Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Proverbs
Book: Proverbs
Chapter: 17
Overview:
1 These words recommend family
Love and peace, as needful for
the comfort of human
Life. 2. The
Wise servant is more
deserving, and more likely to appear one of the family, than a
profligate son. 3.
God tries the
Heart By affliction. He thus
has often shown the
Sin remaining in the
Heart of the believer.
4. Flatterers, especially false teachers, are welcome to those
that live in
Sin. 5. Those that laugh at poverty, treat
God's
Providence and precepts with contempt. 6. It is an honour to
children to have
Wise and godly parents continued to them, even
after they are grown up and settled in the world. 7. A fool,
in
Solomon's
Proverbs, signifies a wicked
Man, whom excellent
speech does not become, because his
Conversation contradicts it.
8. Those who set their hearts upon
Money, will do any thing
for it. What influence should the
Gifts of
God have
On our
hearts! 9. The way to preserve peace is to make the best of
every thing; not to notice what has been said or done against
ourselves. 10. A gentle reproof will enter, not only into the
head, but into the
Heart of a
Wise Man. 11.
Satan, and the
messengers of
Satan, shall be let loose upon an evil
Man. 12.
Let us watch over our own passions, and avoid the company of
furious men. 13. To render evil for good is devilish. He that
does
So, brings a
Curse upon his family. 14. What danger there
is in the beginning of strife! Resist its earliest display; and
leave it off, if it were possible, before you begin. 15. It is
an
Offence to
God to acquit the guilty, or to condemn those who
are not guilty. 16.
Man's neglect of
God's favour and his own
interest is very absurd. 17.
No change of outward
circumstances should abate our
Affection for our friends or
relatives. But
No friend, except
Christ, deserves unlimited
confidence. In Him this text did receive, and still receives its
most glorious fulfilment. 18. Let not any wrong their
families. Yet
Christ's becoming
Surety for men, was a glorious
display of Divine
Wisdom; for he was able to discharge the
Bond.
19. If we would keep a clear
Conscience and a quiet mind, we
must shun all excitements to
Anger. And a
Man who affects a
style of living above his means, goes the way to ruin. 20.
There is nothing got
By ill designs. And many have paid dear for
an unbridled tongue. 21. This speaks very plainly what many
Wise and good men feel very strongly, how grievous it is to have
a foolish, wicked
Child. 22. It is great
Mercy that
God gives
us leave to be cheerful, and cause to be cheerful, if
By his
Grace he gives us hearts to be cheerful. 23. The wicked are
ready to part with their
Money, though loved, that they may not
suffer for their crimes. 24. The prudent
Man keeps the
Word of
God continually in view. But the foolish
Man cannot fix his
thoughts, nor pursue any purpose with steadiness. 25. Wicked
children despise the authority of their
Father, and the
tenderness of their mother. 26. It is very wrong to find fault
for doing what is duty. 27, 28. A
Man may show himself to be
a
Wise Man,
By the good temper of his mind, and
By the good
government of his tongue. He is careful when he does speak, to
speak to the purpose.
God knows his
Heart, and the folly that is
bound there; therefore he cannot be deceived in his
Judgment as
men may be.