Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Proverbs
Book: Proverbs
Chapter: 16
Overview:
1 The renewing
Grace of
God alone prepares the
Heart for every
good work. This teaches us that we are not sufficient of
ourselves to think or speak any thing
Wise and good. 2.
Ignorance, pride, and self-flattery render us partial
Judges
respecting our own conduct. 3.
Roll the
Burden of thy care
upon
God, and leave it with him,
By Faith and dependence
On him.
4. God makes use of the wicked to execute righteous vengeance
On each other; and he will be glorified
By their
Destruction at
last. 5. Though sinners strengthen themselves and one another,
they shall not escape
God's judgments. 6.
By the
Mercy and
Truth of
God in
Christ Jesus, the sins of believers are taken
away, and the power of
Sin is broken. 7. He that has all
hearts in his
Hand, can make a
Man's enemies to be at peace with
him. 8. A small estate, honestly come
By, will turn to better
account than a great estate ill-gotten. 9. If men make
God's
Glory their
End, and his will their rule, he will direct their
steps
By his
Spirit and
Grace. 10. Let
Kings and
Judges of the
Earth be just, and rule in the fear of
God. 11. To observe
Justice in dealings between
Man and
Man is
God's appointment.
12. The ruler that uses his power aright, will find that to be
his best security. 13.
Put those in power who know how to
speak to the purpose. 14,15. Those are fools, who, to obtain
the favour of an earthly
Prince, throw themselves out of
God's
favour. 16. There is joy and satisfaction of
Spirit, only in
getting
Wisdom. 17. A sincerely religious
Man keeps at a
distance from every appearance of evil. Happy is the
Man that
walks in
Christ, and is led
By the
Spirit of
Christ. 18. When
men defy
God's judgments, and think themselves far from them, it
is a sign they are at the door. Let us not fear the pride of
others, but fear pride in ourselves. 19.
Humility, though it
exposes to contempt in the world, is much better than
high-spiritedness, which makes
God an enemy. He that understands
God's
Word shall find good. 21. The
Man whose
Wisdom dwells in
his
Heart, will be found more truly prudent than many who
possess shining talents. 22. As waters to a thirsty land,
So
is a
Wise Man to his friends and neighbours. 23. The
Wise
Man's self-knowledge, always suggests something proper to be
spoken to others. 24. The
Word of God cures the diseases that
weaken our souls. 25. This is caution to all, to take heed of
deceiving themselves as to their souls. 26. We must labour for
the meat which endureth to
Everlasting Life, or we must perish.
27,28. Ungodly men bestow more pains to do mischief than would
be needful to do good. The whisperer separates friends: what a
hateful, but how common a character! 29,30. Some do all the
mischief they can
By force and violence, and are
Blind to the
result. 31. Old people especially should be found in the way
of religion and
Godliness. 32. To overcome our own passions,
requires more steady management, than obtaining victory over an
enemy. 33. All the disposal of
Providence concerning our
affairs, we must look upon to be the determining what we
referred to
God; and we must be reconciled to them accordingly.
Blessed are those that give themselves up to the will of
God;
for he knows what is good for them.