CRITICAL NOTES.—
Proverbs 10:16. Labour, i.e., “the gain,” “the reward of labour.” Fruit, “gain,” antithetical to the subject of the first clause.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH— Proverbs 10:15-16
A FALSE AND A TRUE ESTIMATE OF LIFE
I. A false estimate of life in its relation to riches. It is a mistake to look on wealth as a “strong city” in which we can be secure from the evils of life. A commander, who knows that there is behind him a fortress into which he can retire in case of need, may be brought to ruin by forming an over-estimate of its security. He may underrate the ability of the enemy to follow him thither. Strongholds have been undermined, and those who had trusted in their strength have been destroyed by that very confidence; or pestilence has broken out on account of the number who have taken refuge in the fortress, and so that which they deemed their strength has been their weakness. These events have proved that the estimate taken of their safety was a wrong one—that even the refuge itself might be a cause of destruction. So with a “rich man’s wealth.” If he looks upon it as a resource under all emergencies—if he thinks it can purchase him immunity from all ills—he is a terrible self-deceiver. Wealth cannot drive back disease; nothing can keep death from storming his stronghold; and sometimes a single day brings together such an army of adverse circumstances that the strong city goes down before it, and is never rebuilt, or the very refuge itself is the cause of moral ruin. Therefore “Let not the rich man glory in his riches” (Jeremiah 9:23).
II. A false estimate of life in relation to poverty. It is a mistake also to look on poverty as a “destruction.” If the rich man errs on the side of excessive confidence, the poor man errs on that of fearfulness. He should remember—
1. That the blessedness of life here does not consist in what a man has, but in what he is. Wealth may be a curse to existence, and so may poverty, but a good conscience, a godly character, is a continual feast. And it is quite as easy, perhaps more so, to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God in poverty as in wealth. “A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). This is the declaration of Him who created man, and who, therefore, knows his needs. The poor are the objects of His special regard. “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him? (James 2:5).
2. He should keep in mind the day of levelling and compensation. “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented” (Luke 16:25).
III. A right estimate of that which constitutes life, viz., righteous labour. (Proverbs 10:16.) The first clause of this verse suggests
(1) that there can be no true life without righteousness;
(2) that righteousness must show that it exists by honest labour;
(3) that the honest labour of a righteous man, whether of hand or brain, shall bless his existence. From the second clause we learn
(1) that godless men likewise labour for a harvest. There are as hard workers among the godless as among the good. They toil for earthly gain all the more earnestly because they have no other to possess: that which belongs to the present life is their all.
(2.) That there is no blessing in the gain of the ungodly. The gain of a sinner only tends to confirm him in his ungodliness—it “tendeth to sin.” If a tree is bad at the root the larger it grows the more bad fruit it will bear. The richer a bad man grows the worse he becomes, the greater are his facilities for sinning himself, and the more evil is his influence upon others. Sin being at the root of his actions, sin will be in the fruit. The whole subject teaches us not to make poverty and riches the standard by which to measure a man’s blessedness or misfortune. Beecher says, “We say a man is ‘made.’ ” What do we mean? That he has got the control of his lower instincts, so that they are only fuel to his higher feelings, giving force to his nature? That his affections are like vines, sending out on all sides blossoms and clustering fruits? That his tastes are so cultivated that all beautiful things speak to him, and bring him their delights? That his understanding is opened, so that he walks through every hall of knowledge and gathers its treasures? That his moral feelings are so developed and quickened that he holds sweet communion with Heaven? O, no, none of these things. He is cold and dead in heart, and mind, and soul. Only his passions are alive; but—he is worth five hundred thousand dollars!… And we say a man is “ruined.” Are his wife and children dead? O, no. Has he lost his reputation through crime? No. Is his reason gone? O, no; it is as sound as ever. Is he struck through with disease? No. He has lost his property, and he is ruined. The man ruined! When shall we learn that “a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth?”
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Proverbs 10:15. It is not a strong city, but his strong city. You see how justly the worldling is called an idolater, for he makes not God his confidence, but trusts to a thing of nought; for his riches, if they are a city, are not a strong city, but a city broken down, and without walls. How hard is it for rich men to obtain an entrance into that city that hath foundations, when it is a miracle for a man that hath riches not to trust in them.—Muffet.
The rich man stands independent, changes and adversities cannot so easily overthrow him; he is also raised above many hazards and temptations: on the contrary, the poor man is overthrown by little misfortunes, and his despairing endeavours to save himself, when they fail, ruin him completely, and perhaps make him at the same time a moral outlaw. It is quite an experienced fact which this proverb expresses, but one from which the double doctrine is easily derived:
(1) That it is not only advised, but commanded, that man make the firm establishing of his external life-position the aim of his endeavour.
(2) That one ought to treat with forbearance the humble man; and if he always sinks deeper and deeper, one ought not to judge him with unmerciful harshness, and in proud self-exaltation.—Delitzsch.
As soldiers look upon a strong city as a good place which they may retire to for safety in times of flight, so worldly men, in their distress and danger, esteem their wealth the only means of relief and succour: or, as a marching army expects supply, if need be, from a well-manned and well-victualled city, so men in their fainting fits, and under dreadful crosses, expect to be revived by their earthly cordials.—Swinnock.
The word destruction is capable of two meanings. First, there are temptations peculiar to poverty as well as to riches. Agur was aware of these when he prayed, “Give me not poverty, lest I steal and take the name of my God in vain” (chap. Proverbs 30:7-9). He who gives way to such influences of poverty ensures “destruction” as much as he who is “full and denies God, and says, Who is the Lord?” Secondly, as we found the preceding clause to refer to the state of mind—the confidence of safety inspired by his wealth in the bosom of the rich, it seems fair and natural to understand the latter clause on a similar principle. “The destruction of the poor” will then mean, that which, in their own eyes, is their destruction; that which engenders their fears and apprehensions—their constant dread of destruction. They are ever apt to contrast their circumstances with those of their wealthy neighbours, and to deplore their poverty, and fret at it as that which keeps them down, depriving them of all good, and exposing them to all evil. And, without doubt, it is the source of many and heavy sufferings, both in the way of privation and endurance. But the poor may indulge their fears, and make themselves unhappy without cause. Their forebodings may be more than groundless. If by their poverty they are exposed to some evils, they are exempted by it from others … Let the poor seek the peace, and comfort, and safety which are imparted by the Gospel; and thus, possessing the “true riches,” they will not need to “fear what man can do unto them.” The worst of all destructions will be far from them.—Wardlaw.
The “wealth of the rich,” even in this world, is their great capital. The “destruction of the poor” is the helplessness, and friendlessness, and creditlessness, and lack of instruments incident to “poverty.” In the spiritual world the distinction is entire. The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer, and both by inviolable laws. All works for good for one, and all for evil for the other. The last Proverb explained it. Wisdom, by its very nature, grows, and so does folly. All other interests vibrate: sometimes worse, and sometimes better. But Wisdom, like the God that chose it has no “shadow of turning.” If it begins in the soul it grows for ever. If it does not begin it grows more distant. There is never rest. Wealth in the spiritual world, by the very covenant, must continually heap up; and poverty, by the very necessities of justice, must increase its helplessness.—Miller.
Naturally the author is here thinking of wealth well earned by practical wisdom, and this is at the same time a means in the further effort of Wisdom; and, again, of a deserved poverty, which, while the consequence of foolish conduct, always causes one to sink deeper in folly and moral need. Compare the verse following.—Lange’s Commentary.
Surely this should humble us, that riches,—that should be our rises to raise us up to God, or glasses to see the love of God in—our corrupt nature useth them as clouds, as clogs, etc., yea, sets them up in God’s place, and saith to the fine gold, “Thou art my confidence” (Job 31:24). The destruction of the poor is their poverty. They are devoured by the richer cannibals (Psalms 14:4), as the lesser fish are by the greater. Men go over the hedge where it is lowest. “Poor” and “afflicted” are joined together (Zephaniah 3:12). So are “to want” and “to be abased” (Philippians 4:12).—Trapp.
Here he is describing what is, rather than prescribing what ought to be. The verse acknowledges and proclaims a prominent feature in the condition of the world. It is not a command from the law of God, but a fact from the history of men. In all ages and in all lands money has been a mighty power, and its relative importance increases with the advance of civilisation. Money is one of the principal instruments by which the affairs of the world are turned, and the man who holds that instrument in his grasp can make himself felt in his age and neighbourhood. It does not reach the Divine purpose, but it controls human action. It is constrained to become God’s servant, but it makes itself the master of man.—Arnot.
The rich man often goes about his Sion, or rather his Jericho, and views the walls thereof; he marketh the bulwarks, and telleth the towers of it. He looks upon his wealth, he marks his bags, he tells his moneys, and therein is his confidence; thereby he thinketh to outstand any siege or assault, and, placing his security on it, dareth to oppose his strength to any right or reason; whereas God with a blast of ram’s horns is quickly able to throw down all his might and his greatness.—Jermin.
Proverbs 10:16. The labour of the righteous tendeth to life or “serves as life.”
1. Because it is a good thing in itself.
2. Because it procures good, each stroke earning its pay.
3. Because it increases, and that on for ever, making us holier and happier, and making others holier and happier through the endless ages. It “serves” pre-eminently “as life,” therefore, literally, “is for life.” But the fruit, or “gains of the wicked” (and we must not fail to note the crescendo in the second clause, “The labour of a righteous man”—“the gains of a wicked man”; the righteous still toiling, the wicked having made his harvest,) serve to sin or “as a sinoffering.” That is, they are all demanded by justice, and are all consumed for the expiation of his sins. Pious acts are a life. Wicked gains go to swell what our great creditor seizes.—Miller.
Labour, not idleness, is the stamp of a servant of God; thus cheered by the glowing confidence, that it tendeth to life (John 6:27). “Occupy till I come”—“Do all to the glory of God” (Luke 19:13; 1 Corinthians 10:31)—this is the standard. Thus the duties even of our daily calling tend to life. God works in us, by us, with us, through us. We work in and through Him. Our labour, therefore, is His work—wrought in dependence on Him; not for life, but to life (Romans 8:13; 1 Corinthians 15:10; Philippians 2:12-13)—Bridges.
The words are fitly chosen: “labour” in honest industry is the righteous man’s ordinary way of living. “Revenue” (fruit) not gained by honest labour is frequently the wicked man’s livelihood.—Fausset.
It is not directly said, as the previous clause might lead us to expect, that the “fruit” of the wicked tendeth to “death,” but to “sin.” This, by the wise man, is considered as the same thing. It “tendeth to sin,” and consequently, to death. Thus it is said, “When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:15). Between the two there is an intimate and inseparable connection.—Wardlaw.
The righteous are laborious, as knowing that to be the end of their life. For themselves they labour, to lead their lives with comfort here, to get the life of glory hereafter. For others they labour, to supply the wants of their disconsolate life on earth, and to help them forward to the blessed life of heaven. Wherefore St. Bernard saith well, “When we read that Adam in the beginning was set in a place of pleasure to work in it, what man of sound understanding can think that his children should be set in a place of afflction for to play in it.”—Jermin.