CHAPTER III.
Critical Notes.—1. Keep. This word, says Miller primarily means to look hard at, and generally to keep watch over, as over a vineyard. 2. Length of days, properly “extension of days.” 4. Good understanding, or “good success,” “good reputation.” Some read “good intelligence,” i.e., thou shalt be esteemed before God and man as one of good understanding. 6. Acknowledge, “take notice of,” “recognise” Him. Direct, “make level” or “smooth.” 8. Navel, “body” or “muscles.” Marrow, literally “refreshing,” “moistening,” in contrast to the condition described in Psa. xxxii. 3, 4. 11. Despise not, or “loathe not,” “shrink not.” The word, according to Miller, means “to melt.” Chastening, “discipline,” “correction.” 12. The latter clause of this verse should be read, “and holds him dear, or does him a favour, as a father does his son.” 13. Gets, “draws out.” 18. Lay hold, “grasp,” from a Hebrew root strong. Retaineth, “holds her fast.” 20. Depths, &c., “were the floods divided” into rivers and streams for the blessing of man. Dew, or “gentle rain,” or else the clouds signify the lower regions of the atmosphere where the dew is formed. 21. Them, i.e. “sound wisdom and discretion;” Sound wisdom, the same word as in chap ii. 7 (see [notes there]). Miller translates here as there, “something stable.” 25. Desolation of the wicked. This is interpreted in two ways. 1. The desolation in which the wicked strive to overwhelm the good; or, 2. The destruction which will sweep away the wicked, leaving the godly unharmed. “A positive decision is probably not possible” (Lange’s Commentary). Stuart, and most modern commentators, adopt the latter view. 26. Confidence. “Jehovah shall be as loins to thee” (Miller). 27. Withhold not, &c., literally “hold not good back from its master,” i.e., from him to whom it belongs. 31. Envy thou not, &c., or “emulate not” (Vulg.) “Do not anxiously covet” (Stuart). 32. Secret. His “secret compact,” “familiar intimacy.” 34. “If,” or “Seeing that He scorneth the scorners,” &c. 35. The promotion, &c., literally “shame lifts up,” i.e., in order to sweep away and destroy them; so Lange translates. Miller reads, “fools are each piling shame.” Stuart says on this verse, “Glory means here honour or an exalted station. Ziegler and Ewald render the next clause, ‘Shame shall elevate fools,’ spoken sarcastically. I prefer the meaning sanctioned by Ezek. xxi. 23; Is. lvii. 14, viz., to take off, to sweep away, as the dust which is elevated by the wind and is swept off, as may be seen in Isa. xvii. 13. Compare Isa. xxix. 5; Psa. xxxv. 5. At least, the image understood in this way is very vivid. It stands thus: ‘Fools are elevated like the light dust, and then are swept away in the same manner.’ ”
main homiletics of the paragraph.—Verses 1–4.
Blessings from the Remembrance of God’s Commandments.
I. The natural desire of a moral instructor. Every teacher desires that his pupil should remember his instructions, and unless that which has been given is remembered it is useless to carry him further on. Memory holds a very important place in the formation of moral character. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you; . . . by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you” (1 Cor. xv. 1 and 2). Paul likewise exhorts his son Timothy by means of his memory (2 Tim i. 6). See also Hebrews x. 32; 2 Pet. i. 15, iii. 1, etc. Solomon knew that his son could only profit by his counsel so long as he remembered it.
II. When the memory does not retain moral teaching, it is a moral rather than an intellectual fault. “Let thine heart keep my commandments.” We find it difficult to forget where we love. If a child loves his father, he is not likely to forget his words. Christ reminded his disciples that they did not “remember” because their hearts were hardened (Mark viii. 17, 18).
III. When the heart keeps the Divine Word, mercy and truth will not forsake the character. Where God’s precepts find a place of abode, there will likewise be found a merciful disposition towards men, and a truthful and sincere piety before God. If a tree has its roots in the waters, we know that its greenness will not fail: “its leaf shall not wither.” The freshness and beauty of the foliage is the necessary outcome of its roots dwelling in the stream. The mercifulness and the truthfulness of a man’s character will be in proportion to his affection for, and consequent retention of, the words of God.
IV. The blessings which will accompany a remembrance of the Divine teaching. 1. Length of days. We may infer from this that, as a rule, long life is to be desired. The longer distance a pure river runs through a country, the greater the amount of blessing which it diffuses on its way to the ocean. The longer a man of “mercy and truth” lives, the more he is enabled to bless his fellow-creatures. A long life gives a man time to attain great knowledge of God, and thus enables him to glorify Him upon the earth. A long life is also to be desired because the peculiar experience of earth belongs to the present life only. When that is ended we have reason to believe that we shall enter upon an entirely new experience; that which belonged to earth will have passed away with our earthly life. It has often been remarked that a godly manner of life is favourable to “length of days.” Sin and anxious care tend to bring men to an early grave, while purity, and trust in a living and loving Father are promoters of bodily health. 2. Divine and human favour. The human ruler is favourable to those who make it their business to obey his commands. A wise and good father makes a difference in his treatment of those children who seek to please him and those who defy his authority. God is the Father, and consequently the rightful Ruler of men, and having made laws for the guidance of His children, it follows of necessity that those who seek to obey those laws must find favour with Him. He is in this sense a respecter of persons. He has respect to those who “have respect unto his commandments” (Psa. cxix. 6). Favour in the sight of man is also promised. The value of a man’s favour depends upon a man’s character. To find favour with some men would be to be known as an enemy of God (James iv. 4). It is written that Jesus increased “in favour with God and man” (Luke ii. 52). But we know that He found little favour with the rulers of the Jews. Therefore, these words must be taken to refer to the favour of those whose favour is worth having. 3. Peace (Verse 2). Where the conscience and passions are at war there can be nothing but unrest, but when the conscience is reinforced by the Divine precepts, she rules, and the soul, as a consequence, enjoys peace. Peace must flow from the possession of Divine favour, and also from the consciousness of the good-will of good men.
outlines and suggestive comments.
Verse 1. Here we advance another step. Not only is it necessary to renounce and shun evil (i. 10) and to listen to the voice of Wisdom and go in quest of her (i. 20; ii. 1–4), but it is also requisite to hold her fast under trial and tribulation (ver. 11), and to practise her rules by love to God and man (verses 9, 27, 30).—Wordsworth.