Proverbs 1:1-7 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;… Solomon went through a peculiar experience of his own, and God, who in nature gives sweet fruit to men through the root-sap of a sour crab, when a new nature has been engrafted on the upper stem, did not disdain to bring forth fruits of righteousness through those parts of the king's experience that cleaved most closely to the dust. The heights of human prosperity he had reached; the paths of human learning he had trodden farther than any in his day; the pleasures of wealth, and power, and pomp he had tasted in all their variety. The man who has drained the cup of pleasure can best tell the taste of its dregs. The fatal facility with which men glide into the worship of men is a reason why some of the channels chosen for conveying the mind of God were marred by glaring deficiencies. For engraving the life-lessons of His Word, our leather uses only diamonds; but in every diamond there is a flaw, in some a greater, and in some a less; and who shall dare to dictate to the Omniscient the measure of defect that binds Him to fling the instrument as a useless thing away? Two principles cover the whole case. "All things are of God." "All things are for your sakes." 1. The universality of God's government. 2. The special use for His own people to which He turns every person and every thing. Here is a marvel. Not a line of Solomon's writings tends to palliate Solomon's sins. (William Arnot, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;WEB: The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel: |
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