Hitherto we have been in the porch or preface to the proverbs, here they begin. They are short but weighty sentences; most of them are distichs, two sentences in one verse, illustrating each other; but it is seldom that there is any coherence between the verses, much less any thread of discourse,…

Solomon, speaking to us as unto children, observes here how much the comfort of parents, natural, political, and ecclesiastical, depends upon the good behaviour of those under their charge, as a reason, 1.

These two verses speak to the same purport, and the latter may be the reason of the former. 1. That wealth which men get unjustly will do them no good, because God will blast it: Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, Prov. 10:2.

We are here told, 1. Who those are who, though rich, are in a fair way to become poor —those who deal with a slack hand, who are careless and remiss in their business, and never mind which end goes foremost, nor ever set their hands vigorously to their work or stick to it; those who deal with a…

Here is, 1. The just praise of those who improve their opportunities, who take pains to gather and increase what they have, both for soul and body, who provide for hereafter while provision is to be made, who gather in summer, which is gathering time.

Here is, 1. The head of the just crowned with blessings, with the blessings both of God and man. Variety of blessings, abundance of blessings, shall descend from above, and visibly abide on the head of good men, real blessings; they shall not only be spoken well of, but done well to.

Both the just and the wicked, when their days are fulfilled, must die. Between their bodies in the grave thee is no visible difference; between the souls of the one and the other, in the world of spirits, thee is a vast difference, and so there is, or ought to be, between their memories, which…

Here is, 1. The honour and happiness of the obedient. They will receive commandments; they will take it as a privilege, and really an ease to them, to be under government, which saves them the labour of deliberating and choosing for themselves; and they will take it as a favour to be told their…

We are here told, and we may depend upon it, 1. That men’s integrity will be their security: He that walks uprightly towards God and man, that is faithful to both, that designs as he ought and means as he says, walks surely; he is safe under a divine protection and easy in a holy security.

Mischief is here said to attend, 1. Politic, designing, self-disguising sinners: He that winks with the eye, as if he took no notice of you, when at the same time he is watching an opportunity to do you an ill turn, that makes signs to his accomplices when to come into assist him in executing his…

See here, 1. How industrious a good man is, by communicating his goodness, to do good with it: His mouth, the outlet of his mind, is a well of life; it is a constant spring, whence issues good discourse for the edification of others, like streams that water the ground and make it fruitful, and for…

Here is, 1. The great mischief-maker, and that is malice. Even where there is no manifest occasion of strife, yet hatred seeks occasion and so stirs it up and does the devil’s work.

Observe, 1. Wisdom and grace are the honour of good men: He that has understanding, that good understanding which those have that do the commandments, wisdom is found in his lips, that is, it is discovered to be there, and consequently that he has within a good treasure of it, and it is derived…

Observe, 1. It is the wisdom of the wise that they treasure up a stock of useful knowledge, which will be their preservation: Wisdom is therefore found in their lips , because it is laid up in their hearts, out of which store, like the good householder, they bring things new and old.

This may be taken two ways:—1. As a reason why we should be diligent in our business, that we may avoid that sinking dispiriting uneasiness which attends poverty, and may enjoy the benefit and comfort which those have that are beforehand in the world.

Solomon here confirms what his father had said , A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked. 1. Perhaps a righteous man has no more than what he works hard for; he eats only the labour of his hands, but that labour tends to life; he aims at nothing but to get an…

See here, 1. That those are in the right that do not only receive instruction, but retain it, that do not let it slip through carelessness, as most do, nor let it go to those that would rob them of it, that keep instruction safely, keep it pure and entire, keep it for their own use, that they may…

Observe here, Malice is folly and wickedness. 1. It is so when it is concealed by flattery and dissimulation: He is a fool, though he may think himself a politician, that hides hatred with lying lips, lest, if it break out, he should be ashamed before men and should lose the opportunity of…

We are here admonished concerning the government of the tongue, that necessary duty of a Christian. 1. It is good to say little, because in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, or sin doth not cease.

We are here taught how to value men, not by their wealth and preferment in the world, but by their virtue. I. Good men are good for something. Though they may be poor and low in the world, and may not have power and riches to do good with, yet, as long as they have a mouth to speak, that will make…

Worldly wealth is that which most men have their hearts very much upon, but they generally mistake both in the nature of the thing they desire and in the way by which they hope to obtain it; we are therefore told here, 1.

Here is, 1. Sin exceedingly sinful: It is as laughter to a fool to do mischief; it is as natural to him, and as pleasant, as it is to a man to laugh. Wickedness is his Isaac (that is the word here); it is his delight, his darling, and that in which he pleases himself.

It is here said, and said again, to the righteous, that it shall be well with them, and to the wicked, Woe to them; and these are set the one over against the other, for their mutual illustration. I.

Observe, 1. Those that are of a slothful disposition, that love their ease and cannot apply their minds to any business, are not fit to be employed, no, not so much as to be sent on an errand, for they will neither deliver a message with any care nor make any haste back.

Observe, 1. Religion lengthens men’s lives and crowns their hopes. What man is he that loves life? Let him fear God, and that will secure him from many things that would prejudice his life, and secure to him life enough in this world and eternal life in the other; the fear of the Lord will add days…

These two verses are to the same purport with those next before, intimating the happiness of the godly and the misery of the wicked; it is necessary that this be inculcated upon us, so loth are we to believe and consider it. 1.

Here, as before, men are judged of, and, accordingly, are justified or condemned, by their words, Matt. 12:37. 1. It is both the proof and the praise of a man’s wisdom and goodness that he speaks wisely and well. A good man, in his discourse, brings forth wisdom for the benefit of others.