CRITICAL NOTES.—
Proverbs 25:8. Lest thou know not, etc. As will be seen from the italics in the English version, this sentence is very elliptical. Zöckler reads, “lest (it be said to thee) what wilt thou do,” etc. Delitzsch, “That it may not be said,” etc. Miller, “Lest what thou doest, in its after consequence, be thy neighbour putting thee to shame.”
Proverbs 25:9. A secret to another. Rather “The secret of another”
Proverbs 25:11. Pictures of silver. Literally “sculpture,” or “figures” of silver. Delitzsch translates “salvers,” Zöckler “framework.” Stuart says, “The idea is that of a garment of precious stuff, on which is embroidered golden apples among picture-work of silver. Costly and precious was such a garment held to be; for, besides the ornaments upon it, the material itself was of high value.” Fitly spoken. Literally “in, or upon its time.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH. Proverbs 25:8-11
TWO WAYS OF TREATING AN ENEMY
It is undoubtedly lawful, and sometimes indispensable, that a man who has been wronged by another should seek redress from the offending person. These verses seem no refer to an injury done to character and reputation, and seeing that these are a man’s most precious possessions, he has certainly as much right to seek restitution from him who has sought to rob him of this wealth, as he has to try and capture the thief who has stolen his money or his plate, and make him give back his unlawful gain. Solomon does not condemn all interference with a neighbour who puts us “to shame,” but sets before us two opposite courses of action, either of which may be taken in such a case. He gives the consequences of both.
I. There is the way of inconsiderate passion. This is a bad way, because—
1. It may lead us to overstep the bounds of right and justice. A man under the power of anger has no ear open to the counsels of reason and prudence, and under such an influence he will very likely become as great an offender against his neighbour as his neighbour was against him. He in his turn may become a slanderer and a betrayer of secrets (Proverbs 25:9), and so lose all hold on his opponent; and even be put to shame by the very person whom he intended to bring to shame. He is like a blindfolded man who rushes hastily down a steep path without considering what will be the end of so mad an Acts 2. It is the least likely way to convince the offender of his fault. Words of angry recrimination, or deeds which savour of the spirit of revenge, will almost certainly make an enemy tenfold more of an enemy. If he disliked us before without any reason, his dislike will now have some foundation to rest upon, and the gulf of separation will be widened instead of bridged over. The end to be aimed at when a brother man has trespassed against us is clearly defined by Christ. We are to try to “gain our brother” (Matthew 18:15), that is, we are to try and win his esteem and love. This can never be done if we “go forth hastily to strive.” But—
II. There is the way of personal and wise remonstrance.
1. The complaint of our wrongs is to be made first to the person offending. Here the teaching of the wise man and the “greater than Solomon” are identical. “If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.” (Matthew 18:15.) To speak of it to a third person is to expose our neighbour unnecessarily, and, perhaps, to blacken his character far beyond his deserts. For, although we may give a plain unvarnished tale of his offence, he to whom we give it may colour it when he repeats it to another, and so what was but a molehill at the first may grow into a mountain before long. But if we go directly to the transgressor himself, we make it plain to him that we have no desire to make him suffer for his offence, and only ask him to deal with us in the same spirit of brotherly love in which we deal with him. Our willingness to cover his fault will go a long way towards persuading him to confess and forsake it.
2. We are to reason and persuade rather than to upbraid. The discourse is to take the form of a calm debate. We are to ask for the grounds of his attack upon us, and not be too proud to enter into explanations of any act that he may have misconstrued. We are to try and convince him of the harm he will do to himself if he persist in trying to injure another, and we are to seek to clothe all our arguments and entreaties in language which is the least likely to offend and most calculated to win. Such words are compared by Solomon to a beautiful work of art which is precious and admirable not only for the skill displayed in the workmanship, but for the costly nature of the material out of which it is fashioned. (See Critical Notes on Proverbs 25:11.) It may be a robe of costly material embroidered with gold and silver, or it may be a basket of wrought silver holding fruits of gold, but whatever the exact form of the production, it reveals skilful design on the part of the artist, and bears witness to his painstaking skill. A carefully framed appeal to lay before an offending brother is a work of art in a higher sphere—it calls forth all the tact and wisdom that we possess to fashion such a garment—to carve such a piece of work, but it is worth all the labour and pains that can be spent upon it, and will bring to its author the goodwill of others and the approval of his own conscience.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Proverbs 25:8. For the sake of illustration, to suppose two or three varieties of this result:—
1. The hasty man meets his supposed adversary,—some word or act of whom has just reached him. He is all full of the fuming pride of offended self-consequence; very big; very wrathful. In this spirit he makes his charge; and finds it is a mere idle unfounded rumour that has come to his ears; that there is actually nothing in it; that nothing of the kind has ever been either said or done; that there is no ground whatever for all his excitement and transport!—How foolish he looks, when his imagined enemy, against whom he has been breathing out the vehemence of passion, all collected and cool, stands wondering at his agitation,—unable to divine what has come over him!—And how is he laughed at for having stirred himself up to all this heat and hurry,—all this violence of emotion—for nothing!—
2. It turns out that in the cause between him and his neighbour, which he has so hastily taken up, he is in the wrong—that, after all his froth and bluster, truth and justice are clearly on the other side, with all the solid and satisfactory argument; while on his there is little or nothing beyond the noisy and vehement protestations of self-sufficiency, and he is quite unable to withstand the proofs against him—the verdict of all impartial persons being in favour of his opponent. In this case, he must either, after having his pride keenly mortified, cool down, and own himself in the wrong—which is the best thing he can do, but far from easy to a man of his temper; or the more he is overpowered by evidence of facts and by sound argument, the more must the sense of conscious defeat, and consequent feeling of inferiority, inflame him to rage; by which he will only render himself the more ridiculous, and give cause of more lasting mortification and shame.
3. The same things are true of a controversial dispute on any subject. Generally speaking, the hastiest and most self-confident is the most likely to fail. Such confidence very often accompanies partial information and superficial and one-sided views. The petulant, consequential disputant “goes forth hastily to strive,” in the full assurance that his arguments are such as cannot be resisted, and in the full flush of anticipated triumph—of victory before the battle. But objections meet him, of which he had never thought. Arguments are arrayed and urged on the opposite side, such as had never occurred to his own mind, and such, therefore, as he did not at all expect, and cannot refute.… He is abashed, confounded, stupified.—Wardlaw.
It is he that liveth in peace that doth enjoy himself. It is he that is at home, and findeth the comfort of what God hath bestowed upon him. He that falleth into strife goeth from his rest and contentment, goeth forth from himself, so that he is hardly himself while the strife continues.… Therefore let not strife be a thing into which thou art carried of thine own accord; but either let thine adversary drive thee into it, or else let necessity or some good reason either draw thee or force thee.—Jermin.
Proverbs 25:11. The beauty of the texture sets off the fruit with additional charms. So does a lovely medium enhance the attractiveness of truth. “The preacher should strive to find out acceptable words”—words fitly spoken—giving to each their proper meat—and that “in due season,” suited to their ages and difference of temperament. “How forcible are right words!” (Job 6:25.) Our Lord witnessed of Himself, as “gifted with the tongue of the learned, that He might know how to speak the word in season” (Isaiah 50:4)—a word upon the wheels—not forced or dragged, but rolling smoothly along, like the chariot-wheels. His discourses on the living water and the bread of life arose naturally out of the conversation, and therefore were full of arresting application. Paul powerfully charged superstition on the Athenians by an inscription on their own altar; and strengthened his reasoning by quoting from one of their own poets. (Acts 17:22-28.) To a corrupt and profligate judge he preached “righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.” (Acts 24:25.)—Bridges.
That words may deserve this character, they must be the words of truth; for falsehood and error are on no occasion fit to be spoken. And therefore Job reproves his friends for endeavouring, by false doctrine, to comfort him, and direct his exercise in the time of his distress. But words may be true and yet unfitly spoken, for although nothing is to be spoken but truth, yet truth is not always to be spoken. Doeg the Edomite was guilty of murder before he killed the priests of the Lord, by telling the enraged tyrant that David had received bread and asword from Ahimelech. Jonathan was a man of a very opposite spirit, and discovered it by the seasonable mention he made to his father of David’s exploit in slaying Goliath. By putting Saul in mind of this noble action, he disarmed for a time his angry resentments.—Lawson.