By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.
Parallel Translations
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By mercy and truth iniquity is atoned for. By the fear of Yahweh men depart from evil.
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By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
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By mercy and truth iniquity is expiated; and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Proverbs 16:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 14:16 A wise man fears and shuns evil, but the fool is hot headed and reckless.
- Job 28:28 To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’ ”
- 2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Daniel 4:27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.”
- Proverbs 8:13 The fear of Yahweh is to hate evil. I hate pride, arrogance, the evil way, and the perverse mouth.
- Proverbs 14:27 The fear of Yahweh is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.
- Luke 11:41 But give for gifts to the needy those things which are within, and behold, all things will be clean to you.
- Job 1:1-8 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God, and turned away from evil. There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. His possessions also were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. His sons went and held a feast in the house of each one on his birthday; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. It was so, when the days of their feasting had run their course, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced God in their hearts.” Job did so continually. Now on the day when God’s sons came to present themselves before Yahweh, Satan also came among them. Yahweh said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, “From going back and forth in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” Yahweh said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant, Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a blameless and an upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil.”
- Proverbs 20:28 Love and faithfulness keep the king safe. His throne is sustained by love.
- Nehemiah 5:15 But the former governors who were before me were supported by the people, and took bread and wine from them, plus forty shekels of silver; yes, even their servants ruled over the people; but I didn’t do so, because of the fear of God.
- Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
- Acts 15:9 He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.
- Nehemiah 5:9 Also I said, “The thing that you do is not good. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?
- Genesis 20:11 Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely the fear of God is not in this place. They will kill me for my wife’s sake.’
- Psalms 85:10 Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
- John 15:2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
- Ephesians 5:21 subjecting yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ.
- 1 Peter 1:22 Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently,
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Explain this verse (20 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Their upright and repenting life shall be a token…
Their upright and repenting life shall be a token that their sins are forgiven.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged:…
Pro 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD [men] depart from evil.
Ver. 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged.] Lest the proud person, bearing these dreadful threats, sbould fall into despair, here is a way shewed him how to escape. "By mercy and truth"; that is, by the goodness and faithfulness of God; by his love tbat moved him to promise pardon to the penitent, and by his truth that binds him to perform; "iniquity" - though never so hateful, be it blasphemy or any like heinous sin {Mat 12:31} - "is purged," or expiated, viz., through Christ, "who is the propitiation for our sins." {1Jn 2:2 Pro 14:22} {See Trapp on "Pro 14:22"}
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And by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.] As in the former clause were declared the causes of justification, so here the exercise of sanctification, for these two go ever together. Christ doth not only wash all his in "the fountain" of his blood "opened for sin and for uncleanness," {Zec 13:1} but healeth their natures of that swinish disposition, whereby they would else wallow again in their former filth. The laver and altar under the law situated in the same priest’s court signified the same, as the water and blood issuing out of Christ’s side, viz., the necessary concurrence of justification and sanctification in all that shall be saved: that [the latter] was intimated by the laver and water; this [the former] by the altar and blood.
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 By mercy and truth; either,
By mercy and truth; either,
1. By God’s mercy or grace, and by his truth in performing his promises made to sinners in Christ. Or,
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2. By men’s mercy and truth, as those very words are jointly used, Pro 3:3; 20:28, and elsewhere; and as, in the following clause, the fear of the Lord is a grace or disposition in men; by a merciful, and just, and faithful frame of heart and course of life; which are here opposed to sacrifices, as mercy is, Hos 6:6, by which the hypocritical Jews expected to obtain the expiation of their sins.
Iniquity is purged, not meritoriously, but instrumentally, as they qualify a man to offer up acceptable prayers to God for the pardon of his sins, and to receive and apply to himself that pardon which Christ by his blood hath purchased for all sincere believers, who are filled with mercy, and truth, and other graces.
By the fear of the Lord; by a filial reverence or respect unto God, and by a holy fear of offending God, and by a dread of God’s judgments;
men depart from evil; they are kept from abusing pardoning mercy, and from returning to folly or wickedness. So he showeth that justification and sanctification are constant and inseparable companions.
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 See here, 1. How the guilt of sin is…
See here, 1. How the guilt of sin is taken away from us - by the mercy and truth of God, mercy in promising, truth in performing, the mercy and truth which kiss each other in Jesus Christ the Mediator - by the covenant of grace, in which mercy and truth shine so brightly - by our mercy and truth, as the condition of the pardon and a necessary qualification for it - by these, and not by the legal sacrifices, Mic 6:7, Mic 6:8. 2. How the power of sin is broken in us. By the principles of mercy and truth commanding in us the corrupt inclinations are purged out (so we may take the former part); however, by the fear of the Lord, and the influence of that fear, men depart from evil; those will not dare to sin against God who keep up in their minds a holy dread and reverence of him.
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 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged,.... Or "expiated"…
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged,.... Or "expiated" (d), and atoned for: not by the mercy and truth of men; not by alms deeds or showing mercy to the poor; nor by speaking truth and keeping promises, and doing justice between man and man; for, though these are duties to be performed, they will not atone for sin; and may be done by persons destitute of the grace of God, and whose iniquities are not purged or pardoned: but by the mercy and truth of God; through his "mercy", in sending Christ to be the propitiation for sin; and through his "truth", in fulfilling his promises concerning Christ; and particularly concerning pardon on the foot of his sacrifice and satisfaction, where mercy and truth have met together: or through the grace and truth come by Jesus Christ; or through his atoning sacrifice, by which he has finished transgression, made an end of sin, and made reconciliation for iniquity; in which there is a rich display of his own and of his father's grace and mercy, truth and faithfulness;
and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil; having that put into their hearts, and excited and influenced by the grace and goodness of God, men are engaged to abstain from evil, and the appearance of it; it teaches them to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly and godly in this world.
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(d) "expiabitur", Montanus, Vatablus; "expiatur", Tigurine version, Mercerus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Gejerus, Michaelis, 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 By mercy - By a merciful and just and…
By mercy - By a merciful and just and faithful frame of heart and course of life. Is purged - As they qualify a man to offer up acceptable prayers to God for the pardon of his sins. By fear - By a filial reverence unto God. Depart - They are kept from abusing pardoning mercy, and from returning to folly or wickedness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged]…
Verse 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged] This may be misunderstood, as if a man, by showing mercy and acting according to truth, could atone for his own iniquity. The Hebrew text is not ambiguous: בחסד ואמת יכפר עון bechesed veemeth yechapper avon; "By mercy and truth he shall atone for iniquity." He - God, by his mercy, in sending his son Jesus into the world, - "shall make an atonement for iniquity" according to his truth - the word which he declared by his holy prophets since the world began. Or, if we retain the present version, and follow the points in yecuppar, reading "iniquity is purged" or "atoned for," the sense is unexceptionable, as we refer the mercy and the truth to GOD. But what an awful comment is that of Don Calmet, in which he expresses, not only his own opinion, but the staple doctrine of his own Church, the Romish! The reader shall have his own words: "'L'iniquite se rachete par la misericorde et la verite.' On expie ses pechez par des oeuvres de misericorde envers le prochein; par la clemence, par la douceur, par compassion, par les aumones: et par la verite - par la fidelity, la bonne foi, la droiture, l'equite dans le commerce. Voyez Pr 3:3; Pr 14:22; Pr 20:28." "'Iniquity is redeemed by mercy and truth.' We expiate our sins by works of mercy towards our neighbour; by clemency, by kindness, by compassion, and by alms: and by truth - by fidelity, by trustworthiness, by uprightness, by equity in commerce." If this be so, why was Jesus incarnated? Why his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and passion, his death and burial, his resurrection and ascension? Was it only to supply a sufficient portion of merit for those who had neglected to make a fund for themselves? Is the guilt of sin so small in the sight of Divine justice, that a man can atone for it by manifesting good dispositions towards his neighbours, by giving some alms, and not doing those things for which he might be hanged? Why then did God make such a mighty matter of the redemption of the world? Why send his Son at all? An angel would have been more than sufficient; yea, even a sinner, who had been converted by his own compassion, alms - deeds, c., would have been sufficient. And is not this the very doctrine of this most awfully fallen and corrupt Church? Has she not provided a fund of merit in her saints, of what was more than requisite for themselves, that it might be given, or sold out, to those who had not enough of their own? Now such is the doctrine of the Romish Church - grossly absurd, and destructively iniquitous! And because men cannot believe this, cannot believe these monstrosities, that Church will burn them to ashes. Ruthless Church! degenerated, fallen, corrupt, and corrupting! once a praise, now a curse, in the earth. Thank the blessed God, whose blood alone can expiate sin, that he has a Church upon the earth and that the Romish is not the Catholic Church; and that it has not that political power by which it would subdue all things to itself.
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 16:6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged…
Pro 16:6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged — By the covenant of grace, in which mercy and truth shine so bright, even the mercy and truth of God, which meet together, and kiss each other, in Jesus Christ the Mediator; by mercy in promising, and truth in performing, is the guilt of sin taken away from us, when we are truly penitent, and cast our sinful souls by faith on that mercy and truth. Hereby also a principle of mercy and truth is implanted in us, by which the power of sin is broken, and our corrupt inclinations are mortified and destroyed. In this way, and not by any legal sacrifices, or ceremonial observances, such as those on which the hypocritical Jews depended for the expiation of their sins, is iniquity purged, and the sinner both pardoned and renewed, Mic 6:7-8; Hos 6:6; Mat 9:13. And by the fear of the Lord — By a filial reverence toward God, and by a holy fear of offending him; men depart from evil — They are kept from abusing pardoning mercy, and from returning to folly or wickedness. So he shows that forgiveness and holiness, or justification, and at least a measure of sanctification, are constant and inseparable companions.
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 Compare Pro 15:8. “By mercy and truth,” not by…
Compare Pro 15:8. “By mercy and truth,” not by sacrifices and burnt-offerings, “iniquity is purged, atoned for, expiated.” The teaching is the same as that of the prophets.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain The true exposition of this verse requires much care…
The true exposition of this verse requires much care and consideration. We protest against that false principle of theology, which substitutes the grand doctrines of the gospel in the place of its practical statements. The purging of iniquity seems here however to direct us to expiation.†1 Therefore to connect it with man’s mercy and truth is to overturn the foundation of the gospel. These are duties to be performed (Pro 3:3 ); not atonement for sin: and often are they performed by men destitute of the grace of God, whose iniquity therefore is not purged. They may indeed in the dispensation of God be available for averting national judgements. (Dan 4:27 .) But there is a wide difference between this "lengthening tranquillity," and purging iniquity. On the other hand - considering that Divine mercy and truth are frequently exhibited in connection with this invaluable blessing;†2 the analogy of faith appears to link it here with these combined perfections, ’which kiss in Christ the Mediator (Psa 85:10 ), and with that covenant of grace, in which they shine so brightly.’†3 Should this view be thought not to cohere with the general tenor of this book, which ’deals more with practical points and matters of common life, than with the deeper articles of faith;’†4 it may be observed, that, when some of its pages are so fully illuminated by evangelical sunshine (Pro 8:9 ), we might naturally expect - besides this connected splendor - occasional rays of doctrinal light to rest upon this system of Christian morals.
Taking, therefore, in accordance with most of our best critics and soundest expositors,†5 this ground of interpretation - we observe the great controversy between God and man. Man would purge iniquity by repentance or external ceremonials. God determines it by sacrifice; not nullifying the sanctions of the law by a simple deed of mercy; but combining the manifestation of his truth, by fulfilling these sanctions upon the Surety, which mercy provided. (Isa 53:6 . 2Co 5:21 .) No display of mercy can be conceived in force and emphasis to compare with that awful moment when "God spared not his own Son" (Rom 8:32 ), but permitted blameless love and purity to agonize upon the cross. Yet was this wondrous display of mercy a display of truth not less wondrous; inasmuch as it was the means, by which inflexible justice could justify the guilty. (Rom 3:26 .) So gloriously do these two attributes harmonize! We enquire not, to which we owe the deepest obligation. Mercy engages, truth fulfils - the engagements. Mercy provides, truth accepts - the ransom. Both sat together in the Eternal council. Both made their public entrance together into the world. Both, like the two pillars of the temple (1Ki 7:21 ), combine to support the Christian’s confidence; that, though there is abundant material for condemnation even in the holiest saint; actual condemnation there is not - there cannot be. (Rom 7:14-25 ; Rom 8:1 .)
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But if in the first clause of the verse we see how the guilt of iniquity is purged, the second clause shews, how its power is broken. The very exercise of forgiveness is to implant a conservative principle.†6 By the fear of the LORD, men depart from evil.†7 The supposition of pardon for a sinner continuing impenitent, would be to unite the two contraries of reconciliation and enmity. Iniquity is not purged, that we should wallow again in the mire.†8 The beam of light, which scatters every record of condemnation, is convincing, sanctifying, healing to the soul. Indeed God shews the deepest abhorrence of sin in the very act of its expiation. Yet the implanted principle of obedience is no legal bondage. The fear of the LORD is at once a bridle to sin, and a spur to holiness. It changes the slave into a child. Filial confidence - its twin-grace - like a seven-fold shield - covers from sin. Sin’s very touch is hateful; and all its ways are abhorred and forsaken.
Footnotes:
†1 It is the ordinary sacrificial term. Exo 30:10 . Lev 4:20 ; Lev 5:6 . Lev 16:6 . Dan 9:24 . Also Psa 65:3 .
†2 Exo 34:6. Psa 57:3 ; Psa 86:15 . Mic 7:18-20 . Joh 1:17 . Compare Pro 14:22 .
†3 Henry. Compare Psa 89:2-3, Psa 89:14 . Psa 117:1 .
†4 Geier.
†5 Junius and Tremelius, Cartwright, Schultens, Holden, Henry, Scott, Compare Glass’ beautiful exposition. Lib. iii. Tract. iii. Can. 26. The LXX omit the verse in its place, and add it to Pro 15:27, connecting the blessing with man’s moral virtues, not with God’s perfections.
†6 Psa 130:4. Compare Jer 32:40 .
†7 Pro 3:7; Pro 8:13 ; Pro 14:16, Pro 14:27 .
†8 Luk 1:74-75. Compare Rom 6:1 . 2Co 7:1
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 Mercy to the distressed, chap. iii. 3., and xiv.…
Mercy to the distressed, chap. iii. 3., and xiv. 22.
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 By mercy and truth--that is, God's (Psa 85:10); He…
By mercy and truth--that is, God's (Psa 85:10); He effects the atonement, or covering of sin; and the principles of true piety incline men to depart from evil; or, "mercy" and "truth" may be man's, indicative of the gracious tempers which work instrumentally in procuring pardon.
purged--expiated (as in Lev 16:33; Isa 27:9, Hebrew).
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 6. By mercy and truth (compare Pro_3:3; Pro_20:28) iniquity…
6. By mercy and truth (compare Pro_3:3; Pro_20:28) iniquity is purged — Literally, covered. The expression has reference to those legal expiations and atonements of the old law by which sin was so far covered, as that every transgressor was, by virtue of his offering, saved from exclusion from the Jewish fold; and, when the obedience which induced the offering was accompanied by faith in that which the offering typified, a real atonement was effected for the wrong doer. This “mercy and truth” clearly refer to the man’s conduct, not towards God, but towards his fellow men. No future good conduct, as a mere morality, can secure forgiveness for past transgression. But “mercy and truth,” exercised by the repentant and pardoned man, constitute those good works which are not merely “evidence” of regeneration, but are truly pleasing to God, and contribute to banish with God and man the remembrance of a past wicked life. So, Eze_33:14-15, if the wicked turn and prosecute a course of righteousness, “none of his sins which be hath committed shall be mentioned unto him.” Comp. Isa_57:7, et seq.; 1Sa_15:22; Mic_6:6-8; Psa_50:13-14; Psa_51:16-17. Some evangelical expositors, in their zeal to oppose erroneous Romish teaching, have unintentionally wrested this passage from its legitimate use, and attempted to apply it to the “mercy and truth” of God revealed in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for sin. But the wise teacher was not speaking of the mercy and truth of God’s dealings with men: he was treating of the dealings of men with men. “Go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have (I require) mercy, and not sacrifice:” that is, in preference to sacrifice. Mat_9:13. “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Pro_21:3. And by the fear of the Lord men depart (or, there is turning) from evil — Comp. Pro_8:13. The fear of Jehovah is the most effectual way to turn from, avoid, or escape, evil — moral evil and its consequences, that is, punishment.
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 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged] This…
6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged] This is not a statement of the method and ground of atonement, though the Heb. word here rendered purged is the usual word in the O.T. for covering, or atoning for, sin. That is taught elsewhere both in the Old (Psa_51:7), and in the New Testament (Rom_3:20-26). But it is a lifting of man’s appropriation of atonement out of the ceremonial and ritual into the moral sphere of action. Not by sacrifices as its purchase-money, but by a new life as its seal, is the free gift of atonement realised and assured. Comp. Eze_18:27-28; Mic_6:6-8; Jas_2:24.
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 (6) Mercy and truth.—See above on Pro_3:3. Mercy and…
(6) Mercy and truth.—See above on Pro_3:3. Mercy and truth cannot, of course, in themselves “purge iniquity,” only so far as they are signs of the “faith which worketh by love” (Gal_5:6), which accepts the salvation offered by God (Rom_1:16-17). (Comp. the statement with regard to charity, 1Pe_4:8.)
By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.—Or, rather, escape misfortune. (Comp. Psalms 37 throughout.)
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 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; atoned for.…
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; atoned for. The combination "mercy and truth" occurs in Pro_3:3 (where see note), and intimates love to God and man, and faithfulness in keeping promises and truth and justice in all dealings. It is by the exercise of those graces, not by mere external rites, that God is propitiated. (see on Pro_10:2) A kind of expiatory value is assigned to these virtues, which, indeed, must not be pressed too closely, but should be examined by the light of such passages in the New Testament as Luk_11:41 Act_10:4. Of course, such graces show themselves only in one who is really devout and God fearing; they are the fruits of a heart at peace with God and man, and react on the character and conduct. The LXX, which places this distich after Pro_15:27, translates, "By alms and faithfulness (pistesin ) sins are cleansed," confining the term "mercy" to one special form, as in one reading of Mat_6:1, "Take heed that ye do not your righteousness al. alms before men." By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. The practice of true religion, of course, involves abstinence from sin; and this seems so unnecessary a truth to be formally stated that some take the "evil" named to be physical, not moral evil; calamity, not transgression. But the two clauses are coordinate, and present two aspects of the same truth. The first intimates how sin is to be expiated, the second how it is to be avoided. The morally good man meets with pardon and acceptance, and he who fears God is delivered from evil. So we pray, in the Lord"s Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses, and deliver us from evil." Septuagint, "By the fear of the Lord every one declineth from evil". (comp. Pro_14:27)
The penitent"s review and prospect.
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Placing ourselves in the position of the man who has sinned and suffered, and has been led to repentance and submission, of the man who is earnestly desirous of escaping from the sinful past and of becoming a new man and of living a new life, let us ask What is his hope? what are his possibilities?
I IN VIEW OF THE PAST AND OF HIS RELATIONS WITH GOD. What is his hope there? What are the possibilities of his sins being forgiven, his iniquity purged away? What he must rely upon, in this great domain of thought, is this truth in himself and mercy in God.
1. He himself must be a true penitent, one that "... feels the sins he owns, And hates what he deplores; that intends with full purpose of heart to turn from all iniquity and to cleave to righteousness and purity.
2. He must cast himself on the boundless mercy of God gained for him and promised to him in Jesus Christ his Saviour.
II IN VIEW OF THE PAST AND OF HIS RELATIONS WITH MEN. God accepts true penitence of spirit and right purpose of heart, for he can read our hearts, and knows what we really are. But man wants more. Before he receives the sinner to his confidence and restores him to the position from which he fell, he wants clear proofs of penitence, manifestations of a new and a clean heart. The man who has put away his sin can only "purge" the guilty past by the practice of "mercy and truth," of kindness and integrity, of grace and purity. He has done that which is wrong, false, hurtful. Let him now do that which is just, true, right; that which is kind, helpful, pitiful, generous; then we shall see that he means all that he says, that his professions are sincere; then he may be taken back his iniquity purged to the place which he has lost.
III IN VIEW OF THE FUTURE, SAVING REGARD TO HIMSELF. How shall the penitent make good the promises he has made to his friends? How shall he ensure his future probity and purity? how shall he engage to walk in love and in the path of holy service, as he is bound to do, taking on him the name of Christ? The answer is, by walking on in reverence of spirit, by proceeding in "the fear of the Lord;" thus will he "depart from evil," and do good. It is the man who cultivates a reverent spirit, who realizes the near presence of God, who walks with God in prayer and holy fellowship, who treasures in his mind the thoughts of God, and reminds himself frequently of the will of God concerning him it is he who will "never be moved from his integrity;" he will redeem his word of promise, he will live the new and better life of faith and holiness and love. C.
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 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged.
Pro_16:6
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged.
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The mission of mercy and truth
Some plead for prevailing mercy, and some for prevailing justice, in jurisprudence, education, and theology. Some try to blend the two, but find the effort a hopeless one. By a mercy and truth torn apart, and set in opposition to each other, iniquity is not purged. Solomon was speaking in the spirit of the Old Testament; yet he has no sense of contradiction between these two qualities: he makes no endeavour to show how they may be adjusted to each other. He does not say that truth is tempered with mercy, or that mercy must not be carried too far lest it should interfere with truth. He says simply, By mercy and truth iniquity is purged. Both are equally enemies of iniquity; both are equally interested in its extirpation; both are equally interested in the deliverance of the creature who is tormented by it. This view alone could satisfy the Jew who believed in the God of Abraham. The Lord of heaven had revealed himself to his fathers as the God of righteousness and truth. The Jews were tempted to honour beings less righteous; and they yielded to the temptation. But the Being whom they forgot was what He had ever been. His mercy and truth were fixed as the hills. By and by the recollection of Him came back to them. It was their comfort to believe there was One unlike themselves, One who was not changeable and capricious as they were. He was merciful, and forgave their transgressions. This unfolded to them depths in the Divine character of which they had known nothing, or only by the hearing of the ear. They felt that only a perfectly righteous Being could be perfectly merciful. The psalmists implore mercy, but they implore it of One who, they believe, is willing to bestow it, because He is righteous. That view of mercy, in which it takes the form of indulgence of sins, they dare not cherish. The fear of God is the fear of the righteous and merciful Lord; not the fear of some false being, some creature of their own thoughts, clothed with their own evil qualities. Such creatures they were not to fear; they were to fight continually against the fear of them. In the Son of God did any one see that warfare of truth with mercy which we have so rashly dreamed of in the eternal mind? His warfare was the warfare of truth and mercy against untruth and hardness of heart. Jesus showed that mercy and truth were divided only by the evil which seeks to destroy both. It is by their perfect union that iniquity is purged. The sacrifice of purges iniquity. But we are not taught in the Bible that the sacrifice of Christ was the sacrifice to one attribute, for the sake of bringing it into agreement with another. By the mercy and truth of God the Father, Son, and Spirit is the iniquity of our race, and of each of its members, purged. By the fear of this great and holy name do men depart from evil. The fear of an unbending Lawgiver will not keep men from evil. The New Testament name for God is the name of absolute eternal Truth and Love, and this alone makes us fear to sin. (F. D. Maurice, M.A.)
By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil,--
Sins of men arising from a want of the fear of God, and the instigation of the devil
The wickedness of man is referable to two causes, a want of due apprehension of the Almighty, and the instigation of the devil. Consider who God is, and what are His chief qualities. He is the creator and governor of the universe: a Being of infinite power, present everywhere, privy to our most secret transactions. If we had these ideas constantly before our eyes, should we ever dare affront Him with our iniquities? There is a particular scepticism in too many, with regard to the attributes of God. They doubt whether He possesses some qualities in that extent in which reason and Scripture assure us that He doth. They persuade themselves that His presence is not universal; that He does not regard human concerns minutely; that He is not too rigidly just; and that His goodness will tone His justice. But if they did not wish to deceive themselves, they would never reason in this manner. Nor may we impute our iniquities to our natural frailty, seeing we are promised aids in overcoming it. The want of the fear of God is the prime cause of unrighteousness. The enemy only attacks us when he perceives us defenceless; then he plies us with suitable temptations. Our safety from him lies in keeping, continually, well within the fear of the Lord. (G. Haggitt, M.A.)
The fear of God
The term fear is here used for the principle of religion. This principle is the only one which will cause men to forsake evil. A reverent regard to the Divine will is the only security for human virtue. Fear, then, here embraces all the feelings and motives, which tend to keep men separate from everything which God disapproves. Dread of the Divine displeasure prepares the soul for the operation of higher and better feelings. There are those who are disposed to censure the text, as conveying an expression positively wrong. Reason is the power which persons of this stamp profess to worship; and reason, as well as religion, has in all ages, had her bigots and fanatics. The fear of the Lord they spurn, as a motive infinitely beneath them. All fear, they tell us, is sordid and slavish. They say that all virtue is to be despaired of which is not built on disinterested feeling, i.e., on a complete independence either of punishment or reward. But if we take away the fear of God, what safeguard have we left for the integrity of man? True, man has two guides, his moral sense, or perception of right and wrong, and his sense of what is useful and expedient. But would the virtue of individuals or the peace of society be long secured in the custody of these sages?
1. We must not speak in disparagement of the moral sense. But it is the fact, that the breath of a corrupt world has passed over this breastplate of light and perfection, and hath dimmed its glory. This faculty has deeply partaken of mans degeneracy. The sense of moral fitness often degenerates into a mere taste or impulse. The advantages this world has to offer are not clearly on the side of virtue. Were virtue to be found at perpetual variance with pleasure or with safety, it is absurd to imagine that she would long retain her votaries.
2. Will mans sense of what is useful for the general good of mankind do any more for him than the sense of moral propriety. Suppose each member of a commonwealth were under an implied covenant with his fellow-men to abstain from actions which may be at variance with the general interest. What is there to secure this compact from daily and hourly violation, when there is no witness to report it, and no external power to control it. Who but the man himself is to interpret the rules of universal convenience and expediency in cases where doubt really exists, or where selfishness raises the apparition of a doubt? Here, then, we have a law left to execute itself. Suppose human laws come to aid the powers within us; it may still be urged that these are not effective if the powers of the world to come be removed. No law can long maintain its authority without reference to the Supreme Will, the fountain of all law throughout the universe. Equally rash would it be to rely on the fear of infamy to prevent disorder and crime. For here again the hope of escaping discovery would come in to pacify the apprehensions of disgrace. It is public opinion that wields this scourge, and it is the general prevalence of high moral feeling that makes public opinion a stern and formidable executioner. The moral sense, and the rule of public usefulness, furnish, no doubt, very strong recommendations to virtuous practice, but nothing less than the fear of an avenging Deity can ever generally enforce it. (C. W. Le Bas, M.A.)
Mercy and truth evidential of salvation
The application might be restricted to the manner in which the God of mercy and truth, the God who Himself delighteth in mercy, and who requireth truth in the inward parts, manifests His regard to the practice of these virtues in His creatures. There is a Scriptural sense, too, in which mercy and truth, and the kindred graces, impart confidence towards God; but it is only as evidential of interest in the salvation by grace which the Divine Word reveals; it is neither as meritorious, nor as expiatory. (R. Wardlaw, 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_16:6. Purged. Heb., kaphar, “expiated,” or “covered.”
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_16:6. Purged. Heb., kaphar, “expiated,” or “covered.”
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_16:6
THE PURGING OF INIQUITY
I. There is in the human heart and in human life that which is not conducive to human happiness, viz., iniquity. Iniquity is inequality, or injustice, and a sinner is an unjust man.
1. He is unjust to himself. He is bound to render to himself what is due to his own nature—to care for his own real and highest interests—but this no ungodly man does.
2. He practises iniquity towards his neighbour. This follows from the first as a necessary consequence. Shakespeare thus admonishes us—
“To thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
But if a man is not true to himself, it follows as certainly that he will not be true to any other man—will not in its real and broad sense be a just man in his relations to others.
3. He practises iniquity towards God. He does not render to God that which is His just due, and this is indeed the foundation of his iniquity towards himself and his fellow-men.
II. Human nature cannot find within itself a remedy for its own iniquity. The man who is smitten with fever cannot find a remedy for his disease in his own diseased body—he must look somewhere else for a cure. There are remedies powerful in curing his disease, but they must be administered from without, they are not resident within him. So there is a cure for human iniquity, and that cure is to be found in contact with mercy and truth, but neither of these is to be found in fallen human nature, or, if some traces exist among men, the mercy is not abundant enough, and the truth is not unalloyed enough to effect the cure.
III. There is enough mercy and truth in God to do away with human iniquity. He has devised a plan by which His abundant mercy and His unsullied truth shall be brought into contact with sinful men in such a manner as to cure them of their sin. Mercy without truth could not meet the need, neither could truth without mercy. Mercy is needed to do away with the guilt of sin—to give remission for past transgressions, but it is equally needful that some standard of truth and righteousness should be also given, lest men “sin that grace may abound.” Mercy frees the sinner from the penalty of sin, but truth is brought into contact with his soul to free him from the power of sin. Being “made free from sin” men must “become servants of God,” and “have fruit unto holiness.” (Rom_6:22.) And to obtain this end there must be a reception into the human soul of Divine truth to transform it—to regenerate it. Hence when tie “Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and men “beheld His glory, it was a glory “full of grace and truth.” (Joh_1:14). For Homiletics on the second clause of this verse, see on chap Pro_14:15 (page 364).
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Loving and faithful conduct towards one’s neighbour is not in and of itself named as the ground of the expiation of sin, but only so far forth as it is a sign and necessary expression of a really penitent and believing disposition of heart, and so is a correlative to the fear of God, which is made prominent in the second clause; just as in the expression of Jesus with reference to the sinning woman (Luk_7:47), or as in Isa_58:7; Dan_4:34, etc.—Zöckler.
The purging of iniquity seems here to direct us to expiation, and considering that Divine mercy and truth are frequently exhibited in connection with this invaluable blessing, the analogy of faith appears to link it here with these combined perfections which kiss in Christ the Mediator (Psa_85:10), and with that covenant of grace in which they shine so brightly. Should this view be thought not to cohere with the general tenor of this book, which deals more with practical points and matters of common life than with the deeper articles of faith, it may be observed that, when some of its pages are so fully illuminated by evangelical sunshine (chap. Pro_8:9), we might naturally expect—besides this connected splendour—occasional rays of doctrinal light to rest upon this system of Christian morals.… God purges iniquity by sacrifice, not nullifying the sanctions of the law by a simple deed of mercy, but combining the manifestations of His truth by fulfilling these sanctions upon the Surety which mercy provided (Isa_53:6; 2Co_5:21).… So gloriously do these two attributes harmonise. We inquire not to which we owe the deepest obligation. Mercy engages, truth fulfils the engagements. Mercy provides—truth accepts—the ransom. Both sat together in the Eternal council. Both made their public entrance together into the world. Both, like the two pillars of the temple (1Ki_7:21), combine to support the Christian’s confidence.… The exercise of forgiveness is to implant a conservative principle. “By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.” The supposition of pardon for a sinner continuing impenitent would be to unite the two contraries of reconciliation and enmity.—Bridges.
The gospel in
(1) Justification and
(2) Sanctification is here as beautiully announced as by any of the apostles. Justification makes its appearance as a covering of iniquity by mercy and truth. “Mercy and truth” is the sum of holiness. How does holiness, therefore, which is “mercy and truth,” cover sin? Undoubtedly by the gospel method.… But then there is to be a turning from evil. This is Sanctification. How is it to be accomplished? By ourselves, as the indispensable instrument. Mercy and truth win for us the Spirit; and then, under this outfit, we are to set out upon the journey. The man in the temple must lift forth his hand (Mat_12:10). But how are we to begin? This book tells us again and again. “The fear of Jehovah” is the beginning of wisdom (chap. Pro_9:10). The turning is by an access of fear. But how are we to continue? The turning is to be kept up. It is more like a departing. Sin, being slow to wear out, the turning has to go on; and it becomes a journey; and we travel each day, just as we set out.… And the very last of the journey, like the very beginning, is by “the fear of Jehovah.” The actual fear of Jehovah, tempered by love, is a thing of “discipline” (see on chap. Pro_15:33), which drives the Christian away from his iniquity.—Miller.
To fear the Lord and to depart from evil, are phrases which the Scriptures use in very great latitude to express to us the sum of religion and the whole of our duty.
1. It is very usual in Scripture to express the whole of religion by some eminent principle or part of it. The great principles of religion are knowledge, faith, remembrance, love, and fear. And religion is called the “knowledge of the holy” (Pro_30:3), and the “remembrance of God” (Ecc_12:1), and the love of God (Rom_8:28, etc.), and here and elsewhere the “fear of the Lord” (Mal_3:16, etc.). So likewise the sum of all religion is often expressed by some eminent part of it, as it is here expressed by departing from evil. It is described by seeking God (Heb_11:6) and by calling on His name (Act_2:21), etc., etc.
2. The fitness of these two phrases to describe religion. The fitness of the first will appear if we consider how great an influence the fear of God hath upon men to make them religious. Fear is a passion that is most deeply rooted in our natures, and flows immediately from that principle of self-preservation which God hath planted in every man. Everyone desires his own preservation and happiness, therefore everyone has a natural dread of anything that can destroy them. And the greatest danger is from the greatest power, and that is omnipotency. So that the fear of God is an inward acknowledgment of a holy and just being, who is armed with an almighty and irresistible power; God having hid in every man’s conscience a secret awe and dread of His infinite power and eternal justice. Now fear, being so intimate to our nature, is the strongest bond of laws, and the great security of our duty.… For though we have lost in a great measure the gust and relish of true happiness, yet we still retain a quick sense of pain and misery. So that fear relies upon a natural love of ourselves, and is complicated with a necessary desire of our own preservation. And therefore religion usually makes its entrance into us by this passion; hence, perhaps, it is that Solomon more than once calls it the “beginning of wisdom.” As for the second phrase, the fitness of it will appear if we consider the necessary connection that there is between the negative and positive part of our duty. He that is careful to avoid all sin will sincerely endeavour to perform his duty. For the soul of man is an active principle, and will be employed one way or other, it will be doing some thing; if a man abstain from evil he will do good. “Virtue begins in the forsaking of vice; and the first part of wisdom is not to be a fool.” … The law of God, contained in the Ten Commandments, consists mostly of prohibitions which yet include obedience likewise to the positive precepts contained in those prohibitions.—Tillotson.
No object can well be more dull and meaningless than the stained window of an ancient church, as long as you stand without and look upon a dark interior; but when you stand within the temple, and look through that window upon the light from heaven, the still, sweet, solemn forms that lie in it start into life and loveliness. The beauty was all conceived by the mind, and wrought by the hand of the ancient artist whose bones now lie mouldering in the surrounding churchyard; but the beauty lies hid until two requisites come together—a seeing eye within, and a shining light without. We often meet with a verse upon the page of the Old Testament Scriptures very like those ancient works of art. The beauty of holiness is in it—put into it by the Spirit from the first, and yet its meaning was not fully known until the Sun of Righteousness arose, and the Israel of God, no longer kept in the outer court, entered through the rent veil, and from the Holy of Holies, looked through the ancient record on an illuminated heaven. Many hidden beauties burst into view upon the pages of the Bible, when Faith’s open eye looks through it on the face of Jesus. One of these texts is now before us.… The first clause tells how the guilt of sin is forgiven; the second, how the power of sin is subdued. Solomon unites the two constituent elements of the sinner’s deliverance in the same order in which his father experienced them: “I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments” (Psa_119:166). It is when iniquity is purged by free grace that men practically depart from evil.… Mercy and truth meet in the Mediator. In Christ the fire meets the water without drying it up: the water meets the fire without quenching it out.—Arnot.
By iniquity God and man are severed, and never can iniquity be pardoned until God and man meet again. To procure this meeting there must be a meeting of mercy and truth, of mercy in God and truth in man. And these do call the one for the other. The mercy of God being ready to forgive iniquity, calleth for truth in man to confess iniquity; the truth of man being ready to confess his iniquity calleth for the mercy of God to pardon his iniquity. Now these two readily concurring, God and man are rejoined, and by their reunion iniquity is purged. But then there must follow a departing from iniquity … For iniquity, forgiven and not forsaken, doubleth the iniquity both in man’s guilt and God’s wrath. Wherefore, let the mercy of the Lord breed a fear in thee, and let the truth of thy repentance appear, as well in shunning iniquity as in forsaking of it.—Jermin.
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. 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged,…
v. 6. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged, loving and faithful conduct toward one’s neighbor, however, not being named as the reason for the expiation of sin, but as an invariable expression of a penitent and believing heart, Cf Luk 7:47; and by the fear of the Lord, which is shown in the virtues of mercy and truth, men depart from evil, that is, the believer thereby escapes moral evil, sin in all its forms.
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 16:6 God’s unfailing love and faithfulness are foundational in…
16:6 God’s unfailing love and faithfulness are foundational in his covenant relationship with Israel (see Exod 15:13; 34:6-7; Num 14:18-19; Deut 7:9-11).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.