Proverbs Chapter 22
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
Proverbs 22:1
Bible Verses:
1A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.
We should be more careful to do that by which we may get and keep a good name, than to raise or add unto a great estate.
Proverbs 22:2
Bible Verses:
2The rich and poor meet together: the Lord is the maker of them all.
Divine Providence has so ordered it, that some are rich, and others poor, but all are guilty before God; and at the throne of God's grace the poor are as welcome as the rich.
Proverbs 22:3
Bible Verses:
3A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.
Faith foresees the evil coming upon sinners, and looks to Jesus Christ as the sure refuge from the storm.
Proverbs 22:4
Bible Verses:
4By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.
Where the fear of God is, there will be humility. And much is to be enjoyed by it; spiritual riches, and eternal life at last.
Proverbs 22:5
Bible Verses:
5Thorns and snares are in the way of the froward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from them.
The way of sin is vexatious and dangerous. But the way of duty is safe and easy.
Proverbs 22:6
Bible Verses:
6Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Train children, not in the way they would go, that of their corrupt hearts, but in the way they should go; in which, if you love them, you would have them go. As soon as possible every child should be led to the knowledge of the Saviour.
Proverbs 22:7
Bible Verses:
7The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
This shows how important it is for every man to keep out of debt. As to the things of this life, there is a difference between the rich and the poor; but let the poor remember, it is the Lord that made the difference.
Proverbs 22:8
Bible Verses:
8He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
The power which many abuse, will soon fail them.
Proverbs 22:9
Bible Verses:
9He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.
He that seeks to relieve the wants and miseries of others shall be blessed.
Proverbs 22:10
Bible Verses:
10Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Profane scoffers and revilers disturb the peace.
Proverbs 22:11
Bible Verses:
11He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the king shall be his friend.
God will be the Friend of a man in whose spirit there is no guile; this honour have all the saints.
Proverbs 22:12
Bible Verses:
12The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, and he overthroweth the words of the transgressor.
God turns the counsels and designs of treacherous men to their own confusion.
Proverbs 22:13
Bible Verses:
13The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets.
The slothful man talks of a lion without, but considers not his real danger from the devil, that roaring lion within, and from his own slothfulness, which kills him.
Proverbs 22:14
Bible Verses:
14The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein.
The vile sin of licentiousness commonly besots the mind beyond recovery.
Proverbs 22:15
Bible Verses:
15Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Sin is foolishness, it is in the heart, there is an inward inclination to sin: children bring it into the world with them; and it cleaves close to the soul. We all need to be corrected by our heavenly Father.
Proverbs 22:16
Bible Verses:
16He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.
We are but stewards, and must distribute what God intrusts to our care, according to his will.
Proverbs 22:17-21
Bible Verses:
17Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge.
18For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
19That thy trust may be in the Lord, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee.
20Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge,
21That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
To these words, to this knowledge, the ear must be bowed down, and the heart applied by faith and love. To live a life of delight in God and dependence on him, is the foundation of all practical religion. The way to know the certainty of the word of truth, is to make conscience of our duty.
Proverbs 22:22, 23
Bible Verses:
22Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:
23For the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them.
He that robs and oppresses the poor, does so at his peril. And if men will not appear for them, God will.
Proverbs 22:24, 25
Bible Verses:
24Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:
25Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.
Our corrupt hearts have so much tinder in them, that it is dangerous to have to do with those that throw about the sparks of their passion.
Proverbs 22:26, 27
Bible Verses:
26Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts.
27If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?
Every man ought to be just to himself, and his family; those are not so, who, by folly or other carelessness, waste what they have.
Proverbs 22:28
Bible Verses:
28Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.
We are taught not to trespass on another man's right. And it is hard to find a truly industrious man. Such a man will rise. Seest thou a man diligent in the business of religion? He is likely to excel. Let us then be diligent in God's work.