — Draws him into error or sin; but through knowledge — Namely, of God and of his word, which, making men wise, discovers and so prevents the frauds of deceivers; shall the just be delivered — From the infection of the evil and crafty counsel of hypocrites. Proverbs 11:10 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. Proverbs 11:10 . When it goeth well with the righteous — When righteous men are encouraged and advanced to places of trust and power; the city rejoiceth — The citizens, or subjects, of that government, rejoice, because they confidently expect justice and tranquillity, and many other benefits, by their administration of public affairs. When the wicked perish, there is shouting — A common rejoicing, partly for the just vengeance of God upon them, who had been the instruments of so much mischief; and partly for the deliverance of the people from such public grievances and burdens as had been imposed upon them. Proverbs 11:11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. Proverbs 11:11 . By the blessing of the upright — Namely, by their sincere prayers, and wise, wholesome counsels, wherewith they bless their country; the city is exalted — In dignity, power, and all kinds of prosperity; but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked — By their curses, oaths, blasphemies, and wicked, pernicious counsels, whereby they both provoke God, and mislead men to their own ruin. Proverbs 11:12 He that is void of wisdom despiseth his neighbour: but a man of understanding holdeth his peace. Proverbs 11:12-13 . He that is void of wisdom — Of knowledge, prudence, and grace; despiseth his neighbour — Which he shows by contemptuous or reproachful expressions; but a man of understanding holdeth his peace — Forbears all such expressions, and silently and patiently bears all these reproaches. It is a great weakness to speak contemptuously of any man, or to endeavour to render him ridiculous, though he may have erred, because he possibly may return to a right way of thinking and acting for the future; and it is cruel to insult over errors committed through human infirmity; therefore a prudent person says nothing to the reproach of any one. A tale- bearer — Or, He that goeth about, (see the margin,) from one place or person to another, telling tales, making it his business to scatter reports; revealeth secrets — Either his neighbour’s secret faults, or such things as were committed to his trust, with a charge of secrecy; but he that is of a faithful spirit — That hath a sincere, constant, and faithful mind, and therefore both can and will govern his tongue; concealeth the matter — Will hide those things which have been committed to his trust, or which, if known, might be injurious to others. Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter. Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is , the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellers there is safety. Proverbs 11:14 . Where no counsel is, the people fall — “Where prudent counsellors are wanting a nation goes to wreck, as certainly as a ship doth without a pilot; but a country is safe when there are many wise men to govern affairs; that if one fail, there may enough still remain; or what one or two see not, others may be able to discern.” Proverbs 11:15 He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it : and he that hateth suretiship is sure. Proverbs 11:15 . He that is surety for a stranger, &c. — “He is in great danger to be undone, who stands bound to pay the debts of another man, especially of a stranger, whose ability and honesty are unknown to him; and the way to be secure from it, is not only to avoid such engagements one’s self, but to dislike to see other men enter into them.” — Bishop Patrick. Proverbs 11:16 A gracious woman retaineth honour: and strong men retain riches. Proverbs 11:16 . A gracious woman — Hebrew, ???? ?? , a woman of grace; one endued with the saving grace of God, and who, by humility, meekness, modesty, prudence, and other virtues, renders herself acceptable and amiable to God and men; retaineth honour — Holdeth fast her honour, or good reputation, with no less care and resolution than strong men do riches, as it follows. Proverbs 11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. Proverbs 11:17 . The merciful man — Who is compassionate toward persons in distress, bountiful to such as are in want, and kind to all; doth good to his own soul — That is, to himself, because his mercy and liberality shall turn to his own infinite advantage, both in this life and the next. But he that is cruel — That is, hard-hearted, and uncharitable to others; troubleth his own flesh — Either, 1st, His own children and kindred, for whose sakes he is thus covetous and uncharitable, in order that he may lay up for them; but, as these words imply, they shall have nothing but disappointment, trouble, and vexation with what they receive. Or, 2d, Himself, denominated here from his flesh, or body, as in the former clause, from his soul; perhaps to intimate, that the mischievous effects of his covetousness shall not only fall upon his soul, which he despises, but upon his flesh, or outward man, which is the only thing he fears or regards. Proverbs 11:18 The wicked worketh a deceitful work: but to him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure reward. Proverbs 11:18-19 . The wicked worketh a deceitful work — A work which will deceive his expectation of that good for which he works. But to him that soweth righteousness — That worketh righteousness with constancy, diligence, and hope of a recompense, resembling the labour and hope of those who sow in seed-time; shall be a sure reward — For, he that sows to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting; so he that pursueth evil — That lives in known sin, that sows to the flesh; pursueth it to his own death — Shall of the flesh reap corruption. Proverbs 11:19 As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death. Proverbs 11:20 They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight. Proverbs 11:20-21 . They that are of a froward heart &c. — They are odious to God, who study to compass their end by wicked means; but they whose exact observance of the rules of righteousness, in the whole course of their lives, testifies the integrity of their hearts, are highly in his favour and love. Though hand join in hand — Though the wicked be fortified against God’s judgments by a numerous issue, and kindred, and friends, and by mutual strong combinations; they shall not be unpunished — They shall not be able, either totally to prevent God’s judgments, or to hinder them from coming in their days. They shall be punished in their own persons as well as in their posterity. But the seed of the righteous — Who follow the steps of their ancestors’ righteousness, though they may fall into trouble, yet in due time shall be delivered — Namely, without any such auxiliaries, by God’s special providence. Though justice may come slowly to punish the wicked, and mercy to save the righteous, yet both will come surely. Proverbs 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. Proverbs 11:22 As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. Proverbs 11:22 . As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout — Which would not adorn the swine, but only be disparaged itself; so is a fair woman without discretion — Who disgraceth the beauty of her body by a foolish and filthy mind. There seems to be an allusion in these words to a custom prevalent in the East, of wearing jewels upon their noses: see on Job 42:11 . The meaning evidently is, “As a jewel of gold would be ill placed in the snout of a swine, which is always raking in the mire; so is beauty ill bestowed on a woman, whose mind, having lost all relish of virtue, carries her from her husband to wallow in filthy lusts and adulterous pleasures.” See Bishop Patrick. “Of beauty vain, of virtue void, What art thou in the sight of God? A slave to every base desire, A creature wallowing in the mire. Go, gaudy pageant of a day, Thy folly with thy face display: Set all thy charms and graces out, And show — the jewel in thy snout.” C. WESLEY. Proverbs 11:23 The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath. Proverbs 11:23 . The desire of the righteous is only good — “The righteous desire nothing, but that it may be well with all men; but the wicked wish for trouble and disturbance to all others but themselves, that they may execute their malice and wrath upon those whom they hate.” — Bishop Patrick. Or, rather, the meaning is, the desires and expectations of the righteous shall end in their good and happiness, but the desires and expectations of the wicked shall be disappointed, and end in the wrath of God. Proverbs 11:24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Proverbs 11:24-25 . There is that scattereth — That giveth liberally of his goods to the poor; for so the word ??? , here used, signifies, Psalm 112:9 ; and yet increaseth — Through God’s secret blessing on his estate; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet — Hebrew, ????? , than what is right, or just, that is, what, by the law of God, and the rules of general justice, he is obliged to give: of which, see on Proverbs 3:27 . But it tendeth to poverty — By God’s providence secretly blasting his property, either in his own or his children’s hands: as it frequently happens to covetous persons. The liberal soul — Hebrew, the soul of blessing, the man who is a blessing to others; who prays for the sick and needy, and provides for them; that scatters blessings with gracious lips and generous hands, the word blessing being often used for a gift; shall be made fat — Shall be enriched both with temporal and spiritual blessings. And he that watereth, &c. — Possibly this is a metaphor taken from a fountain, which, when it pours forth its waters, is instantly filled again; whereas, if it be stopped, it grows empty, the water seeking another course. Some render the last clause, ??? ???? , he shall be a rain, that is, he shall receive such liberal supplies from God, that he shall be able to pour forth showers of good things upon others. Proverbs 11:25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:26 He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it . Proverbs 11:26 . He that withholdeth corn — In a time of scarcity, when others need and desire it; the people shall curse him — He shall fall into the popular hatred, and be loaded with many curses; but blessing — Namely, the blessing of God, which the people shall earnestly ask for him; shall be upon the head of him that selleth it — Upon reasonable terms. “The truth of this,” says Dr. Dodd, “is experienced in all times of scarcity. They who have the hardness of heart to withhold their corn at such seasons are accursed of God and men. The justice of God fails not to display itself upon those who are insensible to the miseries of the public, and who are not afraid to bring upon themselves the hatred and curses of the people:” see Amos 8:5-7 , and Calmet. Proverbs 11:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. Proverbs 11:27-28 . He that diligently seeketh good — To do good to all men, as he hath opportunity; which is opposed to a man’s contenting himself with lazy desires, or cold and careless endeavours; procureth favour — With God and men; but he that seeketh mischief — To do any mischief or injury to others; it shall come unto him — It shall be requited, either by men’s malice and revenge, or by God’s just judgment. He that trusteth in his riches — As his protection, or portion and felicity; shall fall — As a withered leaf; but the righteous — Who make God alone, and not riches, the ground of their confidence, and source of their happiness; shall flourish as a branch — Namely, a green and fruitful branch. Proverbs 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. Proverbs 11:29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. Proverbs 11:29 . He that troubleth his own house — He who brings trouble upon himself and children; either, 1st, By carelessness, sloth, improvidence, prodigality, or any wickedness, whereby he consumes his estate: or, 2d, By covetous desires, and restless endeavours to heap up riches, whereby he greatly harasses and distresses both himself and his family with excessive cares and labours; shall inherit the wind — Shall be as unable to keep and enjoy what he gets, as a man is to hold the wind in his fist, or to feed and satisfy himself with it: he shall be brought to poverty. And the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart — A person so destitute of prudence or industry, shall, through his extreme necessity, be obliged to work hard for his living, and to become a servant to such as are more diligent in pursuing, and more discreet in managing their worldly affairs. Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30 . The fruit of the righteous — Which he produceth; namely, his piety and charity, his instructions, reproofs, exhortations, and prayers; his interest in heaven, and his influence on earth, are a tree of life — That is, like the fruit of that tree, precious and useful, contributing to the support and increase of the spiritual life in many, and nourishing them up to eternal life. And he that winneth souls — Hebrew, ??? ?????? , he that taketh, or catcheth souls, as a fowler doth birds, or a fisherman fishes; that makes it his design and business, and uses all his skill and diligence to gain souls to God, and to pluck them out of the snare of the devil; is wise — Showeth himself to be a truly wise and good man. Or, the clause may, with equal propriety, be rendered, and he that is wise (the same with the righteous in the former branch) winneth souls, brings them to repentance, faith, and holiness, to God and heaven. All that are truly wise, or righteous, endeavour to do this, and their endeavours, through the divine blessing, are more or less successful. Proverbs 11:31 Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner. Proverbs 11:31 . Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed — That is, chastised, or punished for his sins; which the next clause shows to be Solomon’s meaning here; in the earth — Whereby he intimates, that all the righteous man’s sufferings are confined to this world, which is an unspeakable felicity; much more the wicked and the sinner — They shall be punished much more certainly and severely, either in this life, or in the life to come; or rather, in both. Compare this verse with 1 Peter 4:18 , which is a good comment upon it. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight. CHAPTER 12 GOODNESS "The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them." Proverbs 11:6 "An unjust man is the abomination of the righteous, and he who goes right in his way is the abomination of the wicked."- Proverbs 29:27 THE book of Proverbs abounds with sayings which have the sound of truisms, sayings which repeat, with innumerable variations and shades of coloring, that wickedness is an evil, hateful to God and to men, and that righteousness is a blessing not only to the righteous themselves, but to all with whom they are connected. We are disposed to say, surely no reasonable person can question such an obvious truth; but on reflection we remember that the truth was not perceived by the great religions of antiquity, is not recognized now by the vast majority of the human race, and even where it is theoretically admitted without question is too frequently forgotten in the hurry and the pressure of practical life. There is good reason therefore why the truism, as we are inclined to call it, should be thrown into the form of maxims which will find a hold in the memory, and readily occur to the mind on occasions of trial And as we pass in review what Proverbial Religion has to say upon the subject, we shall perhaps be surprised to find how imperfectly we have apprehended the supreme importance of goodness, and how insidiously teachings, which were originally meant to enforce it, have usurped its place and treated it with contumely. It will begin to dawn upon us that the truth is a truism, not because it is carried out in practice, but only because no one has the hardihood to question it; and perhaps we shall receive some impulse towards transforming the conviction which we cannot dispute into a mode of conduct which we cannot decline. To begin with, our book is most unflinching in its assertions that, notwithstanding all appearances to the contrary, wickedness is a mistake, a source of perpetual weakness and insecurity, always in the long run producing ruin and death; while righteousness is in itself a perpetual blessing, and is weighted with beautiful and unexpected fruits. The very reiteration becomes most impressive. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness; but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. { Proverbs 10:28 } The righteous shall never be removed, but the wicked shall not dwell in the land. { Proverbs 10:30 } The house of the wicked shall be overthrown, but the tent of the upright shall flourish. The wicked earneth deceitful wages, but he that soweth righteousness hath a sure reward. { Proverbs 11:18 } A man shall not be established by wickedness, while the root of the righteous shall never be moved. { Proverbs 13:3 } The wicked really falls by his own wickedness, and is swept away by his own violence. { Proverbs 11:5 ; Proverbs 6:2 , Proverbs 1:7 } He sows iniquity and reaps calamity. { Proverbs 22:8 } His crooked way, his malignant thoughts, the hatred against his neighbor, the guile in his heart, and the flood of evil things which comes out of his lips, have one issue-destruction. { Proverbs 21:7-8 ; Proverbs 21:10 ; Proverbs 21:15 , Proverbs 26:24-26 , Proverbs 15:28 } When he comes to die, his expectation perishes, all the hope of iniquity ends in disappointment. { Proverbs 11:7 } His lamp goes out not to be relit. { Proverbs 13:9 , Proverbs 24:20 } Meanwhile, the light of the righteous man rejoices, because he attains unto life as surely as the wicked works towards death. { Proverbs 11:19 } It is true that the appearance of things is different. Hand joins in hand to promote evil. { Proverbs 11:21 } Men follow out what seems right in their own hearts, evil as they are. { Proverbs 14:12 , Proverbs 16:5 ; Proverbs 25:1-28 , Proverbs 21:2 } Success seems to attend them, and one is tempted to envy the sinners, and to fret at their way. { Proverbs 23:17 ; Proverbs 18:1-24 , Proverbs 24:1 ; Proverbs 24:19 } But the envy is misplaced; the evil man does not go unpunished; the wicked are overthrown and are not. { Proverbs 12:7 } The way which seemed right in a man’s eyes proves to be the way of death. { Proverbs 14:12 , Proverbs 16:25 } A righteous man falleth seven times and riseth up again; but the wicked are overthrown by calamity, { Proverbs 24:15-16 } and the righteous are obliged to look upon their fall. { Proverbs 29:16 } On the other hand, goodness is its own continual reward. While treacherous men are destroyed by their perverseness, the upright are guided by their own integrity. { Proverbs 11:3 } While the sinner is overthrown by his wickedness, righteousness guardeth him that is upright in the way. If the righteous gets into trouble he is delivered, while the wicked falls into his place: there is a kind of substitution; a ransom is paid to enable the righteous to escape, and the ransom is the person of the wicked. { Proverbs 21:18 } Not only does the righteous come out of trouble, { Proverbs 12:13 } but, strictly speaking, no mischief really happens to him; it is only the wicked that is filled with evil. { Proverbs 12:21 } The righteous eats to the satisfying of his own soul, but the belly of the wicked shall want. { Proverbs 13:25 } The good man walks on a highway and so preserves his soul. { Proverbs 16:17 , Proverbs 19:16 } If Mercy and truth shine upon him because he devises good. { Proverbs 14:22 } He only followed after righteousness and mercy, but he found life, righteousness, and honor. { Proverbs 21:21 } His heart is flooded with joy, he actually sings as he journeys on. He seems like a tree in the green leaf, a tree of life, the fruits of which cannot fail to be attractive; so that he unconsciously wins favor. { Proverbs 11:27 ; Proverbs 11:30 } The fruit does not fail, because the root is alive. { Proverbs 12:12 } And if in actual life this blessedness of the good man does not appear, if by reason of the evil in the world the righteous seem to be punished, and the noble to be smitten, that only creates a conviction that the fruit will grow in another life; for when we have closely observed the inseparable connection between goodness and blessedness, we cannot avoid the conviction that "the righteous hath hope in his death." { Proverbs 14:32 } Yes, practical goodness is the source of perpetual blessing, and it cannot be altogether hidden. Even a child maketh himself known by his doings, whether his work be pure and right. { Proverbs 20:11 } To the good we must assign the supremacy; the evil must bow before them and wait at their gates. { Proverbs 14:19 } And it is easy to understand why it appears so incongruous-so abnormal, like a troubled fountain and a corrupted spring, when the righteous give way to the wicked. { Proverbs 25:26 } Nor is the blessing of goodness at all limited to the good man himself. It falls on his children too. A just man that walketh in his integrity, blessed are his children after him. It reaches even to the third generation. A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children. { Proverbs 13:22 } The righteous is a guide to his neighbor also. { Proverbs 12:26 } He is a joy to his sovereign; he that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend. His character and his well-being are a matter of public, even of national concern, for there is something winning in him; he acts as a saving influence upon those who are around him. { Proverbs 11:31 } Therefore, when the righteous increase the people rejoice, { Proverbs 29:2 } when they triumph there is great glory. { Proverbs 28:12 } When it goeth well with the righteous the city rejoiceth, just as when the wicked perish there is shouting. By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, just as it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked. { Proverbs 11:10-11 } Yes, righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to the whole people. { Proverbs 14:34 } It is the grand public interest to see the wicked perish in order that the righteous may increase { Proverbs 28:28 } for the way of the wicked causes other people to err. { Proverbs 12:26 } His lips are like a scorching fire; { Proverbs 16:27 } his presence brings a general atmosphere of contempt, ignominy, and shame. { Proverbs 18:3 } When the wicked rise men hide themselves, { Proverbs 28:28 } when they bear rule the people sigh. { Proverbs 29:2 } Well may the national feeling be severe on all those who encourage the wicked in any way. He that saith unto the wicked, Thou art righteous, peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him; but to them that rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them. { Proverbs 24:24-25 } It is a sure sign that one is forsaking the law when one ceases to contend with the wicked and begins to praise them. { Proverbs 28:4 } Blessing to himself, blessing to his children, his neighbors, his country, is the beautiful reward of the good man; ruin to himself, a spreading contagion of evil to others, and general execration, is the lot of the wicked. Well may the former be bold as a lion, and well may the latter flee when no man pursues, for conscience makes cowards of us all. { Proverbs 28:1 } But at present we have not touched on the chief blessedness of the good, and the chief curse of the evil, on that which is really the spring and fountain-head of all. It is the great fact that God is with the righteous and against the wicked, that He judges men according to their integrity or perverseness, and accepts them or rejects them simply upon that principle. By looking at this lofty truth we get all our conceptions on the subject cleared. The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord; such as are perfect in their way are His delight. { Proverbs 11:20 } A good man shall obtain favor of the Lord, but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. { Proverbs 12:2 } Evil devices are an abomination to the Lord, { Proverbs 15:26 } and so is the wicked, but He loveth the righteous. { Proverbs 15:9 } To justify the wicked or to condemn the righteous is equally abominable to Him. { Proverbs 17:15 ; Proverbs 26:1-28 , Proverbs 18:5 } He considers the house of the wicked, how the wicked are overthrown to their ruin. He overthrows the words of the treacherous man, while His eyes preserve him that hath knowledge. { Proverbs 22:12 } He weighs the heart and keeps the soul and renders to every man according to his work. { Proverbs 24:12 } Thus his way is a stronghold to the upright, but a destruction to the workers of iniquity. { Proverbs 10:29 } He does not regard prayer so much as righteousness; he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. { Proverbs 28:9 } Sacrifice goes for nothing in His sight if the life is not holy. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. { Proverbs 21:3 } The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination: how much more when he bringeth it with a wicked mind? { Proverbs 21:27 } Yes, it is an abomination to the Lord, just as the prayer of the upright is His delight. The Lord is far from the wicked, but He heareth the prayer of the righteous. { Proverbs 15:8 ; Proverbs 15:29 } When the foolish sinner offers a sin-offering instead of relinquishing his sin, the very offering mocks him, for it is only the righteous who find favor with the Lord. It is this solemn truth, the truth of God’s own way of regarding goodness and wickedness, which makes earnestness on the subject essential. If goodness were only pleasing to man, if sin were only an offence against creatures like ourselves, ordinary prudence would require us to be good and to avoid evil, but higher sanction would be wanting. When, however, the matter is taken up into the Divine presence, and we begin to understand that the Supreme Ruler of all things loves righteousness and hates iniquity, visits the one with favor and the other with reprobation, quite a new sanction is introduced. The wicked man, who makes light of evil, to whom it is as a sport, appears to be nothing short of an absolute fool. { Proverbs 10:23 } In God’s presence it is not difficult to perceive that goodness is wisdom, the only wisdom, the perfect wisdom. But now it may occur to some of us that it is surely nothing very wonderful to lay this stress upon the close connection between goodness and God-pleasing. Is it not, we are inclined to say, the most obvious and unquestioned of facts that God requires goodness at our hands, and is angry with the wicked every day? It is not very wonderful to us, because Revelation has made it familiar, but none the less it is a truth of Revelation, and if we were to ask in what the Inspiration of this book consists, no simpler and truer answer could be given than that it teaches, as we have just seen, the alliance of God with righteousness and the abhorrence in which He holds wickedness. Yes, a truism, but it was a discovery which the world was very slow to make, and it is still a principle on which the world is very unwilling to act. The main characteristic of all heathen religions is that their gods do not demand righteousness, but certain outward and formal observances; sacrifices must be offered to them, their vindictive temper must be propitiated, their anger averted; if the dues of the gods are paid, the stipulated quantity of corn and wine and oil, the tithes, the firstfruits, the animals for the altar, the tribute for the temple, then the worshipper who has thus discharged his obligations may feel himself free to follow out his own tastes and inclinations. In the Roman religion, for example, every dealing with the gods was a strictly legal contract; the Roman general agreed with Jupiter or with Mars that if the battle should be won a temple should be built. It was not necessary that the cause should be right, or that the general should be good; the sacrifice of the wicked, though offered with an evil intent, was as valid as the sacrifice of the good. In either case the same amount of marble and stone, of silver and gold, would come to the god. In the Eastern religions not only were goodness and righteousness dissociated from the idea of the gods, but evil of the grossest kinds was definitely associated with them. The Phoenician deities, like those of the Hindoos, were actually worshipped with rites of murder and lust. Every vice had its patron god or goddess, and it was forgotten by priest and people that goodness could be the way of pleasing God, or moral evil a cause of offense to Him. Even in Israel, where the teaching of Revelation was current in the proverbs of the people, the practice generally followed the heathen conceptions. All the burning protests of the inspired prophets could not avail to convince the Israelite that what God required was not sacrifice and offering, but to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. Again and again we find that the high places were frequented and the ritual supported by men who were sensual, unjust, and cruel. The Sabbath Day was kept, the feasts were duly observed, the priests were handsomely maintained, and there, it was supposed, the legitimate claims of Jehovah ceased. What more could He desire? This is surely the most impressive proof that the Truth which is under consideration is far from being obvious. Israel himself, the chosen channel for communicating this truth to the world, was so slow to understand and to grasp it, that his religious observances were constantly degenerating into lifeless ceremonies devoid of all moral significance, and his religious teachers were mainly occupied in denouncing his conduct as wholly inconsistent with the truth. So far from treating the truth as a truism, our Lord in all His teaching labored to bring it out in greater clearness, and to set it in the forefront of His message to men. He made it the very keynote of the Gospel that not everyone who says, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of His Father in heaven. He painted with exquisite simplicity and clearness the right life, the conduct which God requires of us, and then likened everyone who practiced this life to a man who builds his house on a rock, and everyone who does not practice it to a man who builds his house on the sand. He declared, in the spirit of all that we have just read from the book of Proverbs, that teachers were to be judged by their fruits, and that God would estimate our lives not by what we professed to do, but by what we did; and He took up the very language of the book in declaring that every man should be judged according to his. { Matthew 16:27 } In every word He spoke He made it plain that goodness is what God loves, and that wickedness is what He judges and destroys. In the same way every one of the Apostles insists on this truth with a new earnestness. St. John more especially reiterates it, in words which sound even more like a truism than the sayings of this book: "He that doeth righteousness is righteous even as He is righteous"; and, "If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that everyone also that doeth righteousness is begotten of Him." { 1 John 3:7 ; 1 John 2:29 } The Gospel itself is accompanied by a new and more earnest assertion of this cardinal truth, that God loves goodness, and that He judges men according to their works. And even now, after many centuries of Christian faith, and notwithstanding all the teachings of the Bible and the witness of the Spirit, it is very difficult for many of us to understand that religion is goodness, and religion without goodness is impiety of the worst kind. It is supposed by some, in face of all the accumulated truth and wisdom of the ages which have passed since this book was written, that God’s last and highest message is a dispensation from practical righteousness-that the Gospel of Grace means God’s willingness to accept men because they believe, apart from the actual goodness to which all faith is calculated to lead; as if the Gospel were an announcement that God had entirely changed His nature, and that all the best and noblest teachings of His Spirit in the past were set aside by His final revelation. Behind some figment or other, some perverted notion of imputed righteousness, men try to hide their guilty countenance, and to persuade themselves that now, in virtue of the Cross, they can see God without holiness, without purity of heart. Heaven has been treated as a place where men can enter who work abomination and make a lie; and in order to secure a full acceptance for our dogma we try to depreciate goodness as if it were a thing of little worth, and even come to look with some suspicion upon those who are only good-only moral, I think we call it-and do not hold our own views of speculative truth. Meanwhile religious teachers "tell the wicked they are righteous," and earn the curse of the nation, because they thereby enable men to be hard and cruel and unjust and selfish and proud and contemptuous, and yet to esteem themselves as justified by faith. Others "justify the wicked," accepting a verbal profession in place of a virtuous practice; and that, as we have seen, is abominable to the Lord. Justification by faith loses all its meaning and all its value unless it is fully admitted that to be just is the great end and aim of religion. Salvation becomes a delusion unless it is perceived that it means righteousness. Heaven, and the saints’ everlasting rest, become worthless and misleading ideas unless we recognize that it is the abode of goodness, and that saints are not, as we sometimes seem to imply, bad people regarded as holy by a legal fiction, but people who are made good and are actually holy. Strong as the language of our book is upon the subject, it is not possible to bring out in mere proverbial sayings the eternal necessity of this great truth. Goodness and blessedness are actually identical, the reverse and the obverse sides of the same coin. If a man is made good life is made blessed; but if he is made blessed to all appearance, and not good, the blessedness proves to be an illusion. It could not possibly avail to be justified by faith, unless we were made just by faith; a sore body is not healed by covering it up, a dead man is not quickened by a smiling mask. There have been many people who counted themselves the elect, and made no question that they were saved, though they remained all the time inwardly wicked; they were miserable, sour, discontented, censorious, a burden to themselves, an eyesore to others; they were persuaded that they would be happy in heaven, and they supposed that their constant wretchedness was due to their being pilgrims in a strange land: but the fact was they would be more wretched still in heaven, for nowhere is evil such a curse as in a place where good prevails; their misery arose from their own wicked hearts, and in the next world, their hearts still being wicked, their misery must continue and increase. May God grant us a clear vision in this matter, that we may see the due relation of things! Goodness is the principal thing for by it faith itself and all religion exists. God is goodness-man is evil; what God means by saving us is to make us good like Himself. That we must be saved by faith means that we must be made good by faith, not that we must take faith in place of goodness. That righteousness is imputed to us by the goodness of God means that the goodness of Christ is reckoned as ours for the purpose of making us good, not in order to spare us the necessity of being good. And in this way, and this only, we must estimate one another. What a man believes in his heart we can never fully know; but whether he is good or not is a matter plain as the day. It is easy to bandy words of reproach, to call men unbelievers, skeptics, atheists; but there is only one wise way of speaking and thinking. If we see goodness, let us thank God, for there, be sure, His Spirit is; if we see the lovely graces which shine in our Lord Jesus Christ gleaming, however fitfully, in our fellow-men, let us recognize Christ there. And where we see wickedness, let no consideration of outward Christian profession or orthodoxy of belief restrain us from fully recognizing that it is evil, or from courageously contending against it: The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.