Yahweh has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh has made everything for its own end— yes, even the wicked for the day of evil.
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The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
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The LORD hath made every things for His own purpose, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Proverbs 16:4 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Peter 2:9 the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment,
- Isaiah 43:21 the people which I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.
- Romans 9:22 What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
- Isaiah 43:7 everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.’ ”
- 1 Peter 2:8 and, “a stumbling stone and a rock of offense.” For they stumble at the word, being disobedient, to which also they were appointed.
- Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
- Job 21:30 that the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity, That they are led out to the day of wrath?
- 2 Peter 2:3 In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
- Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain So that the justice of God shall appear to…
So that the justice of God shall appear to his glory, even in the destruction of the wicked.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all [things] for…
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all [things] for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Ver. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself.] That is, for his own glory, which he seeks in all his works. And well he may; for, first, He hath none higher than himself to whom to have respect; and, secondly, He is not in danger (as we should be in like case) of being puffed up or desirous of vain glory. Or thus, "He hath made all things for himself," that is, for the demonstration of his goodness, {a} according to that of Augustine, {b} Quia bonus est Deus sumus; et in quantum sumus, boni sumus. We owe both our being and wellbeing, and the glory of all to God alone. {Rom 11:36}
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The wicked also for the day of evil,] i.e., Of. destruction. Hereof Dei voluntas est ratio rationam; nec tantum recta sed regula. {c} Howbeit, whereas divines make two parts of the decree of reprobation - viz., preterition and predamnation - all agree for the latter, saith a learned interpreter, that God did never determine to damn any man for his own pleasure, but the cause of his perdition was his own sin. And there is a reason for it. For God may, to show his sovereignty, annihilate his creature; but to appoint a reasonable creature to an estate of endless pain, without respect of his desert, cannot agree to the unspotted justice of God. And for the other part, of passing over and forsaking a great part of men for the glory of his justice, the exactest divines do not attribute that to the mere will of God, but hold that God did first look upon those men as sinners, at least in the general corruption brought in by the fall; for all men have sinned by Adam, and are guilty of high treason against God.
{a} Plato finem huius mundi bonitatem Dei esse affirmavit.
{b} De Doctr. Christiana.
{c} Bernard.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Hath made; or, hath wrought or doth work; for…
Hath made; or, hath wrought or doth work; for the Hebrews express the present as well as the past thee by this tense: he ordereth or disposeth; for this may be understood either of the works of creation or of providence.
All things, and especially all men, for himself; for his own service and glory; for the discovery and illustration of his own wisdom, power, goodness, truth, justice, and his other most glorious perfections.
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The wicked, wilful and impenitent sinners,
for the day of evil; for the thee of punishment, as this phrase is used, Psa 49:5; Jer 17:18, and elsewhere; of which the Scripture frequently speaks, both to warn sinners of their danger, and to satisfy the minds of them which are amazed and disquieted with the consideration of the present impunity and felicity of wicked men. Men make themselves wicked, and God therefore makes them miserable.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Note, 1. That God is the first cause. He…
Note, 1. That God is the first cause. He is the former of all things and all persons, the fountain of being; he gave every creature the being it has and appointed it its place. Even the wicked are his creatures, though they are rebels; he gave them those powers with which they fight against him, which aggravates their wickedness, that they will not let him that made them rule them, and therefore, though he made them, he will not save them. 2. That God is the last end. All is of him and from him, and therefore all is to him and for him. He made all according to his will and for his praise; he designed to serve his own purposes by all his creatures, and he will not fail of his designs; all are his servants. The wicked he is not glorified by, but he will be glorified upon. He makes no man wicked, but he made those who he foresaw would be wicked: yet he made them (Gen 6:6), because he knew how to get himself honour upon them. See Rom 9:22. Or (as some understand it) he made the wicked to be employed by him as the instruments of his wrath in the day of evil, when he brings judgments on the world. He makes some use even of wicked men, as of other things, to be his sword, his hand (Psa 17:13, Psa 17:14), flagellum Dei - the scourge of God. The king of Babylon is called his servant.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The Lord hath made all things for himself,.... This…
The Lord hath made all things for himself,.... This is true of the Lord with respect to the creation of all things by him. All things are made by him, the heaven, earth, and sea; and all that are in them, angels, men, beasts, birds, fishes, and all creatures: and these are made for himself, and not another; not for the pure or good men, as Aben Ezra, though all things are for the elect's sake; but for God himself, besides whom there was no other before the creation, nor is there any other God but him, who is the first cause and last end of all things: nor were those all things made for him, through any want he had of them, being God all sufficient and blessed for evermore, but to show his greatness, and communicate his goodness; they are made for his service, which all creatures are obliged unto, and whom all in their way obey, and for his honour and glory. It is also true of his works of providence, and of his ordering and disposing of all things in the course of that, to answer ends of his own glory; his kingdom of providence rules over all; there is a general providence, which respects all creatures and things; and there is a particular providence attending the Lord's own people; and in all the glory of his wisdom, justice, truth, and goodness, is conspicuous: but this is chiefly, if not solely, to be understood of God's decrees and purposes; and of his ordering and appointing all things to bring about his own glory. Every thing is appointed of God; he has foreordained whatever comes to pass; there is a purpose for everything under the heavens, and a time fixed for the execution of it. Junius restrains it to "all men"; but it is true of all creatures and things, though especially men: all things are appointed by the Lord, respecting the temporal estate of men; their birth, and the time of it, with all the circumstances attending it; the place of their abode, their calling, station of life, and usefulness; all adverse and prosperous dispensations; their death, with all the events leading to it: and so likewise all things respecting their spiritual and eternal estate; the choice of them to salvation; their redemption by Christ; the time of his coming, sufferings, and death, and the circumstances thereof; the conversion of God's elect, the time, place, and means; these are all according to the purpose of God; as are also all their times of affliction, temptation, desertion, and of joy and comfort. In a word, the final state of all men, good and bad, is fixed by the Lord; and all this is "for himself", which some render, "to answer to himself" (c); all creatures are made to answer to his original design in making them, to the laws of their creation, and to answer his ends and purposes; and which is ultimately his own glory: or for his praise, as Jarchi; for his will and pleasure, as R. Isaac; for the thing in which he is well pleased, as R. Jonah or for his own sake, as Kimchi; and all which agree, as with the sense of the words, so with Rev 4:11. The Targum and Syriac version very wrongly render them,
"all the works of God, or the Lord, are for them that obey him;''
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yea, even the wicked for the day of evil; this is added to illustrate the general proposition in the preceding clause, and to obviate an objection, that might be taken from the destruction of the wicked, against all things being for the glory of God; for even the destruction of the wicked, which is under a divine appointment, is for his glory. It is not the sense of this text, nor of any other passage of Scripture, that God made man to damn him; nor is this to be inferred from the doctrine of predestination: God made man, neither to damn him, nor to save him, but for his own glory; and that is secured, whether in his salvation or damnation; nor did or does God make men wicked; he made man upright, and he has made himself wicked; and, being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his wickedness, in doing which he glorifies his justice. "The day of evil", or "evil day", is the day of wrath and ruin, unto which wicked men are reserved by the appointment of God, agreeably to the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions. This is true of wicked angels, wicked men, and particularly of that wicked one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist; the word here used is in the singular number.
(c) "ad responsum suum", Cocceius, Gejerus, Michaells; "ad responsum proprium ejus", Gussetius, p. 623. "ad responsum sui", Schultens.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Doth work - He orders or disposes. For -…
Doth work - He orders or disposes. For - For his own glory; for the discovery of his wisdom, power, goodness, truth, justice. The wicked - Wilful and impenitent sinners. Men make themselves wicked, and God therefore makes them miserable.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 4. The Lord hath made all things for…
Verse 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself] He has so framed and executed every part of his creation, that it manifests his wisdom, power, goodness, and truth.
Even the wicked for the day of evil.] וגם רשע ליום רעה vegam rasha leyom raah. The whole verse is translated by the Chaldee thus: "All the works of the LORD are for those who obey him; and the wicked is reserved for the evil day."
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As רעה raah literally signifies to feed, it has been conjectured that the clause might be read, yea, even the wicked he feeds by the day, or daily.
If we take the words as they stand in our present version, they mean no more than what is expressed by the Chaldee and Syriac: and as far as we can learn from their present confused state, by the Septuagint and Arabic, that "the wicked are reserved for the day of punishment." Coverdale has given, as he generally does, a good sense: "The Lorde doth all thinges for his owne sake; yea, and when he kepeth the ungodly for the daye of wrath." He does not make the wicked or ungodly man; but when man has made himself such, even then God bears with him. But if he repent not, when the measure of his iniquity is filled up, he shall fall under the wrath of God his Maker.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Pro 16:4. The Lord hath made all things —…
Pro 16:4. The Lord hath made all things — And especially all men; for himself — For his own service and glory; for the discovery and illustration of his own wisdom, power, goodness, truth, justice, and his other most glorious perfections. The Hebrew, כל פעל יהוה, is, literally, The Lord hath wrought, or doth work, all things; or, he ordereth, or disposeth of them; and so this may be understood of the works of providence, as well as of those of creation; yea, even the wicked — Wilful, impenitent sinners; for the day of evil — For the time of punishment, as this phrase is used Psa 49:5; Jer 17:18, and elsewhere: of which the Scriptures frequently speak, both to warn sinners of their danger, and to satisfy the minds of them who are disquieted with the consideration of the present impunity and prosperity of wicked men. Men make themselves wicked, and God therefore makes them miserable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain For himself - Better, The Lord has done everything…
For himself - Better, The Lord has done everything for its own end; and this includes the appointment of an “evil day” for “the wicked” who deserve it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Every workman has some end for his work. God…
Every workman has some end for his work. God has the highest end. As the Apostle reasons concerning the oath of God - "because he could sware by no greater, he sware by himself" (Heb 6:13 ); so here - because he could propose no higher end, he proposed himself. Indeed it is his exclusive prerogative, that, as he has been "the Beginning" (Col 1:18 . Rev 3:14 ), so he should be the end of all his works.†1 The LORD hath created all things - all the works of the creation - all the events of nations - all the dispensations of Providence - for himself; not to fill up a vacuum (for what vacuum could there be to the fountain of sufficiency?); but for the manifestation of his glory to his intelligent creatures. (Isa 43:21 ; Isa 60:21 .) Nor indeed can it be doubted, but that from his immense power and wisdom, from his benevolent and diffusive goodness he displayed, an infinite weight of glory is reflected upon the great source of all these perfections. "The LORD rejoices in his works" (Psa 104:31 ) with inexpressible delight and satisfaction. And thus all things return to that boundless ocean, from whence they sprung. Even the wicked, whose existence might seem scarcely reconcilable to the Divine perfections, he includes in the grand purpose of setting out his Name. ’It is the greatest praise of his wisdom, that he can turn the evil of men to his own glory!’†2 He hath made even the wicked for the day of evil. - Wicked they are of themselves. He made them not so.†3 He compels them not to be so.†4 He abhors their wickedness. But he foresaw their evil. He permitted it; and though "he hath no pleasure in their death,"†5 he will be glorified in them in the day of evil;†6 and when they sin by their own free-will, he ordains them to punishment, as the monuments of his power, his justice, and his long-suffering.†7
Clearly God is not he Author of sin. He cannot impart what he has not - what is contrary to his nature. Infinite perfection cannot impart imperfection. Absolute holiness cannot be the cause of sin; though, like the law,†8 it may be the innocent occasion or excitement of it. If he foreknows - ’infinite foreknowledge’ - as Edwards profoundly observes - ’proves the necessity of the event foreknown; yet it may not be the thing, which causes the necessity.’†9 He can decree nothing but good. If he permits evil, so far as not to hinder it, he hates it as evil, and permits it only for the greater good - the greatest of all good - the more full manifestation of his own glory in it, and out of it. He will be glorified in, or on, all his creatures. "All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD!" (Psa 145:10 .) His retributive justice, no less than the riches of his grace, sets out his glory. (Rom 9:22-23 .) It would seem as if the redeemed are permitted to see this, and to participate with Divine satisfaction. The flames of hell excite the reverential praises of heaven. - "And again they said - Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever."†10
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Footnotes:
†1 Isa 43:7; Isa 48:11-12 . Rom 11:36 . Rev 4:10-11 . See President Edwards’ profound and interesting reasoning, - ’God’s chief end in Creation.’ Proverbs i. Works, i. Could there be a clearer demonstration of the Divinity of Christ, than the representation of him as the great end of creation - "All things were made by Him, and for Him"? Col 1:16 .
†2 Bishop Hall. Compare Exo 14:17
†3 Gen 1:27. Ecc 7:29 .
†4 Joh 3:19.
†5 Eze 33:11.
†6 Job 21:30. 2Pe 2:9 .
†7 Rom 9:17, Rom 9:22 .
†8 Rom 7:5, Rom 7:8, Rom 7:11-13 . 1Co 15:56 .
†9 Treatise on Will, Part ii. Section 12. See also Doddridge’s valuable note on Luk 22:22 .
†10 Rev 19:3. "God made man neither to save nor damn him, but for his own glory. And it is secured, whether in his salvation or damnation. (See 2Co 2:15 .) Nor did, nor does, God make man wicked. He made man upright. Man makes himself wicked; and being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his wickedness; in doing which he glorifies his justice." Gill in loco. ’Those two great acts of his most secret and unsearchable counsel, than the one whereof there is not any one act more secret and unsearchable counsel, than the one whereof there is not any one act more gracious - the destination of those that persevere in faith and godliness to eternal happiness; nor any one act more full of terror and astonishment than the other - the designation of such as live and die in sin to eternal destruction; the Scriptures in the last resolution refer them wholly to his glory, as the last end. The glory of his rich mercy being most resplendent in the one, and the glory of his just severity in the other.’ - Bishop Sanderson’s Sermon on Rom 15:6 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Day. His obduracy is of his own choice, and…
Day. His obduracy is of his own choice, and must serve to set the divine justice in the clearest light, Ecclesiasticus xxxii. 14., and Exodus ix. 16. Others hence infer that predestination is gratuitous, and reprobation in consequence of sin. It seems rather that temporal goods and evils are here meant. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain for himself--"for its answer," or "purpose," that is, according…
for himself--"for its answer," or "purpose," that is, according to God's plan; the wicked are for the day of evil (Psa 49:5; Jer 17:18); sinning and suffering answer to each other, are indissolubly united.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 4. Hath made all things for himself — This…
4. Hath made all things for himself — This text has been used in support of the Calvinistic theory of election and reprobation. Many modern Calvinists, however, abjure the old rendering and exegesis, and concur in the sense approved by non-Calvinists. So Stuart, Zockler, Conant, etc. The translation and note of the Speaker’s Commentary, which we can scarcely improve, is this: “The Lord hath wrought every thing for its own end, that is, ‘hath ordered all things well,’ and this includes the appointment of an ‘evil day’ for the wicked who deserve it. The Authorized Version, ‘for himself,’ is not justified by the Hebrew, and suggests an untrue view of the divine government.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 4. for himself] for his own purpose, R.V. marg.;…
4. for himself] for his own purpose, R.V. marg.; or, for its own end, R.V. text. The two meanings really run into one another, for he who makes a thing to serve its own purpose makes it to serve his own purpose in so making it. The second clause of the verse extends the application of this truth from the physical to the moral sphere of action. But it creates no real difficulty. It is not said that God makes a man wicked, for He “made man upright” (Ecc_7:29. Comp. Gen_1:26-27; Gen_1:31), but that being wicked by his own choice he comes under the irrevocable law which dooms him to “the day of evil,” of calamity and punishment. By this, the Apostle teaches us, even in its final and most awful form, is revealed not the arbitrary predestination, but “the righteous judgement of God.” Rom_2:5-11.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (4) The Lord hath made all things for himself—i.e.,…
(4) The Lord hath made all things for himself—i.e., to serve His own purposes, that His wisdom, goodness, &c, may be thereby revealed. Or the passage may be translated, “hath made all for its own end or purpose.” The assertion that “He has made the wicked for the day of evil,” does not mean that He created any one for punishment—i.e., predestined him for destruction. It only teaches that even the wicked are subservient to God’s eternal purposes; that Pharaoh, for instance, by his rebellion could not change God’s plans for the deliverance of His people, but only gave Him an occasion for showing forth His power, justice, goodness, and longsuffering. The “day of evil,” i.e., punishment, at last overtook Pharaoh in accordance with the law and purpose of God that the wicked, if unrepentant, shall be punished, and thereby serve as a warning to others; but God by his longsuffering shewed that He was “not willing” that he should “perish,” but rather that he “should come to repentance” (2Pe_3:9). This appears to be also the teaching of St. Paul in Rom_9:17, sqq.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The Lord hath made all things for himself. So…
The Lord hath made all things for himself. So the Vulgate, propter semetipsum; and Origen ("Praef. in Job"), di eauton . That is, God hath made everything for his own purpose, to answer the design which he hath intended from all eternity. (Rev_4:11) But this translation is not in accordance with the present reading, WhneMl, which means rather "for its own end," for its own proper use. Everything in God"s design has its own end and object and reason for being where it is and such as it is; everything exhibits his goodness and wisdom, and tends to his glory. Septuagint, "All the works of the Lord are with righteousness." Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. This clause has been perverted to support the terrible doctrine of reprobation that God, whose will must be always efficacious, has willed the damnation of some; whereas we are taught that God"s will is that "all men should be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth," and that "God sent his Son not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved". (1Ti_2:4 Joh_3:17; comp. Eze_33:11) Man, having freewill, can reject this gracious purpose of God, and render the means of salvation nugatory; but this does not make God the cause of man"s destruction, but man himself. In saying that God "made the wicked," the writer does not mean that God made him as such, but made him as he made all other things, giving him powers and capacities which he might have used to good, but which, as a fact, he uses to evil. It will be useful here to quote the wise words of St. Gregory ("Moral.," 6:33), "The Just and Merciful One, as he disposes the deeds of mortals, vouchsafes some things in mercy, and permits other things in anger; and the things which he permits he so bears with that he turns them to the account of his purpose. And hence it is brought to pass in a marvellous way that even that which is done without the will of God is not contrary to the will of God. For while evil deeds are converted to a good use, the very things that oppose his design render service to his design." The day of evil is the hour of punishment, (Isa 10:3Jo Isa 21:30) which by a moral law will inevitably fall upon the sinner. God makes man"s wickedness subserve his purposes and manifest his glory, as we see in the case of Pharaoh, (Exo_9:16) and the crucifixion of our blessed Lord. (Act_2:23; comp. Rom_9:22) It is a phase of God"s moral government that an evil day should be appointed for transgressors, and it is from foreknowledge of their deserts that their punishment is prepared. The perplexing question, why God allows men to come into the world whom he knows will meet with perdition, is not handled here. Septuagint, "But the impious is kept for an evil day." Cato, "Dist.," 2:8"Nolo putes pravos homines peccata lucrari: Temporibus peccata latent, sed tempore patent.
The purpose of creation.
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It is commonly asserted that God made the world in love, that he created it from the goodness of his heart, because he desired to have creatures to bless. From this point of view, creation represents grace, giving, surrender, sacrifice, on the part of God. But another and apparently a contrary view is suggested by the words before us. Here it would seem that God created all things from self regarding motives, as a man makes a machine for his own use. The contradiction, however, is only superficial. For if we take the second view, we must still bear in mind what the character of God is. Now, God is revealed to us as essential]y love. Therefore only those things will please him that agree with love. A cruel Being might make for himself creatures that would amuse him by exhibiting contortions of agony, but a fatherly Being will be best pleased by seeing his family truly good and happy. It the universe is made to please Divine love, it must be made for blessedness. Yet it cannot be made for selfish happiness. It must be created so as to find its own good in God, and thus to give itself up to him as the End of its being. Apply this principle
I IN REGARD TO THE UNIVERSE AT LARGE. The law of gravitation is universal All things tend to rush to their centres of attraction. In a large way the universe is drawn to God, its Centre.
1. It is ever more and more realizing the purpose of God. This is seen in all growth the seed becomes the flowering plant, etc. It is strikingly exemplified in the doctrine of evolution. The great thought of God concerning the universe is slowly emerging into fact.
2. It is continually approaching the thought of God. The higher orders of creatures are nearer to the nature and thought of the Infinite Spirit than the lower. The upward movement is a Godward movement.
3. It is growingly fulfilling the purpose of God. From the formless and void past the universe moves on to "one far off Divine event," when God"s will shall be completely accomplished.
II IN REGARD TO EVIL. Evil in itself, moral evil, cannot have been made by God, who is only holy. But in two respects evil may come within God"s purposes.
1. Physical evil directly works out Gods purposes. It is only evil to our eyes, as shadows look gloomy and winter feels painful. Really it is good, because it is part of the whole good plan of the universe. God sends pain in love, that the issue of it may be the higher blessedness of his children.
2. Moral evil will be overruled for Divine purposes. The bad man has his uses. Nebuchadnezzar was essential to the chastisement of Israel. Judas Iscariot was an agent in the chain of events that issued in Christ"s great work of redemption.
III IS REGARD TO INDIVIDUAL SOULS. We are all made for God. He is the End of our being, not only as the home and rest we need, but as the goal after which we should aim. The great aim of Christ"s work is to bring all things in subjection to God, that he "may be All in all". (1Co_15:28) The mistake of men is in seeking their own good first, even though this be the higher good of "other-worldliness." For our great end is to forget self in God.
Vers. 4-9. The administration of rewards and punishments.
I THE MORAL DESIGNS OF GOD. (Ver. 4) The creation is teleological; it has a beginning, a process, and an end in view, all determined by the will and wisdom of God. If this is true of every plant, of every mollusc, it is true of every man. We are formed to illustrate his praise. Disobedience, with its consequences, ratifies his just and holy laws.
II THE MORAL FEELINGS OF GOD. (Ver. 5) Only that which stands in a true relation to him can be true. Haughtiness and arrogance are, so to speak, in the worst taste. In the eyes of God they are not beautiful, and cannot escape his criticism and correction.
III HIS PROVISION FOR THE OBLIVION OF GUILT AND THE CURE OF MORAL EVIL. (Ver. 6) In social relations he has opened a fountain, sweet and healing, for mutual faults and sins. Love hides a multitude of sins. "I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much". (comp. Isa_58:7 Dan_4:27) But prevention is better than healing, and in religion is the prophylactic against evil.
IV GOD"S RECONCILING LOVE. (Ver. 7) What sweeter pleasure does life yield than reconciliation? "Tis a deeper blessing than peace which has never been broken. Life is full of the principle of opposition; and God is manifested, first in the drawing of us to himself, and then in the union of estranged human hearts to one another.
V THE LAW OF COMPENSATION. (Ver. 8) He hath set the one over against the other, that we should seek nothing alter him. Poverty has great advantages, if we will see it so is more favourable, on the whole, to moral health than the reverse condition. And the hard crust of honest poverty, how sweet! the luxurious living of the dishonest rich, how insipid! or how bitter!
VI DIVINE RECTIFICATIONS. (Ver. 9) We must take heed to our own way; yet with all our care, we cannot ensure right direction or security. We need God"s rectification and criticism at every point, and hence should ever say to ourselves, "If the Lord will, we will do this or that". (Jam_4:15) The blending of human with Divine counsel, human endeavour with God"s guidance, may defy analysis, but is known in experience to be real. J.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea,…
Pro_16:4
The Lord hath made all things for Himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil
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Of Gods disposing all things to their proper ends
No light on this passage comes from the context.
The words may be taken--
I. In the sense that God created all things merely for His own good pleasure, without any external motive. Then the latter part of the verse contains a great difficulty--how can God be said to have made the wicked for Himself, for the manifesting of His glory in the day of punishment? It is impossible that God could have any external motive, when in the universe there was nothing existing without Himself. The good pleasure of God is the only reason why things were brought into being at all. God has declared Himself by a clear revelation to persons of all capacities to be the Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things that are therein. His goodness moved Him to bring creatures into being on which He might display that goodness, and to whom He might communicate His happiness. The glory of God is not anything properly relating to Himself, any advantage or benefit to Him; it is the communicating of His goodness, by creating the world; the promoting His likeness among rational creatures, by the practice of righteousness. But how can God be said to have made even the wicked for Himself? Some have contended that God has on purpose made many creatures necessarily inclined to wickedness, that He might manifest His power and authority in their destruction. But nothing can be more blasphemous than to imagine that He created any beings with design that they might be wicked and miserable. Nevertheless, because it is certain that nothing comes to pass without His permission, nothing subsists but by His power and concurrence, nothing is done but by the use or abuse of those faculties which He has created, therefore in Scripture phrase, and in acknowledgment of the supreme superintendence of providence over all events, God is represented as doing everything that is done in the world.
II. Consider the text as meaning, the Lord has made all things suited to each other: yea, even the wicked to the day of evil. This is the more natural sense. The only question that arises is, How can God be said to have fitted the wicked to destruction? In the Jewish language all that is meant is, that God causes wickedness and punishment to be proportionable. It is only an instance of the wisdom and exact adjustment of the works of God. The adjustment of mens condition to their deserts is the true greatness and glory of a kingdom. It is the natural tendency of things to get conditions fitted to deserts; and God takes care, by the positive interposition of His power and authority in the world, that every evil work shall have its proper recompense in the day of evil.
1. We may justify God, and give glory to Him in all His proceedings.
2. If we would escape the day of evil, we must avoid the wickedness to which it is annexed. (S. Clarke, D.D.)
Wicked men, the providential instruments of good
All things are in Gods hands, and He makes use of all things as He pleases; for He created them all. However the wicked may be set upon mischief, they can proceed no further than God permits; being instruments only in His hand, to afflict others; to exercise good men with trials, or to punish the wicked. All kinds of calamities and disasters that may befall mankind may therefore be ascribed to God as the supreme arbitrator, and disposer of all events. Mankind were very apt to suspect that there were two opposite powers in the world, one the fountain of good, and the other the fountain of mischief. Scripture teaches that both good and evil, both prosperity and adversity, proceed from the same fountain, and are both to be ascribed to one and the same God. God serves Himself of angels and men as His instruments, and permits them to act no further than He can turn to good.
I. Open and illustrate the general doctrine. The Lord orders and disposes all things so as one way or other to serve His own wise purposes. Whatever second causes there are, or however they act, still it is God, and God alone, that governs the world. Events that seem merely casual and accidental are in reality providential. The most mysterious part of Gods government of the moral world is His ordering even the wicked in a way consistent with human liberty, and so as to serve the ends of His providence, and to promote His glory. The fact is certain, the manner how is beyond our comprehension. This we can see, it was kind and gracious in God to create men, though He knew that many of them would prove wicked. And God makes use of the wicked men, who are His creatures, to serve the ends of His providence. They mean nothing but evil, while God turns it to good. Consider the power of God over the minds and hearts of wicked men. But does not Gods making use of the sins of men look like concurring with, and countenancing their iniquities? Men commit the sins, God does but control, curb, and regulate.
II. The practical use and improvement of this doctrine.
1. It is both our duty and interest to submit all our concerns to Him, upon whom all success, and every blessing, depend. A question may arise as to the use of means, and the necessity or serviceableness of human care or industry. But miracles are not to be expected in the ordinary course of affairs. Success in affairs is proposed by God as the reward consequent upon proper care and application.
2. God controls and bridles wicked men in all their machinations. Therefore we need never be afraid of wicked men, or of devils. Wicked men, however malicious or mischievous, are weak in themselves. They are held in as with bit and bridle.
3. Refer all the hard usage, all the injuries or troubles we meet with from men, to God, the real author of them.
4. Learn to estimate aright the ordinary stream of affairs, the common course of this world. It may be very bad: it is being over- ruled.
5. Fix in the mind an assurance of the constant working of Divine Providence. (D. Waterland, D.D.)
God made all things for Himself
Scholars render this verse, The Lord hath made everything for its purpose. The meaning of which is, that eventually the use and condition of every person and thing in the universe will be found to correspond with its character. But the form given in the authorised version sets forth a sublime and indubitable truth. How can we gain right views of the infinite majesty of God? God Himself aids us, inwardly, by His Spirit quickening our moral powers, and outwardly, by the means of light and instruction which He has put within our reach--the books of nature and of providence, and His inspired Word. Duly considered, our text may help us to find our proper place in the great system of things, and to see and realise our beings true end and aim. What was Gods purpose in giving being to this universe? The answer of Scripture is that God made not only us but all things for Himself. Look at the necessity of the case. How else could it be? The whole universe must have one great object. All things now existing, save God, once did not exist. Everything was wrapped up in the bosom of God. His purpose embraced the creation of the universe. His purpose must have been derived from Himself, and have centred in Himself. When God spake the creative word, it was of and for Himself. There was no other conceivable source or object. When He made all things for Himself, and the promotion of His glory, He acted under a necessity of His nature as the infinitely perfect God. No doubt God willed the happiness of the creatures whom He made; but back of this, He purposed to promote His own glory.
1. Apprehending this is designed to teach us a lesson in self-knowledge. What we are as creatures we can never know as we ought, save by studying the Uncreated. It is in the contemplation of the nature, purposes, and works of God, that we can best see the insignificance of man. We should be humbled not merely as beings, but much more as moral beings. The greatness of God fearfully enhances the guilt of man.
2. The doctrine we are considering inculcates a lesson in active duty, as well as self-knowledge and humility. It urges a plea for Gods service, before which every pretext for disobedience must be hushed. Did God make all things for Himself? There can be no higher reason for obeying Him, and to disobey Him is made thereby infinitely irrational, impious, and vain. The fact that God seeks His own glory in all things should not only determine the form of our duty, but also be its motive and its end. To give this prominence to Gods glory clashes with no real interest of man, and does no violence to any original principle of His nature; on the contrary, in aiming at it, man is aiming at his greatest good. Why should not the infinite and perfect God be capable of engrossing and satisfying the whole mind and heart of His creature man? The frame of mind is not indeed natural to man, and it cannot be attained in the independent exercise of his natural powers. It is only by Gods Spirit that he can be made thus spiritual. Only by looking to Jesus in a simple, earnest, exclusive, and habitual faith, can any one learn to make God and His glory the end of his being. (W. Sparrow, D.D.)
The universal sovereignty of God
The word made is not here created, but it is used in the more general sense of do, work, perform. The Lord Jehovah hath wrought, performed, all things for Himself. The final end of all Divine proceeding is Gods own glory. This hidden and ultimate purpose of all the works of God is revealed in the text.
1. The Lord hath made all things for Himself in creation. And man is part of His creation.
2. The principle of the text applies to the work of redemption. It is of Gods sovereign will and pleasure, and for His own eternal glory, that God hath been pleased to choose a Church outer this fallen world, to be glorified in His Son, Jesus Christ. This view of redemption tends to humble the sinner.
3. God hath made all things for Himself in providence. Every event or circumstance in this worlds history has been arranged or ordered for the glory of Jehovah. It is impossible that anything shall ever happen which shall not tend directly or indirectly to this great end. Sin is essentially the fault of the creature. God is not the author of evil. The wicked were not created as such. They are, however, appointed unto the day of evil as their fitting punishment. (W. E. Light, M.A.)
The Lord hath made all things for Himself
Here attention is directed to God, to His general formation of all things, and to the arrangements which, in that creation, He has unquestionably made. God is the universal Creator. Yet philosophers, ancient and modern, have always been trying to find another maker of things than God. Wherever there is existence, there the hand of God has been put forth in conferring that existence. God has made everything just as a Being absolutely perfect ought to make it. Though God made man upright, He did not make man a sinner. Man has made himself a sinner. God made all things for Himself. He is the origin, and He is the end. There are, indeed, subordinate ends, but they lose themselves, as it were, in God, the great end of all. In saying that the Lord made the wicked for the day of evil, we must recur to His foresight. He allows some sinners to go on in their guilt till death finds them ready for eternal destruction from the presence of the Lord; and therefore, at every stage in which these wicked ones may be contemplated, they are still to be considered as the works of God, supported by Him, provided for by Him. The day of evil looks to the final retribution of all things. We are to ascribe to God the existence, the support, the maintenance, of those individuals who are rising up every moment in rebellion against Him. The wicked are as much in the hands of God to be punished by Him as the good are in His hands to receive undeserved kindness. (James Maclean, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Pro_16:4. For Himself. Many read “for its own purpose,…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_16:4. For Himself. Many read “for its own purpose, or end.” There is much in favour, however, of the reading of the authorised text.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_16:4
ALL THINGS FOR GOD
I. There is one Person in the universe who knows the history of all things. Jehovah knows all things because He made all things. Some men know the history of their nation and the history of many nations. Others know the history of the philosophies of the world, can tell when and by whom certain ideas were first promulgated and certain methods adopted. There are other men who are acquainted with the history of natural objects, and whose knowledge is so extensive that it embraces the heavens above and the waters under the earth. But there is only One Being who can claim a knowledge of all things and all persons, and that is the Maker of all things. The smith who has beaten a ploughshare out of rough iron can give us the history of the share because he made it. The sculptor who calls into shape and form a beautiful statue knows the day and hour when that statue ceased to be a thing of the imagination only by the first application of his chisel. And he can give the history of its progress from that day until this because he is the author of its existence. So God, having called all things into being at first, and having upheld them ever since by the word of His power, has a perfect knowledge of their history. But He goes farther. No human worker knows anything of the essential nature of the material out of which he fashions his work—he finds that ready to his hand, and can tell us but little about it. But God is the Creator of matter; He called it into being at first, and therefore knows not only the history of the formation of things as we see them but the essential qualities of the material out of which they are formed.
II. Creation is the work of One Being. Most things made by man need co-operation. Although they are but inanimate objects they cannot be made by the unaided efforts of one creature. He must have the skill and strength of others to help him, either in the actual work itself, or in the preparation of the material, or the tools which he uses. A palace can be built only by the united effort of many hundreds of intelligent creatures, and when they have finished it they have only made a lifeless thing. A ship when in full sail is as much “like a thing of life” as any work of man, yet the movement that makes it look so life-like is not in itself but comes from an external power. Yet inanimate though it is, how many a man gave his toil and his strength to bring into existence this new thing. One thing made by man requires the strength and skill of many, and when made is without life; but the One God is the maker of all things that we see around us, many of which are full of life.
III. The world is not co-eternal with God. Matter is one of the “all things” which He has made. This being the case it is not as old as God. He was before the material was out of which “in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth.”
IV. The One God is the absolute Lord of all His creatures. This is the thought which must be expressed in the second clause of this verse. In considering it we must remember—
1. That the infinitely good God can do no wrong. In proportion as men are good, certain acts are impossible to them. There are human beings whom we feel are incapable of certain immoral acts. In proportion as men approach in their characters to the character of God it becomes a moral impossibility for them to do wrong to any creature. It is, therefore, conceivable that if we could find a man who was perfectly true and good we should find a being who could do no wrong. We cannot find such an absolute being among fallen men, but we have such a Being in God. He is absolute goodness and righteousness and truth—as to His character, “He is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” It is, therefore, impossible for Him in any way to be the author of sin. Being absolute goodness, He cannot make a wicked man. He hates sin, and cannot increase it by creating wickedness. It is an impossibility for him to be the author of wrong in any way.
2. That all His plans and purposes are manifestly directed to making men good. If any person were to declare that God delighted or purposed that His creatures should live in darkness, we should point to the sun in the heavens as a direct refutation of such a statement. To any who declare that God is indifferent as to whether men live in sin or not, we point to the Bible and to the incarnation and death of His Son as the most emphatic denial of such an assertion. And if, in the face of such facts, it is impossible to believe that God is indifferent as to human character, it is a thousand times more impossible to conceive the possibility of His creating a “wicked man.”
3. Therefore no man can be brought to a “day of evil” except by his own consent. No man can be brought to perform an evil deed except by his own consent, and consequently he cannot be brought to the consequences of evil without the exercise of his own free-will. The human tempter cannot destroy the virtue of his victim unless he first gain his consent, and whatever evil day comes as the consequence, the sinner feels that it is the fruit of his own act. The sting would be removed if he felt that it had come upon him without any deed of his own. Satan certainly believes that he can bring no man to a day of evil without that man’s consent. Consequently his great work is that of a tempter—a persuader—his great aim is to win the will of every man as he won that of our first parents. Nor can God bring a man to a day of evil unless that man consent. He has made man free, and His nature forbids Him to tempt His creatures to evil (Jas_1:13), much more it makes it impossible that he should coerce their will to the committal of sin, which is the sole cause of all the evil that is found in the universe. The declaration of the text therefore is:
1. That all men exist by the will of God, who desires them to use their present life, so as to be fitted for a higher one.
2. That if a man crosses God’s desires and purposes in this matter, he will come to a day of evil.
3. God will use the actions of those who oppose His will against themselves, and for the furtherance of His own purpose. God was the Author of Pharaoh’s existence, and if he had yielded to the Divine will he would by obedience have been raised to a higher condition of life. But when he opposed the will of God, and put away from him the opportunities of Divine enlightenment, then it might be said that “God created him for the day of evil”—then God over-ruled His opposition to His glory and to Pharaoh’s destruction. And so he deals with all who exalt themselves against His will, refusing to fall in with His purpose of mercy towards them.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
“Even the wicked for the day of evil,” i.e., to experience the day of evil, and then to receive His wellmerited punishment. It is not specifically the day of final judgment that is directly intended (as though the doctrine here were that of a predestination of the ungodly to eternal damnation), but any day of calamity whatsoever which God has fixed for the ungodly, whether it may overtake him in this or in a future life. Comp. the “day of destruction” (Job_21:30), the “day of visitation” (Isa_10:3).—Lange’s Commentary.
The day of evil is generally understood, and I have myself been accustomed so to explain it, of the day of final visitation and suffering to the wicked themselves. But I am now inclined to doubt whether “the day of evil” has here this meaning at all. There is another, of which it is alike susceptible, and which, in Scripture, it frequently bears—namely, the day of primitive visitation, in the infliction of judicial vengeance, in the course of God’s providential administration. I question if the suffering of the wicked be intended, and am disposed to refer the phrase to the instrumental agency of the wicked. “The Lord hath made all things for Himself” will thus mean that He employs all as instruments in effecting His purposes, and that thus He makes the wicked as a part of His agency: employing them, without at all interfering with their freedom and their responsibility, as the executioners of wrath, “when He cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,” thus rendering their very passions the means of accomplishing His designs, making “the wrath of man to praise Him, and restraining the remainder of wrath.”—Wardlaw.
If by God’s making all things for Himself be meant that He aimed at and intended the manifestation of His wisdom, and power, and goodness in the creation of the world, ’tis most true that in this sense He made all things for Himself; but if we understand it so, as if the goodness of His nature did not constrain Him thereto, but He had some design to serve ends and necessities of His own upon His creatures, this is far from Him. But it is very probable that neither of these is the meaning of this text, which may be rendered with much better sense, and nearer to the Hebrew, thus, “God hath ordained everything to that which is fit for it, and the wicked hath He ordained for the day of evil;” that is, the wisdom of God hath fitted one thing for another, punishment to sin, the evil day to the evil-doer.—Tillotson.
God made things without life and reason to serve Him passively and subjectively, by administering occasion to man to admire and adore his Maker; but man was made to worship Him actively and affectionately, as sensible of, and affected with, that Divine wisdom, power, and goodness which appear in them. As all things are of Him as the efficient cause, so all things must necessarily be for Him as the final cause. But man is in an especial manner predestinated and elected for this purpose. “Thou art mine; I have created him for my glory; I have formed him; yea, I have made him” (Isa_43:1-7).—Swinnock.
God, in His revelations, hath told us nothing of the second causes which He hath established under Himself for the production of ordinary effects, that we not perplex ourselves about them, but always look up to Him as the first cause, as working without them, or by them, as He sees good. But he hath told us plainly of the final cause, or end of all things, that we may keep our eyes always fixed on that, and accordingly strive all we can to promote it.—Beveridge.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain v. 4. The Lord hath made all things for…
v. 4. The Lord hath made all things for Himself, according to His all-wise plans; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil, for even the works of the ungodly are included in His government, although His punishment will finally overtake them, the evil thus serving for His glorification.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 16:4 The wicked will have trouble in this life…
16:4 The wicked will have trouble in this life and in death. Nothing is outside of God’s control (see also Rom 9:10-24; 2 Pet 2:9).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.