A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
Parallel Translations
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A wise king winnows out the wicked, and drives the threshing wheel over them.
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A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
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A wise king sifteth the wicked, and turneth the wheel over them.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Proverbs 20:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 20:8 A king who sits on the throne of judgment scatters away all evil with his eyes.
- 2 Samuel 12:31 He brought out the people who were in it, and put them under saws, under iron picks, under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln; and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. Then David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.
- 2 Samuel 4:9-12 David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and said to them, “As Yahweh lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all adversity, when someone told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ thinking that he brought good news, I seized him and killed him in Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house on his bed, should I not now require his blood from your hand, and rid the earth of you?” David commanded his young men, and they killed them, cut off their hands and their feet, and hanged them up beside the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth, and buried it in Abner’s grave in Hebron.
- Psalms 101:5-8 I will silence whoever secretly slanders his neighbor. I won’t tolerate one who is arrogant and conceited. My eyes will be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He who walks in a perfect way, he will serve me. He who practices deceit won’t dwell within my house. He who speaks falsehood won’t be established before my eyes. Morning by morning, I will destroy all the wicked of the land, to cut off all the workers of iniquity from Yahweh’s city.
- Isaiah 28:27-28 For the dill are not threshed with a sharp instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned over the cumin; but the dill is beaten out with a stick, and the cumin with a rod. Bread flour must be ground; so he will not always be threshing it. Although he drives the wheel of his threshing cart over it, his horses don’t grind it.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Which was a kind of punishment then used.
Which was a kind of punishment then used.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 20:26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and…
Pro 20:26 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
Ver. 26. A wise king scattereth the wicked.] Drains the country of them by his just severity, yet with due discretion, as appears by the latter words, "and bringeth the wheel over them," compared with Isa 28:27-28. The Turks’ justice will rather cut off two innocent men, than let one offender escape. {a} The Venetians punish with death whosoever shall misappropiated a penny of the public money to his own private profit. {b} Durescite, durescite, o infaelix Lantgravic, said the poor smith to the Landgrave of Thuring, that was more mild than was for his people’s good. The sword of justice must, I confess, be furbished with the oil of mercy; but yet there are cases wherein severity ought to cast the scale.
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{a} Blunt’s Voyage, p. 12.
{b} Zevecat. in Observ. Polit.
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 A wise king, who seriously minds his duty and…
A wise king, who seriously minds his duty and his true interest,
scattereth the wicked; breaks their companies and confederacies, and forceth them to flee several ways for their own safety; driveth them from his presence, and from the society of honest men, as the chaff is by the husbandman separated from the corn, and driven away by the wind, of which this Hebrew word is commonly used, and to which the next clause hath some reference.
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Bringeth the wheel over them, as the cart-wheel was anciently turned over the sheaves to beat the corn out of them, Isa 28:27,28. He punisheth them severely, as their offences deserve. This or such-like punishments were not unusual among the Eastern nations, as we may gather from 2Sa 8:2; 12:31; Amo 1:3.
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. What is the business of magistrates.…
See here, 1. What is the business of magistrates. They are to be a terror to evil-doers. They must scatter the wicked, who are linked in confederacies to assist and embolden one another in doing mischief; and there is no doing this but by bringing the wheel over them, that is, putting the laws in execution against them, crushing their power and quashing their projects. Severity must sometimes be used to rid the country of those that are openly vicious and mischievous, debauched and debauching. 2. What is the qualification of magistrates, which is necessary in order to do this. They have need to be both pious and prudent, for it is the wise king, who is both religious and discreet, that is likely to effect the suppression of vice and reformation of manners.
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 A wise king scattereth the wicked,.... Or "fans them…
A wise king scattereth the wicked,.... Or "fans them away" (i); separates them from his good counsellors, courtiers, and subjects; scatters them from his presence and court, and breaks their counsels and confederacies one with another; he discovers, discountenances, and discourages them; See Gill on Pro 20:8;
and bringeth the wheel over them; alluding to the custom of the eastern nations turning a cart wheel over the grain in threshing it out, and agreeably to the metaphor in the preceding clause; see Isa 28:27. Though some think it refers to a sort of punishment inflicted on malefactors in those times and countries, by putting them under harrows drawn on wheels, as breaking upon the wheel has been since used; see Sa2 12:31. The Arabic version understands it of exile. Jarchi interprets the wise king of the Lord, and the wicked of Pharaoh and his host, on whom he brought the wheel, or gave measure for measure, and punished in a way of retaliation; and to this sense it is by some (k) interpreted,
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"as the wheel turns over, just in the same place, so as the wicked hath done, it shall be done to them.''
It may be applied to Christ, the wise King, who scatters all his and our enemies; whose fan is in his hand, and he wilt thoroughly purge his floor, Mat 3:12.
(i) "ventilat", Junius & Tremellius, Schultens. (k) Vid. Schindler. Lexic. col. 109. & Weemse's Christ. Synagog. l. 1. c. 6. s. 8. p. 187.
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 The wheel - As the cart-wheel was anciently turned…
The wheel - As the cart-wheel was anciently turned over the sheaves to beat the corn out of them. He punishes them as their offenses deserve.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. Bringeth the wheel over them.] He threshes…
Verse 26. Bringeth the wheel over them.] He threshes them in his anger, as the wheel does the grain on the threshing-floor. Every one knows that grain was separated from its husks, in Palestine, by the feet of the oxen trampling among the sheaves, or bringing a rough-shod wheel over them. Asiatic kings often threshed their people, to bring out their property; but this is not what is intended here.
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 20:26. A wise king — Who seriously minds…
Pro 20:26. A wise king — Who seriously minds his duty, and his true interest; scattereth the wicked — Breaks their companies and confederacies, and forces them to flee several ways for their own safety; or drives them from his presence, and from the society of good men, as the chaff is separated from the corn, by the husbandmen, and driven away by the wind; as the word מזרה, here used, commonly signifies; and to which the next clause hath some reference. And bringeth the wheel over them — Punishes them as their offences deserve, alluding to the cart-wheel, which was anciently turned over the sheaves, to beat the corn out of them. In other words, expressive of the plain meaning, “A good king separates the bad from the good, by a due execution of his laws; which is like winnowing the corn, after the chaff is separated from it, by drawing the wheel over it.”
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 The wheel - The threshing wheel Isa 28:27-28, which…
The wheel - The threshing wheel Isa 28:27-28, which passes over the grain and separates the grain from the chaff. The proverb involves therefore the idea of the division of the good from the evil, no less than that of the punishment of the latter.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain Solomon, as a wise king, was constantly eyeing his…
Solomon, as a wise king, was constantly eyeing his own responsibilities. His standard was not to commit wickedness himself,†1 nor to allow it in his people; to scatter, not to encourage, the wicked. As the husbandman’s wheel, brought over the grain, cut the straw, and separated the chaff;†2 his sifting administration of justice brought the wheel of vengeance on the wicked, and scattered them as worthless chaff (Psa 1:4 ), or crushed them in ruin. (1Ki 2:25-46 .) In the same spirit did his father David destroy them, when they boldly claimed his countenance.†3 Godly Asa removed wickedness from the high place nearest his own throne and heart.†4 Amaziah justly punished it with death.†5 Nehemiah — that true reformer — rebuked it even in the family of the high-priest.†6 Our own Alfred appeared to maintain this standard as a witness for God in an age of darkness. But it is the King of kings alone, that can make this separation complete. Often does he sift his church by trial, for her greater purity and complete preservation. (Amo 9:9 .) But what will it be, when he shall come "with his fan in his hand, and shall throughly purge his floor!" (Mat 3:12 .) What a scattering of chaff will there be! Not an atom will go into the garner. Not a grain of wheat will be cast away. Oh my soul! what wilt thou be found at this great sifting day! "Who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth?" (Mal 3:2 .)
Footnotes:
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†1 Pro 20:8. Pro 16:12 . Compare the contrast 1Ki 14:16 .
†2 Isa 28:28-29. This is an obvious allusion to the way of threshing in the East. One mode was by a wain, which had wheels with iron teeth like a saw. The axle was armed with serrated wheels throughout. It moved upon three rollers armed with iron teeth, or wheels, to cut the straw. — See Bishop Lowth’s note on Isa 28:27 . Compare Amo 1:3 .
†3 2Sa 1:2, 2Sa 1:16 ; 2Sa 4:5, 12. Compare Psa 101:7-8 .
†4 2Ch 15:16 .
†5 2Ch 24:25 ; 2Ch 25:3-4 .
†6 Neh 13:28-29.
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 Wheel. Or triumphal arch, fornicem. (Ven. Bede; Jansenius) ---…
Wheel. Or triumphal arch, fornicem. (Ven. Bede; Jansenius) --- He will make his enemies lie prostrate under his chariot-wheels, 2 Kings xii. 31.
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 (Compare Pro 20:8).
(Compare Pro 20:8).
bringeth . . . over them--The wheel was used for threshing grain. The figure denotes severity (compare Amo 1:3).
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 26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, etc. —…
26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, etc. — Conjectures are numerous as to the import of this verse. Some think it may refer to the scattering (sowing) of grain in the field, and afterwards rolling it in. So transgressors are scattered and crushed beneath the earth. Others think that it refers to the threshing of grain, which was sometimes done by cattle drawing a cart or other wheeled vehicle after them, thus crushing the stalks and separating the grain from the husks. So Patrick: “He despises them all, and threshes them so severely that the country is clean purged and pure from such wicked wretches.” As there is no record anywhere in the Bible of punishment by the wheel, it is probable that this passage is to be understood metaphorically of “the wheel” in threshing grain. Threshing and winnowing are elsewhere used as the symbols of punishment. Comp. Amo_1:3; Isa_17:13; Isa_28:29; Psa_1:4.
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 26. scattereth] Rather, winnoweth. λικμήτωρ ἀσεβῶν βασιλεὺς σοφὸς, LXX.
26. scattereth] Rather, winnoweth. λικμήτωρ ἀσεβῶν βασιλεὺς σοφὸς, LXX.
the wheel] sc. of his threshing wain. Comp. Isa_28:27. He executes righteous judgement upon them, Psa_62:4; Rom_13:4.
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 (26) A wise king scattereth the wicked.—Rather, winnows them.
(26) A wise king scattereth the wicked.—Rather, winnows them.
And bringeth the wheel over them.—Comp. Isa_28:27. A sort of sledge or cart was driven over the stalks of corn spread upon the threshing-floor, by means of which the grain was separated from the husk. A wise king winnows out evil persons from among his people, thus putting an end to their corrupting influence. (Comp. Mat_3:12.)
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 A wise king scattereth the wicked (ver. 8). The…
A wise king scattereth the wicked (ver. 8). The verb is zarah, which means "to winnow, or sift." The king separates the wicked and the good, as the winnowing fan or shovel divides the chaff from the wheat. The same metaphor is used of Christ, (Mat_3:12) "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire". (comp. Jer_15:7) Septuagint, "A winnower (likmhtwr ) of the ungodly is a wise king." And bringeth the wheel over them. The threshing wheel is meant. (see Isa_28:27 Amo_1:3) This was a wooden frame with three or four rollers under it armed with iron teeth. It was drawn by two oxen, and, aided by the weight of the driver, who had his seat upon it, it crushed out the grain, and cut up the straw into fodder. Another machine much used in Palestine was made of two thick planks fastened together side by side, and having sharp stones fixed in rows on the lower surface. It is not implied that the king employed the corn drag as an instrument of punishment, which was sometimes so used in war, as possibly may be inferred from 2Sa_12:31 1Ch_20:3; and Amo_1:3. The idea of threshing is carried on, and the notion is rather of separation than of punishment, though the latter is not wholly excluded. The wise ruler will not only distinguish between the godless and the good, but will show his discrimination by visiting the evil with condign punishment. Septuagint, "He will bring the wheel upon them;" the Vulgate has curiously, Incurvat super eos fornicem, "He bends an arch over them," which Latin commentators explain as a triumphal arch, meaning that the king conquers and subdues the wicked, and celebrates his victory over them. A patent anachronism which needs no comment!
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 A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the…
Pro_20:26
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them
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Persecution and righteous penalty
A passage of this kind may easily be perverted by being used for the purpose of supporting a doctrine of persecution.
To bring the wheel over a man seems to be a figurative expression for the very direst cruelty. If a man is wicked, crush him with the wheel, tear him limb from limb, decapitate him, in some way show that there is a power that can terminate not only his enjoyment and his liberty, but his life. That, however is not the meaning of the text. Always distinguish between persecution and righteous penalty, between mere oppression and the assertion of that righteousness which is essential to the consolidation of society. When the stacks of corn were spread upon the threshing-floor, the grain was separated from the husk by a sort of sledge or cart which was driven over them. The process was for the purpose of separating the chaff from the wheat; the process therefore was purely beneficent: so with the wise king; he winnows out evil persons, he signalises them, he gives them all the definiteness of a separate position, and by bringing them into startling contrast with persons of sound and honest heart he seeks to put an end to their mischievous power. Indiscrimination is the ruin of goodness. Men are separated by different ways, not by imprisonment, not by merely personal penalty, not by stigma and brand of an offensive character; they are separated by contrariety of taste, aspiration, feeling, sympathy; in proportion as the good are earnest do they classify themselves, bringing themselves in sacred association with one another, and by sensitiveness of moral touch they feel the evil and avoid it; they know the evil person at a distance and are careful to put themselves out of his way and reach. What is represented as being done by the wise king is done by the cultivation of high principle and Christian honour. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Verse 27 The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.
The nature and function of conscience
The spirit of man is the breath of the Creator. The breath kindled intelligence in the brain, and infused vitality into the heart. It did more than that. It made man a moral being, capable of virtue, and responsible for his actions. The vitalizing breath of the Lord kindled a light in man--here called the candle of the Lord. By that candle man sees his own inner nature, witnesses the process of his own mind, and observes the motions of his affections and will. Conscience has a place of pre-eminent importance in our nature.
1. Scientific men give one definition of conscience, while popular usage sanctions another materially different. In every-day usage the word is used to indicate the whole moral nature of man. When a man resists temptation he says, My conscience will not let me do it. Conscience includes three things: the perception of right or wrong; the judgment of a particular action as being right or wrong; the feeling of pleasure or remorse which follows right or wrong action. The Bible usage of the word is the same as our ordinary usage in every-day speech. In Scripture usage, conscience includes the perception, the judgment, and the feeling. Conscience is not an Old Testament term. And, singularly enough, the word was never used in the teaching of the Lord Jesus.
2. Pauls most frequent word for the function of conscience is the figurative word witness. Conscience is a witness testifying in the soul. A witness is one who testifies, one who tells clearly what he knows of a matter. To what facts or truths does conscience bear testimony. It testifies to the existence of a fundamental distinction between right and wrong. It testifies that right ought to be done, and that wrong ought not to be done. It convicts a man when wrong has been done. Its witness becomes a check on mans doings. (Jesse T. Whitley.)
The spiritual part of man
The text is an account of the soul, or spiritual part in man. The spirit of man is the lamp of Jehovah, i.e., its operations and manner of performing them are similar to those of a lamp, and it is supported in them by Jehovah spiritually, as a lamp is in nature physically. In a lamp are four things.
1. A vessel.
2. A substance capable of being illuminated.
3. Necessity for kindling it.
4. Constant recruits of oil to supply it and keep it burning. These particulars are as spiritually true in the soul of man.
I. The soul has a vessel in which it is enclosed and contained. The body is the vessel of this lamp of Jehovah.
II. The soul, though capable of receiving illumination from God, is in itself absolutely dark. When, by that grand and original sin at the fall, the light that was in us became darkness, how great was that darkness! By the fall this most glorious excellency and perfection of our nature, spiritual discernment by faith, was lost, and we became like the beasts.
III. Christ was sent to kindle a light in the soul. A light to lighten the Gentiles. The true light that lighteth (the lamp of) every one coming into the world. When the light of Jehovah is lighted in the soul of man, and not overwhelmed by sensuality, it conquers and triumphs over the natural darkness that is in us. When the Divine light is the agent in the soul, the moment it meets with any darkness to impede and obstruct its operations it at once recoils, and by that means admonishes us of it; after which it never rests till it has either expelled it or conformed it to itself.
IV. Spiritual oil is necessary to keep the light alive in our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the Divine oil that must feed and nourish our lamps. Inferences for our direction in faith and practice:
1. If the body is a vessel to contain the heavenly lamp, how few are seeking to possess this vessel in sanctification and honour.
2. If the soul be dark by nature, what becomes of that idol of the deists, the light of nature?
3. If Christ be the only person that can lighten our darkness, to Him let every man go.
4. Let us not make the fatal mistake of setting out to meet the Bridegroom, without taking oil in our vessels, with our lamps. (Bp. Horne.)
The nerve of religious sensation
Able to shine; constructed to shine; but not alight until it has been lighted--the candle of the Lord. Mans spirit is part of us, and able to produce flame when it has been touched with flame. It is a special capacity we have for feeling, appreciating, and responding to Divine things. Sound affects the ear; light the eye; the spirit is the nerve of religious sensation. Man is a bundle of adaptations. The religious sense is the faculty which all men have, in varying degree, of appreciating religious and Divine things. We could not be holy without the instinct, but the instinct does not insure our being holy. There is in this no difference between the religious instinct and other of our instincts. The religious sense forms part of each mans original outfit. It gives the teacher and preacher something with which to start. The facility with which children can be approached in religious matters shows that religion is a matter of instinct before it is a matter of education. This inborn religious sense is an easy argument for the existence of God. The possession of this religious instinct puts us upon the track of a very simple and practical duty. Whether we become holy or not will depend mostly upon how we treat that instinct, and upon whether we repress and smother it, or give it free chance of unfolding. It rests with us to take some sturdy measures to bring out this religious consciousness into greater force and fuller glow. (C. H. Parkhurst, D. D.)
The spirit of man
When God had completed the house of the soul, He furnished it most liberally with glorious lights. The intellect is one of the bright lights placed in the souls house to cheer and guide men in this life. The light of the human mind is invaluable. Man is scarcely a man without its illuminating flame. Then there is the guiding light of conscience. And there is the spiritual light which characterises all mankind, that leads humanity everywhere to worship God.
I. Man is a great being. It is said alone of man, In the image of God created He him. This singles out man as the greatest being on earth. Every earnest, intelligent, and devout man is in some degree conscious of an inherent greatness. Conscious personality is a unique power. In the moral realm every man is a sovereign who conceives plans and executes purposes of high significance and far-reaching consequences. Mans conscious personality survives the shock of death. Man is the son of God. The sons of God are partakers of the Divine nature. This raises them to a plane that is at an infinite distance from the creatures next to them in the scale of existence. Really true greatness consists in likeness to God. A good man is one of the greatest works of God.
II. Man is Divinely illuminated.
1. The intellectual light of man is from God.
2. The light of conscience is from God. It is a pure, clear flame, that reveals to us the character of our thoughts and purposes before they become actions.
3. The spiritual light in man is from God. Savage and civilised, the world over, worship some god. The lamp that lights all men who come into the world, and leads them to worship, is doubtless of Gods kindling. In worship, the soul pays its filial homage to God.
III. Man has been illuminated for a Divine purpose. God created all things for His own glory. Men of great intellectual powers are placed by God in the midst of the worlds moral darkness, that by their superior light they might scatter the mental night of their fellows. Great intellects possess a tremendous power for good or evil. Man is like the candle lighted by the Spirit of God, radiating the glory of Gods nature, and itself glorified by the Divine fire. But some men are unlighted candles. (D. Rhys Jenkins.)
The light of conscience
Victor Hugo says: In every human heart there is a light kindled and, close by, a strong wind which seeks to extinguish it; this light is conscience, this wind is superstition. Conscience is the child of God; superstition, the child of the devil. Conscience loves and rejoices in the light; superstition hates the light of mind and spirit, because its deeds are evil.
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_20:26. The wheel, i.e., the wheel of the threshing,…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_20:26. The wheel, i.e., the wheel of the threshing, instrument which blows away the chaff.
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MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_20:26; Pro_20:28
PILLARS OF GOVERNMENT
I. A human ruler will have rebellious subjects in his kingdom. This will be the case however wise the laws, and with whatever care and discrimination they are administered. In the most cultivated and carefully kept ground some weeds are always found among the flowers—some tares among the wheat; and since the King who can do no wrong numbers among his subjects those who are lawless and disobedient, the best and wisest of human rulers must expect to do the same.
II. It is the duty and wisdom of a human ruler to make a distinction between his good and bad subjects, and to punish the latter. Even if the wheel mentioned in the proverb be regarded as simply an instrument of separation, as the threshing instrument separates the chaff from the wheat, the idea of punishment is retained. In a well-governed kingdom the laws which govern it are such a separating power between the evil and the good, so far as external conduct is concerned, and it is indispensable for the stability of peace and order that they should be strictly enforced. It would be most unjust, as well as unwise—it would be tempting men to transgression—if the lawless citizens in a community were allowed to go unpunished; and it is contrary to our innate sense of justice that in any kingdom “the righteous should be as the wicked” (Gen_18:25)—that the thief should have all the privileges of an honest man, and the murderer the liberty of an innocent person. The punishment of transgressors not only defends the good man, but it may prevent the bad man from increasing his guilt by adding crime to crime. The king of Solomon’s proverbs is a typical word for all who are called upon to rule, whether in the family or the State, and the very word ruler, or governor, implies a discrimination between the evil and the good and a difference in their treatment.
III. The preservation of the throne depends more upon moral than upon physical power. We take the word throne in its widest sense as signifying any place or position which raises one man to be in any sense the ruler of another, from the throne of the father in his family and the master among his servants to that of the king amidst his subjects. In each and every one of these kingdoms, although external and physical coercion and punishment are sometimes indispensable, yet there is no permanent stability unless there is mercy and truth in the ruler, and unless it is manifest in his government. Many a throne has been erected on other foundations,—physical strength has established many kingdoms, and material wealth has set many men upon thrones. But if they have raised a superstructure its foundation has been in the sand, and when the rain and wind of adversity have descended upon it it has fallen, and great has been the fall of it. There must be some truth and mercy—some righteousness and justice, and withal some exercise of grace towards the wrongdoer—if the throne or the kingdom is to be upholden, and the wisdom of the ruler will be shown in his so mingling sternness with severity as to make both contribute to the one end. Truth must here be taken as synonymous with righteousness—as that observance of the just claims of every man which he has a right to expect and demand from those who rule him. This will include that punishment of the lawless which is the subject of Pro_20:26, but it is here implied that even punishment is to be tempered with mercy. Pity for the offender ought always to be mingled with indignation at the offence, and if any ruler desires to sit firmly upon his seat of justice he must consider not only the greatness of the crime but the strength of the temptation—not how severely he can punish the criminal but whether he can reform him. And this is rarely if ever done by the exercise of justice merely. The frost and cold are necessary to kill the weeds and vermin and to break up the soil, but there will never be flowers or fruit without summer rain and sunshine. And mercy is that “gentle rain from heaven” without which no sinful creature will ever bring forth fruits of righteousness.
ILLUSTRATION
The necessity of mingling mercy with justice is strikingly exemplified in the great success which attended the efforts of the late Captain Maconochie to benefit the convicts in our penal settlement in Norfolk Island. Having, in his capacity as Secretary to the Governor of Tasmania, seen most terrible and hardening effects from unmixed severity, he desired earnestly to try what could be done by combining mercy with discipline and punishment. For this purpose he was placed in command of Norfolk Island, and remained there four years, having under his care from 1500 to 2000 doubly-convicted prisoners, i.e., convicts who, after being transported from England to New South Wales, had been for other crimes again transported to Norfolk Island. Previous to his arrival they worked in chains, and it was considered dangerous for even armed officers to approach within three yards of them. It was considered unsafe to trust them with knives, and they therefore tore their food with their hands and teeth. They were accustomed to inflict dreadful injuries upon themselves in order to evade labour, and were described at the time as a demoniacal assemblage. But under more humane treatment the entire colony became changed, and one of his colleagues testifies that he and another superintendent “resided at one of the settlements in a cottage without lock and key, with simply a latch to the door, and close to the convict barracks, where over 2000 were lodged every night, also without locks.” “Not a single serious offence,” says he, “was ever committed in that time by any of those men, and the only bodyguard was another free superintendent and myself, together with a few trustworthy men selected from among themselves.” This gentleman (Mr. J. Simms, since Governor of Plymouth Prison) goes on to say, “I shall ever remember this year as the most remarkable of all my prison experience, because it.… was a fair result of what might be realised from any body of men generally, thus treated, not by force, iron force, but by moral means.” One remarkable example is given. At Sydney there had been a most desperate and unmanageable convict, named Anderson. He was flogged time after time for various offences, but to no good effect. He became more outrageous than ever. At last, the authorities, in despair, put him on a little island in Sydney Harbour, where he was kept chained to a rock, and in the hollow of which rock he slept. After some weeks the Governor went to see him, and urged him to submit to authority, but he refused. He was then sent for life to Port Macquarie Convict Station, where he was again and again flogged. He made his escape, and lived among the natives for some time, but, ultimately, being recaptured, he was sent to Norfolk Island for the crime of murder. Under Maconochie’s humane treatment he became a changed man, and when the Governor of New South Wales visited the settlement he particularly noticed Anderson, and inquired, “What smart fellow may that be?” (See Leisure Hour for October, 1878.)
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
All dynasties have been kind. If they are cruel now, it must be like the weight of a clock, running down. There was kindness. “Mercy and truth” must at some time or other have builded the “throne.”—Miller.
Godly Asa removed wickedness from the high place nearest his own throne and heart. Amaziah justly punished it with death. Nehemiah—that true reformer—rebuked it even in the family of the high priest. Our own Alfred appeared to maintain this standard as a witness for God in an age of darkness. But it is the King of kings alone that can make this separation complete. Often does He sift His Church by trial, for her greater purity and complete preservation (Amo_9:9). But what will it be, when He shall come “with His fan in His hand, and shall thoroughly purge His floor?” (Mat_3:12). What a scattering of chaff will there be! Not an atom will go into the garner. Not a grain of wheat will be cast away. O my soul! what wilt thou be found at this great sifting day! “Who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth?” (Mal_3:2).—Bridges.
There goes more to preserve a king than to preserve a kingdom; and though the preservation of a kingdom be a weighty matter, yet the preservation of a king is much more weighty—though much care and pains be required for the one, much more is required for the other. Half of that will serve for the one which is needful for the other. Mercy will support the throne, but mercy and truth must preserve the king.—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. 26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, sifting…
v. 26. A wise king scattereth the wicked, sifting and winnowing them, as the chaff is separated from the grain, and bringeth the wheel over them, as the wheel of the threshing-cart separated the wheat-kernels from the hulls when it was passed over the stalks spread out on the threshing-floor.
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 20:26 A king represents God on earth, so he…
20:26 A king represents God on earth, so he should support the godly and punish the wicked.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.