Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
Ver. 2. Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.] Unless it be in defence of thine innocence, as David, Psa 7:10 or when the concealing of thy goodness may turn to the hindrance of the truth, or to the hurt of the Church, or impairing of God's glory, as Paul. 2 Corinthians 11:1,33 ; 2Co 12:1-21 Let a man "do worthily in Ephrata," and he shall be "famous in Bethlehem"; Rth 4:11 he need not be his own trumpeter, as Jehu, the proud Pharisee, and other arrogant, vain glorious braggards. See my Common Place of Arrogance. God will take order that those that honour him be honoured of all, and that fame shall attend virtue, as the shadow doth the body. Say that wicked men will not speak well but ill of us, yet we have a testimony in their consciences, as David had in Saul's, Daniel in Darius's, &c. "Demetrius hath a good report of all good men, and of the truth itself"; 3Jn 1:12 and that is enough for him, since "not he that commendeth himself, or hath the world's applause, is approved, but he whom the Lord and his people commendeth." 2Co 10:18 Haec ego primus vidi, I see these matters first, was a vain glorious brag that Zabarel had better held in. And haec ego feci, I made these things, proves men to be no better than faeces, dregs, saith Luther, wittily. These brags are but dregs; Laus proprio sordeseit in ore; that which had been much to a man's commendation, if out of another man's mouth, sounds very slenderly out of his own, saith Pliny. a Let her "works," not her words, "praise her in the gates," Pro 31:31 as they did Ruth. "All the city of my people knows that thou art a virtuous woman." Rth 3:11 She was so, and she had the credit of it; so had the Virgin Mary, and yet she was troubled when truly praised of the angel. They shall be praised of angels in heaven, who have eschewed the praises of men on earth, and blush when but justly commended, speaking modestly and meanly of their own good parts and practices. Saint Luke saith, "Levi made a great feast." Luk 5:27-29 But when himself speaks of it, Mat 9:10 he saith only, that Christ came home and ate bread in Levi's house, to teach us the truth of this proverb, that another man's mouth should praise us, and not our own. Like as in the Olympic games, those that overcame did not put the garlands on their own heads, but stayed till others did it for them so here.
a Quod magnificum referente alio fuisset, ipso qui gesserat recensente vanescit. - Plin., Eph 8, lib. i.