“He that retains his words knows knowledge.” The words are precise. It is the fact that he “knows knowledge” that impels a man to restrain his words. If he did not “know knowledge,” if he had not light, and did not know it when he saw it; if he did not see light in God, and know it when he has seen it, and really see enough of it to convince him that “God is light,” he could not stand the darkness. The unfortunates in hell have no light to enable them to endure the dark. But the saint, knowing knowledge, and seeing that it exists in God, is balanced enough against the mysteries to enable him to restrain his words. . . . The wise man asserts that this silence is a chief mark of piety. . . . If a man do shut his lips he is wise. . . . The fool is a wise man when he is silent, and when, in meek submission, he bows to what he cannot understand.—Miller.
He cannot be known for a fool who says nothing. He is a fool, not who hath unwise thoughts, but who utters them. Even concealed folly is wisdom.—Bp. Hall.
He that hath knowledge hath not many words: the fulness of the one causeth in him a scarcity of the other. And there is nothing that he spendeth idly more unwillingly than his words. But yet, having knowledge, he knoweth both when to spare and when to spend. . . . The original words here are knowing knowledge, for many know much, but it is not knowledge that they know. Some labour hard and waste their time to know needless vanities, which, being better unknown, have not true knowledge in them. . . . Right knowledge is the knowledge of the Lord, and he that knoweth this spareth his words to spend them to God’s glory. And as it is in many the penury of their knowledge that causeth the superfluity of their words, so chiefly is the lack of this knowledge. For it is by this knowledge we learn that an account must be given for every idle word. . . . Silence being so rare a virtue, where wisdom doth command it, it is accounted a virtue where folly doth impose it. He that fails of this first help, and is so far gone in folly as that his tongue outgoes his understanding, yet hath a second help, and that is to stop, and shut his lips before they go too far, which, though not the first, yet is a second praise; and he hath the repute of some understanding who either seeth, or is thought to see, his want of understanding.—Jermin.
It has been safely enough alleged that of two men equally successful in the business of life, the man who is silent will be generally deemed to have more in him than the man who talks; the latter “shows his hand;” everybody can tell the exact length of his tether; he has trotted himself out so often that all his points and paces are a matter of notoriety. But of the taciturn man, little or nothing is known. “The shallow murmur but the deep are dumb.” Friends and acquaintances shake their heads knowingly, and exclaim with an air of authority, that “So and so” has a great deal more in him than people imagine. They are as often wrong as right, but what need that signify to the silent man? . . . To follow out one of the Caxtonian essayist’s illustrations,—When we see a dumb strong-box, with its lid braced down by iron clasps and secured by a jealous padlock, involuntarily we supposed that its contents must be infinitely more precious than the gauds and nicknacks which are unguardedly scattered about a lady’s dressing-room. “Who could believe that a box so rigidly locked had nothing in it but odds and ends, which would be just as safe in a bandbox?”—Jacox.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Critical Notes.—1. Through desire, etc. The readings and expositions of this verse are many. Zöckler translates, “He that separateth himself seeketh his own pleasure, against all counsel doth he rush on,” and the renderings of Stuart, Miller, and Delitzsch are substantially the same, except that Delitzsch translates the latter clause—“against all that is beneficial he shows his teeth.” Other readings are “A self-conceited fool seeks to gratify his fancy and intermingleth himself with all things” (Schultens); “He who has separated himself agitates questions as his desire prompts, and breaks his teeth on every hard point” (Schulz); “He seeks occasion, who desires to separate himself from his friends” (Hodgson). Others read as in the Authorised Version. (See [Comments].) 3. Ignominy, rather, “shameful deeds.” 4. The last clause of this verse may be divided into two smaller ones and placed in apposition, thus: “a babbling brook,”—a fountain of wisdom. Fausset remarks that the Hebrew word used for man is ish, a good man, not adam, the general term for man. 6. Calleth for. Stuart understands this in the sense of “to deserve.” 8. Wounds. The word so translated occurs only here and in chap. xxvi. 22, and will bear very different renderings. Some translate it words of sport (Stuart and Zöckler); others, with Delitzsch, dainty morsels; others, “whispers, soft breezes.” 9. Waster, or destroyer. 10. Safe, or lifted high. 14. Infirmity, i.e., sickness, disease of body. As in similar verses, Miller translates “a wounded spirit;” a spirit of upbraiding. Here again, as in verse 4, the Hebrew word ish is used for man. 16. A man’s gifts. “Hebrew, adam, the gift of a man, however humble and low” (Fausset). 19. “Is harder to be won;” these words are not in the original, but have been inserted to supply the sense. Some translators read “a brother offended resisteth more than a strong city.” Miller reads, “When a brother is revolted away, it is from a city of strength.” 20. Satisfied. “If this word is taken in a good sense the fruit must be good; but it may be ironical, meaning false or malignant words will find ample retribution. Perhaps the next verse helps us determine the meaning” (Stuart). 21. They that love it, i.e., “make it a special object of gratification” (Stuart) 24. The first clause of this verse should be “A man of many friends will prove himself base, or is so to his own destruction,” i.e., he who professes to regard everybody as his friend will, in so doing, involve himself in trouble.
main homiletics of verses 1 and 2.
Reference to the [Critical Notes] and to the [Comments] will show the widely different translations and expositions given to the first verse. We follow the Authorised Version.
Solitude.