Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto the bitter of soul
Proverbs ends with a mother's advice to her son. She takes the cup away from the king and hands it to the dying and the broken-hearted — mercy, or an excuse to drown sorrow?
The verse comes right after a warning that kings must not drink. One writer explains why, and what wine stands for:
A king is in a place of trust. He is responsible for the welfare of many subjects, and he must keep at all times a sober judgment that is wise and fair. If others indulge in wine and strong drink, this is not for him. Wine speaks of anything that merely exhilarates or stimulates for the time. Man may be intoxicated by pleasures, as Solomon was for a time, or by personal pride, by money-making, or any of those many things that influence the desires of the flesh. These may so affect the thoughts that proper, sober judgment is for the time impaired.
Who gets the cup? Someone at the end of his strength, and someone crushed inside. One writer hears God's care for weak people in the repeated words:
Truly he is "frail man". But now, sadly, he is called to know a frailty that comes not from creation but from his sin. There is discipline for him in it. He needs it, and divine love still acts in it. That added need has brought out God's tenderness as never before. The wine gladdens frail man's heart. The bread strengthens frail man's heart. How the words, and the repetition of the words, breathe of God's thoughtful care! He holds up one who might so easily give way to discouragement.
The verse can easily be stretched into an excuse. Writing on Paul's instruction to older women in Titus, one commentator admits the pull, then draws the line:
Of course, we all know that a worn-out body and a tried mind might fall back on some such stimulant. The last chapter of Proverbs says, "Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress..." But the word is plain: "not enslaved to much wine."
Read as a picture, the verse sends the strongest comfort to the person in the worst condition. One writer traces both the gift and what should follow it:
Is there not here the implied truth of the Gospel of grace? A lost, hopelessly miserable soul needs the reviving, restoring joy of knowing forgiveness. It needs the "pouring in" of the oil of the Holy Spirit, and the wine of a new-found joy in trusting the precious blood of Christ. This first, bubbling joy of a newborn soul is most precious in its place. But it should lead on to a sober, faithful, devoted character of solid dependability. Wine is not to be the diet of the soul after conversion, but the milk and solid food of the Word of God.
Some writers hear this verse in the bread and cup of the Lord's Supper. One applies its words to what the cup announces. He quotes an older wording, "heavy hearts", where the ESV has "in bitter distress":
It is this precious "strong drink" which reminds us that our "misery" is gone, and that our "heavy hearts" have been lifted up. The blood of bulls and of goats told us that sin is remembered. This cup tells us that sin is forgiven, and that is its own distinctive voice. To give thanks in company with it is harmony; to pray about our sins is discord.
Another writer draws a practical rule from the same words about how believers should meet at the table:
True, we have much to pray for — much to confess — much to mourn over; but the table is not the place for mourners... Ours is "a cup of blessing" — a cup of thanksgiving — God's appointed symbol of that precious blood which has bought our ransom.
The proverb offers a drink to the heavy heart. One writer sets Christ's love beside it:
"Give wine," says the Book of Proverbs, "to those in bitter distress." But His love is better than wine. It cheers and strengthens without exciting the flesh.
- Withheld, then given. The king must refuse the cup. The perishing receive it — strong relief goes where the need is deepest, not where the power is.
- Frailty met. The wine that gladdens the heart shows God's tenderness. He holds up people who might otherwise give way to discouragement.
- Not a licence. The verse names a real pull on a tired body and a tried mind, and the plain instruction still stands: not enslaved.
- Grace pictured. The joy of forgiveness revives the hopeless soul. That first joy should then grow into steady character, fed on the Word of God.
- A better cup. The table says the misery is gone and sin is forgiven. Christ's love cheers and strengthens beyond anything wine can do.
let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
Here a mother teaches her son how to be a king, and her instruction is strange: the cup he must refuse, he must hand to someone else. Why put a drink that makes a man forget into the hands of people at the end of their rope?
The verse only makes sense alongside the warning just before it. A ruler's mind must stay clear. The drink that would blur his judgment goes instead to those who have nothing left to judge.
"Wine and strong drink," which the Nazarite was to keep away from, stand for what gratifies, stimulates, and excites the flesh. King Lemuel's mother seems to have thought that kings should have the marks of a Nazarite. She said to him: "It is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Otherwise they will drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to those who are heavy of heart."
One writer sees both discipline and tenderness in what God gives frail people.
Frail man now knows a frailty that his own sin brought on him, not his creation. There is discipline for him in it, which he needs, and in which divine love still acts. And that added need has brought out God's tenderness as never before. There is the wine that gladdens frail man's heart, and the bread that strengthens frail man's heart. How the words, and the repeating of the words, breathe of God's thoughtful care! That care holds up someone who could so easily give way to discouragement. "Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish, and wine to the bitter in soul: let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more."
The verse promises forgetting, not curing. One writer traces what happened when Solomon tried that relief.
So mirth is tried next, and the natural relief for those bitter of soul, as we hear in Proverbs 31. It was all in vain, and the feeling of disappointment returns.
A heavy heart has a better supply than wine.
"Give wine," says the Book of Proverbs, "to those with heavy hearts." But His love is better than wine. It cheers and strengthens without exciting the flesh. So there is not only dependence on Him, but also the confidence in Him that His love is meant to inspire.
As they crucified Jesus, men offered Him a drink to deaden pain. He was the man ready to perish, and He turned it down.
The wine was mixed with myrrh to deaden the senses, and the Lord refused that cup.
Our blessed Lord refused the wine and myrrh for Himself at the hand of men. He would drink the bitter cup of their sin to its dregs, without trying to soften or excuse it.
One writer hears the gospel of grace in this instruction. The drink goes to the person with nothing left.
Yet strong drink is to be given to those ready to perish, and wine to those heavy of heart. Is there not an implied truth of the gospel of grace here? A lost soul, miserable beyond hope, needs the reviving joy of knowing forgiveness. It needs the "pouring in" of the oil of the Holy Spirit, and the wine of a new-found joy in trusting the precious blood of Christ. This first, bubbling joy of a newborn soul is most precious in its place. But it should lead on to a sober, faithful, devoted character of solid dependability. Wine is not to be the soul's diet after conversion. That diet is the milk and solid food of the Word of God.
One writer hears this verse's "strong drink" in the cup Christians share at the Lord's Supper.
It is this precious "strong drink" that reminds us our "misery" is gone, and that our "heavy hearts" have been lifted up. It tells us that sin is forgiven. The blood of bulls and goats spoke of sin remembered; this cup has its own distinct voice. To give thanks along with it is harmony; to pray about our sins is discord.
- Sober — the king refuses the cup to keep his judgment of the afflicted clear. What would ruin a ruler goes to those already past ruin.
- Gift — the wine shows God's thoughtful care for frail people. It holds up someone close to giving way to discouragement.
- Limited — it buys forgetting, not healing. Solomon tried that relief, and it was all in vain.
- Better — Christ's love cheers and strengthens without exciting the flesh. He refused the deadening cup so He could drink the bitter one whole.
- Given — no one earns this drink; the perishing receive it. That is why the Lord's table carries this verse's voice: the misery is gone.