The purposes of the heart are of man, but the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.
Proverbs 16 is full of sayings about the LORD's hand over human life, and this first line sets the tone. A man plans inside his heart, so how much of what we arrange is really ours, and where does God step in?
The verse splits a single moment in two. One writer counts how often this chapter names God, and reads the second half of the verse as the deciding one.
The name Jehovah (LORD) appears eleven times in this chapter of Proverbs. The Lord has the final word. The preparations (or plans) of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue comes from the LORD. It is the same thought as in our English proverb — "Man proposes — God disposes."
These writers quote an older translation, which reads "preparations of the heart" where the ESV reads "plans." Another writer traces the outcome to God's Word.
"The preparations of the heart belong to man" — that is, a man's heart works out what he wants. "But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord" (v. 1). The eventual outcome depends on what the Lord decrees by His Word.
Our planning keeps breaking down. One writer points to the reason: only God sees the end from the beginning.
We know too well how quickly the heart plans this way or that. And we know how it fails, again and again, to meet the difficulty. Happy is the one who waits on Him who sees the end from the beginning, and is pleased to guide rightly when the need arises. Then one can speak the right words in peace, and humbly; but the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.
Commentators differ over how much of the verse belongs to man. Some read the first half as the human side. Another writer takes both halves as God's work. He applies that to anyone who stands up to preach.
It is not your sermon in your head, or notes in your book, that will enable you to preach, unless God opens your mouth. … Not only the preparation of the heart, but the answer of the tongue, both are from the Lord (Prov. 16:1). God keeps the key of the mouth as well as of the heart; not a word can be uttered until God opens the door of the lips to let it out. He opened the mouth of the donkey, and shut the mouth of that wicked prophet, its master (Num. 22:28-31).
One writer watches this at work in the Gospel scene where Jesus sends two disciples to fetch a colt.
It is above all a scene under the governing hand of God. He meant to control the feelings of those who saw the colt taken, and He did. In the same way, He later directed the deeds and shouts of the crowd along the way. "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord."
Another writer applies the same verse to how a person comes to faith in the first place.
The whole thing is from Him. He prepares the heart; He convicts of sin; He leads to faith in Christ, and then He gives the answer of the tongue. All else is from God. If He did not prepare our hearts we would not have believed, would not have come to Christ.
One writer points to the answer this leaves us with, and to the picture inside the word "commit".
What a comfort! It is He who tells us to commit our works to Himself (literally, to roll them onto Him), "and your thoughts (not merely your works) shall be established"! His goodness answers to our trusting Him with what is outward, and graciously steadies our "thoughts," which are so apt to waver and fade away. How slow even His own people are to learn the loving interest He takes in those who trust Him!
- Plan — The heart works out what it wants. That part belongs to man.
- Yield — The result rests elsewhere: the outcome depends on what the Lord decides, so "man proposes, God disposes."
- Depend — Our planning keeps failing, because we cannot see ahead. The one who waits on God speaks the right word in peace, and humbly.
- Speak — God holds the key of the mouth as well as of the heart. No preacher's notes are enough unless He opens the lips.
- Roll — Roll your works onto the Lord. He then steadies not just the work, but the wavering thoughts behind it.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Jehovah weigheth the spirits.
Proverbs sets two verdicts side by side: the one we pass on ourselves, and the one God passes on the heart behind our actions. Commentators read this as a warning about self-judgment, and as a pointer to the only scales that weigh correctly.
God's name appears again and again in this chapter. One writer counts them, and reads "weighs" as covering more than actions:
The name Jehovah (LORD) appears eleven times in this chapter of Proverbs. … Man loves to justify himself, his ways are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weighs the spirits; He is the judge of ways and motives.
So the first half of the verse records an opinion, not a fact — and one that is often wrong:
A man may believe that his ways and actions are pure. But that is only his own opinion, and it is often far from the truth, for the Lord weighs the spirits (v. 2). We may find some people "lighter than vanity." Their spirit takes no time to consider the real worth of their ways.
God does not weigh the outward record only. He weighs what a person is inside, and Scripture returns to this again and again:
In God's sight, everyone is what his spirit is. This does not leave out visible acts. God's word will not let us pass over this truth or push it into the background. "God is the God of the spirits of all flesh." "He forms the spirit of man within him." "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit." "The righteous God tests the minds and hearts" — that is, the thoughts, the will, the affections and the emotions. When life on earth ends, the spirit returns to God who gave it.
A man does not reach that verdict in silence. He argues for it. And the way out is not better information but a change of mind:
In many things a man's conscience will trouble him. Even so, he is skilled enough to silence that irritation by subtle reasoning, and to make evil look good. How much wiser he would be to use the Lord's scales, and thereby to be brought to repentance. For "the Lord weighs the hearts."
We borrow our sense of what is clean from sources we hardly ever question — decency, reputation, the opinions of people around us. One writer calls these false measures, and says we carry them more than we know:
We are not always skilled at using the balances, the weights and measures of the sanctuary… The moral sense, the natural conscience, self-righteousness, the laws of society and the judgments of men all supply us with false weights and measures. We carry them about with us more than we are aware of. But they are an abomination. Deut. 25:16. In our thinking, the way of the prostitute and the tax collector looks worse than the easy, respectable life of the world. If we had the balances of the sanctuary, we would weigh things differently. "For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Paul could say he was aware of nothing against himself, and still would not treat that as a verdict:
Moreover Paul had a good conscience. One translation of verse 4 opens, "For I am conscious of nothing in myself; but I am not justified by this." How good it would be if we could each say that! Then we would each be so true to what we have learned of the mind of God that we are aware of nothing amiss. Yet even a Paul had to admit that this did not justify him. The Lord judges him, not by what he knew, but by what He knows. So it is with all of us. Our own awareness sets one standard; the Lord's full knowledge sets another. The difference between them is vast.
If we cannot trust our own eyes, the answer is not paralysis but reliance on the One who holds the scales:
Referring everything to Him delivers us from the bias that regards all the ways of a man as clean in his own eyes. Jehovah weighs the spirit; who but He? Dependence on Him and confidence in Him are indispensable to judge, as for all else.
- Two scales. Your own eyes give one reading, God's balance gives another; only the second is a verdict.
- Weighed within. His scales take the spirit — motives, will, affections — not the visible record alone.
- Rigged weights. Reputation, decency and public opinion are the false measures we carry without noticing.
- Clean conscience, open case. Paul knew nothing against himself and still would not call himself justified by it.
- Trust the weigher. Depending on the One who holds the balance is what frees us from the bias in our own eyes.
Commit thy works unto Jehovah, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Proverbs 16 opens with a run of sayings about who really runs a life: man makes the plans, but the LORD gives the answer and directs the steps. Verse 3 sits in the middle of that as an invitation: hand the work over, and something inside you gets steadied — what the ESV calls "your plans" and the older wording used by the writers here calls "your thoughts."
This verse does not stand alone. It answers the two sayings before it, where a man's own estimate of himself proves unreliable.
"The plans of the heart belong to man" — a man's heart works out what he wants — "but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD" (v. 1). The eventual outcome depends on what the Lord decrees by His Word. A man may believe his ways and actions are pure. But that is only his own opinion, and it is often far from the truth, for the Lord weighs the spirits (v. 2)... So how wise it is to commit our works to the Lord before we act (v. 3), so that He may establish our thoughts.
"Commit" is a stronger word than it sounds. Its literal sense is rolling something off yourself and onto someone else.
The Lord has the final word. Man plans in his heart, but the answer of the tongue comes from the LORD. It is the same idea as the English proverb, "Man proposes, God disposes." Man loves to justify himself. His ways are clean in his own eyes. But the LORD weighs the spirits. He is the judge of ways and motives. We are to commit our works to the LORD — literally, roll them onto Him. Then establishment and blessing follow.
Notice the exchange is uneven. What you hand over is outward and practical; what He settles is inward.
What a comfort that He Himself tells us to commit our works to Him — literally, to roll them onto Him! And then not merely our works but our thoughts will be established. We trust Him with what is outward, and in His goodness He steadies our "thoughts," which waver and fade so easily. How slow even His own people are to learn how much loving interest He takes in those who trust Him!
Another writer uses the same picture of rolling, and draws out what it does to the person who acts on it.
"Commit your way to the Lord" — or, as the margin note puts it, "Roll your way upon the Lord." How often our circumstances are so confusing and hard that our way seems blocked and impossible. Sometimes people misjudge us, oppress us, even persecute us. What can we do? We can roll the responsibility of our way upon the Lord, and rely on Him. There is immense relief in this. He takes the load off our weak shoulders and puts it on His strong ones.
Committing is not a technique you can use cold. It comes third in a list of instructions, and the same writer insists on that order.
It is not the first item of instruction, nor the second, but the third. It takes for granted that we are trusting in the Lord, and finding our delight in Him. Then, and only then, are we ready to roll our way onto Him, and to know the happy result: "He will bring it to pass."
Handing your works to the Lord does not turn you into someone who never thinks ahead.
Of course we should not act without thinking about where we are going. But a believer must take the Lord into his plans. He should hold those plans loosely enough for the Lord to change them if He wants to, and trust fully that the Lord will guide him well.
One writer described what this looked like in his own crowded days of work and responsibility.
I am at work from seven in the morning till eleven at night. Then I often have many things weighing on me, all within my responsibility. But I commit them to Him. He is mightier than anything this poor world can demand, and to Him a burden is no burden at all. He guides everything, just as I might steer a carriage I am sitting in. He arranges everything according to the counsel of His will.
- Weigh — you judge your own ways as clean; the Lord weighs the spirits. So ask Him before you act, not after.
- Roll — "commit" means to roll the load off yourself and onto Him. The relief is real: the weight moves from weak shoulders to strong ones.
- Trust first — rolling your way over is not step one. It assumes you are already trusting Him and delighting in Him.
- Receive — you hand Him your works; He hands back steady thoughts. He settles the inner life that wavers so easily.
- Walk — keep planning, but keep the plans loose enough for Him to change, confident that He directs the steps.
Jehovah hath wrought everything on his own account, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
This proverb says that nothing at all falls outside God's purpose — not even the wicked, who have a day set for them. The older wording used by the writers below reads "for Himself" in the first line and "the day of evil" in the second.
The first line can mean that God made everything for His own sake. It can also mean that He made each thing for its own appointed end. One writer holds both readings together, and calls this a truth the busy world overlooks:
Next we are shown the solemn truth, easily overlooked in the busy world of man, that Jehovah has worked everything for His, or its, own end. Yet is anything more certain? Is it not His reign? Evil abounds and the righteous suffer. Still His moral government never fails, whatever appearances may promise for a while. The day will declare all. This is so true that He can add, "yes, even the wicked for the day of evil." How clear all this will be in the coming judgment!
Read as "for Himself," the line corrects a natural assumption about why the world exists:
"The Lord has made all for Himself" (v. 4). We may assume that He has created the universe for the welfare and blessing of mankind, but this is not the primary reason. It is for His own pleasure He has made everything. True enough, He does fully consider the welfare of His creatures, but this is a secondary consideration. We too should consider that it is our responsibility to give Him pleasure. If so, we shall be greatly blessed.
People have built a false claim on the second line. One writer names that error and answers it from another verse:
Much error has been taught in connection with this verse. Some have taught that God made some wicked. It is not said that God makes a man wicked, for "He made man upright" (Ecclesiastes 7:29). But being wicked by his own choice, he comes under the unchangeable law that dooms him to "the day of evil" — a day of calamity and punishment. The Apostle teaches us that this punishment, even in its final and most terrible form, does not show arbitrary predestination. It shows "the righteous judgment of God" (Romans 2:5-11).
So the wickedness is man's own; the day appointed for it is God's.
There is an opposite error. It pictures God trapped by a rebellion He never wanted, forced to scrap His own work. One writer rules that out, and rests his answer on a single word — "themselves":
It does not present Him as baffled by the evil, forced to undo His own handiwork, as if man's will had triumphed over His. The conflict with evil is real, and only that makes the victory over it real. And that victory is certain. "The Lord has made all things for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of evil" — not their wickedness, surely, but themselves… The "vessels of wrath" and "to dishonour" are still "vessels," and they have their use. And is showing God's wrath and making His power known not as necessary in God's government as in any other?
Another writer starts further back, with the entry of sin itself.
God is not the author of sin but its Judge. For His own wise purposes, He allowed sin to enter the realm He rules. He will make it serve Him, and He will get glory to His great and holy name through it, and in the end banish it from His sight forever. And we may be sure of this — that were it not destined to serve the purposes of His heart, it could have gained no entrance. But it does serve Him. It does not serve willingly. Though it is an enemy, He makes it serve Him, just as He makes every other creature serve Him… and the creature will triumph in nothing.
The proverb does not promise that the accounts balance now. It names a day when they will.
This is so true that He can add, "yes, even the wicked for the day of evil." How clear all this will be in the coming judgment!
Where our understanding runs out, one writer counsels a plain response rather than speculation: "Though one may not fully understand this, yet we must credit Him with having perfect knowledge and wisdom in all that He does."
- Purpose. Everything exists for God's own end, not first of all for human comfort. Our good is real, but it comes second.
- Not the maker of sin. God made man upright; wickedness is man's own choice. The verse assigns the wicked a day, not a character.
- Still vessels. Even "vessels of wrath" are still vessels, and they have a use. Man's will never overturns God's, and His victory over evil is certain.
- Made to serve. Evil could enter only because God could make it serve His purposes. It serves against its will, and the creature triumphs in nothing.
- The day declares. Evil abounds now and the righteous suffer. God's moral government never fails, and the coming judgment will show it.
Every proud heart is an abomination to Jehovah hand for hand, he shall not be held innocent.
Proverbs 16 gathers sayings about a God who weighs motives and rules outcomes. This verse turns that light on pride: not on what a proud man does, but on what he is in God's sight, and what is sure to follow.
The verse does not condemn a boast or a swagger. It condemns something further back, where only God can look.
The abomination to the Lord is to be proud in heart. It is not only pride that works itself out in deeds. Pride fed in the heart, seen by the eyes of the Lord alone, is just as much an abomination to Him. How much of it there is these days!
"Abomination" is strong language for an attitude. One writer explains the strength of the word by what pride is at root.
Pride is the very essence of sin. It lifts the creature out of its place and pushes God off His throne. For this the blow must come.
The proud man will not face the facts about God. He lives as though he made himself.
Many refuse to think about such facts. They are proud in heart, as though they were self-made, independent creatures (v. 5). No wonder they are an abomination to the Lord. They may join with others of the same kind in defiance of God's sovereignty, but in the end they only receive their just punishment.
Older translations render the second line "though hand join in hand" (the ESV has "be assured"). Commentators differ on what the Hebrew phrase means.
"Hand to hand," here and in Proverbs 16, is a phrase open to a variety of explanations. Some suggest it means "even," "to all generations," or "certainly." Another writer takes it from the terms of striking a bargain. Whichever it is, one version says that an evil person will not escape unharmed.
Read as joined hands, the line pictures people combining. Gaebelein finds that in religious work.
The second part of this proverb speaks of joining hand in hand, or hand to hand. It is the much praised "team-work," partnership, alliance, and so on, to do a big work and make a big name. Much of this attempt at doing "big things" in the day of "small things" has its source in the pride of the natural man.
The words "he will not go unpunished" point to the future. That is why men shrug them off now. The writer below quotes an older rendering, "every proud heart."
But even now He would have His people feel how offensive "every proud heart" is to Him — "an abomination," and nothing less, to Jehovah. Yet how common pride is, and how little men believe that God hates it and will judge it! The Most High despises no one. So whatever support the proud man seems to have, and however long the delay, without doubt he will not be held innocent.
The problem sits in the heart. So where does the cure start?
The root of all pride is in the heart: "out of the heart of man, come … pride, foolishness" (Mark 7:21-22). How can a young believer get rid of a proud heart? There is only one way: we must sit at the feet of Him who is meek and lowly in heart, until we are ashamed to hold on any longer to a quality so unlike Christ and so like Satan.
This is not only a warning. It is also an offer.
This kind of pride is hateful to God and open to His swift judgment. Both James and Peter write that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).
- Heart — God judges pride where it grows, not only where it shows. He sees what no one else notices.
- Throne — pride lifts the creature out of its place and pushes God off His throne. That is why so mild a fault earns the word "abomination."
- Hands — joining with others adds numbers, not safety. Shared pride, even in big projects, is still pride before God.
- Certainty — delay is not a pardon. Whatever support the proud man seems to have, he will not be held innocent.
- Lowliness — the only escape is to sit at the feet of the One who is meek and lowly, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
By loving-kindness and truth iniquity is atoned for; and by the fear of Jehovah [men] depart from evil.
The proverb sets two halves side by side. The first deals with guilt already committed. The second keeps a person from further evil. Older translations read "by mercy and truth iniquity is purged" where the ESV has "steadfast love and faithfulness" and "atoned for." Commentators call the line a gospel text set in the Old Testament.
Two words in the verse repay a closer look. One writer traces them back to their roots and finds the verse pointing to Christ:
In the sixth proverb of this chapter we have a Gospel text. The word mercy is literally "grace." The word "purged" is translated elsewhere as "covered" or "atoned." In the Lord Jesus Christ and in His work we see "grace and truth." His work on the cross is finished, and by it our iniquity is covered. Then comes the fear of the Lord, which results in departing from evil.
Mercy wants to spare. Truth states what is owed. William Kelly presses the problem, and insists the mercy and truth here are never man's own:
Even before the fuller light of the gospel came, no believer would have thought that the mercy and truth were man's own, as if he could atone for his own sins. It is in Christ and especially in His cross that they meet for the purging of the guilty and defiled. Anywhere else they are irreconcilable. Men plead "mercy" to escape the condemnation of "truth"; but if truth pronounces the just judgment of the wicked, what can mercy do to stop the execution? The Lord Jesus alone bore the curse in all its truth, so that the iniquities might be blotted out in the richest mercy.
Another writer shows what each side gave:
The cross alone brings mercy and righteousness together when God deals with guilty man. So the Psalmist can say, "Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Psalm 85:10). Truth and righteousness demanded justice on offenders. Mercy and peace provided the costly sacrifice that has answered all the claims of God's throne, and secured pardon and eternal blessing for all who believe.
Israel already had a system of animal sacrifices. One commentator explains why they were not the atonement this verse promises:
Verse 6 anticipates the truth of the New Testament: "In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity." In the Old Testament the many animal sacrifices only brought sins to mind again. They were a reminder that sin had not yet been atoned for (Hebrews 10:3-4). Atonement came only in the offering of the Lord Jesus on Calvary. It is a wonderful provision in mercy and in truth, and it moves the heart of every honest person to fear the Lord and to turn away from evil.
The order matters: atonement first, then fear. Kelly asks whether anyone can truly fear God while guilt is still unsettled:
Was there ever true fear of Him without pardon? Certainly Psalm 130:4 makes clear that there is pardon with Him so that He may be feared. Without it, what can the fear be but slavish and tainted? This strengthens the soul to "depart from evil." We hate it, because He hates it; and no doubt that is exactly what it is in itself — evil through and through.
The obvious objection is that free pardon makes people careless. A comment on the same psalm answers it directly:
If God forgives, it is so that He may be feared, and not so that men may think lightly of their sin or of God's mercy. Grace does not lead to a careless walk; on the contrary, it teaches us to live soberly, righteously, and in a godly way (Titus 2:12).
How does that fear keep a person from evil day by day? One writer answers:
Let us seek to live in the awareness that we are in the immediate presence of God. This will keep us from a thousand forms of evil that we meet day after day, and that we are already inclined to. Remembering that the eye of God rests on us would shape our life and conduct far more powerfully than the presence of all the saints on earth and all the angels in heaven.
- Mercy — the word behind it is "grace," and "purged" means covered or atoned. The proverb is a gospel text inside the Old Testament.
- Truth — away from the cross the two cannot agree. Truth pronounces the sentence, and mercy on its own cannot stop it.
- Meeting — Christ bore the curse in all its truth, so that iniquity could be blotted out in richest mercy. Truth demanded justice; mercy provided the sacrifice.
- Order — atonement first, then fear. God pardons so that He may be feared, and fear without pardon is only slavish.
- Departing — forgiveness does not make us careless. We hate evil because He hates it, and living aware of His presence keeps us from a thousand forms of it.
When a man's ways please Jehovah, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
One line in Proverbs ties a person's walk with God to their dealings with enemies. It raises two questions: what life pleases the Lord, and does the promise still hold when believers are persecuted?
The verse does not describe a technique for managing enemies. It describes a life. One writer roots that life in a new nature and in redemption, then shows how it works on those who oppose it.
This is what teaches believers, by a new nature and by redemption, to walk in a way that pleases God, worthy of His calling and kingdom. Despite natural hostility, the fruit of righteousness works on the conscience, so that even opponents are made to be at peace with them.
The promise is not that enemies vanish. Sometimes they just fall silent.
If a man walks in righteousness and in true humility, if he pleases the LORD, then his enemies will be silenced. They will not talk against him. All too often, the charges that the enemies of truth bring against God's children come from those children not walking in the truth.
Another writer sees it happen twice over: first with Joseph, then with Daniel.
As in Joseph's case centuries before, Daniel's enemies show him some pity and consideration. This shows in a very real way that "When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him."
Solomon wrote this proverb and then broke it. One writer contrasts the right response to enemies with the one Solomon chose.
When enemies rise up against us, our first appeal should be to God, asking why He has allowed it. The enemies themselves may have no thought of God, but they may still be His instruments to discipline His people... Jeroboam was an ambitious young man who even aimed at Solomon's throne. Solomon forgot his own words in Proverbs 16:7. Instead of searching his conscience before God about this opponent, he tried to kill him, as Saul had done with David.
The same writer sets Solomon beside two later kings of Judah.
Asa proved this, and so did his son Jehoshaphat. Both these kings had quiet and rest all around them, because they did the will of God. But about Solomon we read that the LORD stirred up an adversary against him, Hadad the Edomite, and also stirred up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah. It is a solemn thing when God has to enter into controversy with any of us, but "if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged."
Does the promise always hold? One writer marks its limit.
Verse 7 states a general rule. There are of course exceptions to this rule, for someone may be persecuted while doing what is pleasing to the Lord — Stephen in Acts 6 and 7, for example.
If God makes enemies peaceable, self-defence is not your job. One commentator applies this to the Jewish elders who rebuilt the temple while officials tried to stop them.
Someone found in the path of God's will may safely leave his enemies in the Lord's hands. These elders of the Jews found this out. They might have learned the lesson that the word of God teaches so often, and that His people always need: "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
There is a counterfeit of this peace, and one writer names it: peace bought by keeping quiet about Christ.
Living near to God is the surest way of living at peace with people. Avoid the trap of seeking their favour and praise. It will surely lead you into unfaithfulness in your testimony. Some who take that path may think they have the spirit of peace. But it is really a spirit of selfish indifference to the claims of Christ and the salvation of our neighbours.
- Cause. Peace starts with a walk that pleases God. One writer roots that walk in a new nature and in redemption, not in diplomacy.
- Effect. Righteous living works on the conscience of opponents. It silences them, and it can even soften them, as it did with Joseph's and Daniel's enemies.
- Check. Many charges against believers come from not walking in the truth. When enemies rise, ask God why He has allowed it, and judge yourself first. Solomon skipped that step and reached for the sword.
- Limit. This is a general rule, not a guarantee. Stephen pleased God and was persecuted anyway.
- Practice. Stay near God and leave your enemies in His hands. Never buy peace by going quiet about Christ. That is indifference, not peace.
Better is a little with righteousness, than great revenues without right.
Proverbs 16 is full of sayings about a Lord who plans, weighs, directs and judges. Verse 8 sets two lives side by side: a small income held honestly, and a large one gathered by injustice.
Before this chapter says anything about money, it tests a man's opinion of himself.
A man may believe that his ways and actions are pure. But that is only his own opinion, and it is often far from the truth, because the Lord weighs the spirits (v. 2). Some people are "lighter than a breath." Their spirit never stops to weigh what their ways are really worth. So how wise it is to commit our works to the Lord before we act (v. 3), so that He establishes our thoughts.
What does "righteousness" mean here? William Kelly defines it, then asks what a wicked man's income can produce.
The righteousness meant here is a right sense of our relationship to God and to man, carried out in practice. It never fails to bring blessing, even in the middle of the sharpest trials. On the other hand, what can the revenue of a wicked man be but trouble that disturbs and denies godly order and comfort?
L M Grant compares verse 8 with the promise just before it.
Verse 7 states a general rule: "When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." There are exceptions to this rule. A person may be persecuted while doing what pleases the Lord — Stephen in Acts 6 and 7, for instance. But there are no exceptions to the principle stated in verse 8: "Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." The rich man in Luke 16 lived in luxury every day, while Lazarus had nothing. Who would envy the rich man in his end? (Luke 16:19-31). The end of Lazarus was better beyond measure!
Writing elsewhere in Proverbs on treasures of wickedness, Grant shows what such money does to its owner.
People may pile up great riches by sinful means, and others will praise them for their wealth. But they are only heaping up riches that will be a witness against them in the day of judgment. On the other hand, righteousness delivers from the shame of death and judgment. The Lord will never let the righteous soul go without. He may let him be brought so low that he has to depend on God's mercy.
Hamilton Smith urges contentment. He counts what the richer neighbour carries along with his money.
If what you own is small, God can still bless a little. It is not how much money we have, but how much blessing… Another may have more property than you, but also more worry. More riches, less rest. More income, and with it more things to spend on. He holds more, but enjoys less; in a word, you have less gold than he — perhaps less guilt.
The saying was already plain before Christ came. Kelly says Christ's coming made its weight far clearer.
So it is plain that even here "better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice." It is far more plain since Christ lifted the veil. His light — the light of the eternal day — now falls on this present world and on the flesh, and both are enmity against God.
- Weighed — your own opinion of your ways is not the verdict. The Lord weighs the spirits, so commit your plans and your money to Him.
- Defined — righteousness here means a right sense of our relationship to God and to people, lived out in practice. A wicked man's income can only produce trouble.
- Certain — other promises in this chapter are general rules that have exceptions. This one has none. The rich man of Luke 16 and Lazarus settle the comparison.
- Reversed — unjust wealth is not neutral. It piles up as a witness against its owner in the day of judgment, while the righteous is never left to go without.
- Enough — the question is not how much money we have but how much blessing. More revenue often means more care and more spending: less gold may mean less guilt.