When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
Parallel Translations
-
When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.
-
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
-
When the righteous exult, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men must be sought for.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to Proverbs 28:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 29:2 When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
- Proverbs 11:10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices. When the wicked perish, there is shouting.
- Proverbs 28:28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.
- Esther 8:15-17 Mordecai went out of the presence of the king in royal clothing of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple; and the city of Susa shouted and was glad. The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor. In every province, and in every city, wherever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had gladness, joy, a feast, and a good day. Many from among the peoples of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews was fallen on them.
- Job 29:11-20 For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it commended me: Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had no one to help him, the blessing of him who was ready to perish came on me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame. I was a father to the needy. I researched the cause of him who I didn’t know. I broke the jaws of the unrighteous and plucked the prey out of his teeth. Then I said, ‘I will die in my own house, I will count my days as the sand. My root is spread out to the waters. The dew lies all night on my branch. My glory is fresh in me. My bow is renewed in my hand.’
- Hebrews 11:37-38 They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat skins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering in deserts, mountains, caves, and the holes of the earth.
- 1 Samuel 24:11 Moreover, my father, behold, yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of your robe, and didn’t kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor disobedience in my hand, and I have not sinned against you, though you hunt for my life to take it.
- 1 Kings 17:3-24 “Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to Yahweh’s word; for he went and lived by the brook Cherith that is before the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. After a while, the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Yahweh’s word came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” As she was going to get it, he called to her, and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” She said, “As Yahweh your God lives, I don’t have a cake, but a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jar. Behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do as you have said; but make me a little cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward make some for you and for your son. For Yahweh, the God of Israel says, ‘The jar of meal will not run out, and the jar of oil will not fail, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the earth.’ ” She went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house, ate many days. The jar of meal didn’t run out, and the jar of oil didn’t fail, according to Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by Elijah. After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, you man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to memory, and to kill my son!” He said to her, “Give me your son.” He took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the room where he stayed, and laid him on his own bed. He cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, have you also brought evil on the widow with whom I am staying, by killing her son?” He stretched himself on the child three times, and cried to Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh my God, please let this child’s soul come into him again.” Yahweh listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the room into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “Behold, your son lives.” The woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that Yahweh’s word in your mouth is truth.”
- 1 Kings 18:13 Wasn’t it told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed Yahweh’s prophets, how I hid one hundred men of Yahweh’s prophets with fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water?
- 1 Kings 19:3 When he saw that, he arose, and ran for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
- 1 Chronicles 15:25-28 So David, the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up out of the house of Obed-Edom with joy. When God helped the Levites who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant, they sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams. David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who bore the ark, the singers, and Chenaniah the choir master with the singers; and David had an ephod of linen on him. Thus all Israel brought the ark of Yahweh’s covenant up with shouting, with sound of the cornet, with trumpets, and with cymbals, sounding aloud with stringed instruments and harps.
- 1 Chronicles 16:7-36 Then on that day David first ordained to give thanks to Yahweh, by the hand of Asaph and his brothers. Oh give thanks to Yahweh. Call on his name. Make what he has done known among the peoples. Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works. Glory in his holy name. Let the heart of those who seek Yahweh rejoice. Seek Yahweh and his strength. Seek his face forever more. Remember his marvelous works that he has done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth, you offspring of Israel his servant, you children of Jacob, his chosen ones. He is Yahweh our God. His judgments are in all the earth. Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations, the covenant which he made with Abraham, his oath to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan, The lot of your inheritance,” when you were but a few men in number, yes, very few, and foreigners were in it. They went about from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people. He allowed no man to do them wrong. Yes, he reproved kings for their sakes, “Don’t touch my anointed ones! Do my prophets no harm!” Sing to Yahweh, all the earth! Display his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, and his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised. He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but Yahweh made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and gladness are in his place. Ascribe to Yahweh, you relatives of the peoples, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength! Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Bring an offering, and come before him. Worship Yahweh in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth. The world also is established that it can’t be moved. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Let them say among the nations, “Yahweh reigns!” Let the sea roar, and its fullness! Let the field exult, and all that is in it! Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Say, “Save us, God of our salvation! Gather us together and deliver us from the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.” Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting. All the people said, “Amen,” and praised Yahweh.
- 1 Chronicles 29:20-22 Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless Yahweh your God!” All the assembly blessed Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves before Yahweh and the king. They sacrificed sacrifices to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel, and ate and drank before Yahweh on that day with great gladness. They made Solomon the son of David king the second time, and anointed him before Yahweh to be prince, and Zadok to be priest.
- 2 Chronicles 7:10 On the twenty-third day of the seventh month, he sent the people away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the goodness that Yahweh had shown to David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
- 2 Chronicles 30:22-27 Hezekiah spoke encouragingly to all the Levites who had good understanding in the service of Yahweh. So they ate throughout the feast for the seven days, offering sacrifices of peace offerings, and making confession to Yahweh, the God of their fathers. The whole assembly took counsel to keep another seven days, and they kept another seven days with gladness. For Hezekiah king of Judah gave to the assembly for offerings one thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the assembly a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. All the assembly of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the assembly who came out of Israel, and the foreigners who came out of the land of Israel, and who lived in Judah, rejoiced. So there was great joy in Jerusalem; for since the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was nothing like this in Jerusalem. Then the Levitical priests arose and blessed the people. Their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy habitation, even to heaven.
- Ecclesiastes 10:5-6 There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, the sort of error which proceeds from the ruler. Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in a low place.
- Ecclesiastes 10:16 Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your princes eat in the morning!
- Jeremiah 5:1 “Run back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its wide places, if you can find a man, if there is anyone who does justly, who seeks truth, then I will pardon her.
- Jeremiah 36:26 The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
- Luke 19:37-38 As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain He is known by his doings to be wicked.
He is known by his doings to be wicked.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Pro 28:12 When righteous [men] do rejoice, [there is]…
Pro 28:12 When righteous [men] do rejoice, [there is] great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
Ver. 12. When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory.] That is, There is cause of common joy to all; for they have public spirits, and rectified judgments, neither can they be merry at heart when it goes ill with the Church. All comforts are but Ichabods to them, if the ark be taken; all places but Hadadrimmons, if the Church be in heaviness. Terentius, under Valens, the Arian emperor, asked nothing but that the Church might be freed from Arians, and when the emperor tore his petition, he said that he would never ask anything for himself if he might not prevail for the Church, for that his happiness was laid up in hers.
Read full note →
But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.] That is, When tyrants are set up, "a man," that is, a good man - for God reckons of men by their righteousness {Jer 5:1} - "is hidden," lies close, and hath no heart to show himself, lest he should suffer either in his own person or in his possession. Thus the man Moses fled and hid himself from Pharaoh, David from Saul, Eliah from Ahab, Obadiah’s clients from Jezebel, Jeremiah from Jehoiakim, Joseph and the child Jesus from Herod; those worthies, of whom the world was not worthy, {Heb 11:38} from Antiochus, that little Antichrist, and other persecutors, and the Christian Church from the greater Antichrist, {Rev 12:1-17} so that she was not to be sought in tectis et exteriori pampa, sed potius in carceribus et speluncis, in palaces of worldly pomp, but in dens and dungeons, as Hilary hath it: "She fled into the wilderness, into her place, from the face of the serpent." {Rev 12:14}
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 When righteous men do rejoice, are encouraged and promoted…
When righteous men do rejoice, are encouraged and promoted to places of trust and power, there is great glory in that commonwealth. The state of that kingdom is honourable, and comfortable, and safe, so as good men can show their faces with courage and confidence.
When the wicked rise, are advanced to honour and authority,
Read full note →
a man is hidden; the state of that nation is so shameful and dangerous, that wise and good men, who only are worthy of the name of men, withdraw themselves, or run into corners and obscure places; partly out of grief and shame to behold the wickedness which is publicly and impudently committed; and partly to avoid the rage and injuries of wicked oppressors, and the judgments of God, which commonly follow such persons and their confederates in sin. Or, as others, both ancient and later interpreters, render it, a man is sought out. Sober and good men, who had retired themselves, are searched for, and brought forth like sheep to the slaughter, as being most suspected, and hated, and feared by bloody tyrants.
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. The comfort of the people of God…
Note, 1. The comfort of the people of God is the honour of the nation in which they live. There is a great glory dwelling in the land when the righteous do rejoice, when they have their liberty, the free exercise of their religion, and are not persecuted, when the government countenances them and speaks comfortably to them, when they prosper and grow rich, and, much more, when they are preferred and employed and have power put into their hands. 2. The advancement of the wicked is the eclipsing of the beauty of a nation: When the wicked rise and get head they make head against all that is sacred, and then a man is hidden, a good man is thrust into obscurity, is necessitated to abscond for his own safety; corruptions prevail so generally that, as in Elijah's time, there seem to be no good men left, the wicked walk so thickly on every side.
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 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory,....…
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory,.... When it is well with them; when they are in prosperous circumstances; when they are countenanced and encouraged by the government under which they are; when they have the free exercise of their religion; and especially when they are advanced to places of profit, honour, and trust, which must make them cheerful and joyful; it is a glory to a land, it adds greatly to the glory of it, and a fine prospect there is of the increase and continuance of it;
but when the wicked rise: to honour and dignity, and are set in high places, and are in great power and authority, which they exercise to the distress of the righteous and all good men:
Read full note →
a man is hidden: a good man; he hides himself, as in Pro 28:28; he withdraws himself from court, from city, from company, from commerce, and business, because of the tyranny and persecution of wicked men; and flees to distant places, and wanders in deserts and mountains, in caves and dens of the earth; as some saints, under the Old Testament, did, and as the Church, in Gospel times, fled from the tyranny of antichrist into the wilderness, to hide herself: or, "a man is" or "shall be sought for" (i), and searched out; as wicked persecutors are very diligent to search for and find out such persons that hide themselves, and fetch them out of their hiding places, and cruelly use them.
(i) "investigabitur", Pagninus, Montanus; "exploratur", Tigurine version; "explorabitur", Baynus; "pervestigatur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Michaelis.
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 Rejoice - Are promoted. Glory - In that common-wealth.…
Rejoice - Are promoted. Glory - In that common-wealth. Rise - Are advanced to authority. Hidden - Wise and good men, who only are worthy of the name of men, withdraw themselves into obscure places.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. When righteous men do rejoice] When true…
Verse 12. When righteous men do rejoice] When true religion is no longer persecuted, and the word of God duly esteemed, there is great glory; for the word of the Lord has then free course, runs, and is glorified: but when the wicked rise-when they are elevated to places of trust, and put at the head of civil affairs, then the righteous man is obliged to hide himself; the word of the Lord becomes scarce, and there is no open vision. The first vas the case in this country, in the days of Edward VI.; the second in the days of his successor, MARY I. Popery, cruelty, and knavery, under her, nearly destroyed the Church and the State in these islands.
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 28:12. When righteous men rejoice — Are encouraged…
Pro 28:12. When righteous men rejoice — Are encouraged and promoted to places of trust and power; there is great glory — In that commonwealth. The state of that kingdom is honourable, comfortable and safe, so that good men can show their faces with courage and confidence; but when the wicked rise — Are advanced to honour and authority; a man is hidden — The state of that nation is so shameful and dangerous, that wise and good men withdraw themselves into obscure places. Or, as יחפשׂ אדםis rendered by many, both ancient and later interpreters, a man is sought out, that is, sober and good men, who had retired into secret places, are searched for and brought forth as sheep to the slaughter, as being most suspected, hated, and feared by bloody tyrants.
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 There is great glory - Men array themselves in…
There is great glory - Men array themselves in festive apparel, and show their joy conspicuously.
A man is hidden - Better, men hide themselves, they shrink and cower for fear, and yet are hunted out.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain "We are made" — said a righteous man —…
"We are made" — said a righteous man — "as the filth of the earth, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day."†1 Yet these are the men, who "bear up the pillars of the state."†2 When therefore they rejoice — when they are raised to honor, — there is great glory.†3 The whole kingdom feels more or less the influence of this national blessing. Godliness is countenanced. Men are protected in the free exercise of their religion. "When Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in the king’s royal apparel, the city of Shushan rejoiced, and were glad. The Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor; in every province a feast, and a good day." (Est 8:17 .) The same result is seen in the experience of the Church. When "the Churches had rest" from the fiery trial, "they were edified and walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost." (Act 9:31 .) And what glory so great, as the sunshine of the enjoyment of their God!
But when the wicked rise to honor, how is this glory eclipsed! The people of God are removed into corners, silenced, hidden. (Pro 28:28 .) The light of upwards of an hundred prophets, and even Elijah himself, was hidden for awhile under the tyranny of Ahab.†4 And in every age the power of the wicked, especially under a despotic rule, hides much valuable influence. Yet it is hidden only to the eye of sense. For of those, who "wander about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, in deserts, and caves of the earth," what greater glory could we give, than the divine inscription stamped upon them — "Of whom the world was not worthy"?†5
Read full note →
Footnotes:
†1 1Co 4:13 .
†2 Psa 75:3.
†3 Pro 11:10; Pro 29:2 .
†4 1Ki 17:2-3 ; 1Ki 18:4 ; 1Ki 19:1-4 .
†5 Heb 11:37-38. Rev 12:6 .
Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain great glory--or, cause for it to a people, for…
great glory--or, cause for it to a people, for the righteous rejoice in good, and righteousness exalts a nation (Pro 14:34).
a man . . . hidden--that is, the good retire, or all kinds try to escape a wicked rule.
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 12. Great glory — תפארת, (tiphareth,) ornament, beauty. In…
12. Great glory — תפארת, (tiphareth,) ornament, beauty. In the exulting of the righteous there is great beauty. The latter part of the proverb seems to imply that the rejoicing of the righteous is on account of the promotion of good men to places of trust and influence.
Wicked… hidden — When bad men rise to power the good, from disgust or for personal safety, often retire to obscurity. Compare Pro_28:28; Pro_11:10; Pro_29:2; Ecc_10:6.
Read full note →
When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway,
The post of honour is a private station. ADDISON’S Cato.
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 12. a man is hidden] Rather, men hide themselves,…
12. a man is hidden] Rather, men hide themselves, R.V. “Heb. must be searched for,” marg. Comp. Pro_28:28.
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 (12) When righteous men do rejoice—i.e., prosper, or triumph.
(12) When righteous men do rejoice—i.e., prosper, or triumph.
There is great glory.—Men rejoice, and array themselves in their gayest attire.
Read full note →
A man is hidden.—Literally, is sought for. They hide themselves for fear (comp. Pro_28:28), and must be sought for, in order to be found.
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 When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory.…
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory. (comp. Pro_29:2 Pro_11:10) "Rejoice," rather triumph, as conquerors, right prevailing and wickedness being overcome. Then there is great show of joy, and, as the expression implies, men put on their festal garments to do honorer to the occasion: See the description of Solomon"s time. (1Ki_4:20, 1Ki_4:25) If we take this verse in connection with ver. 2, we may see in it the triumph of order after a period of confusion and anarchy. Septuagint, "Through the help of righteous men great glory arises." But when the wicked rise, a man is hidden (comp. ver. 28, where, however, the verb is different). The Authorized Version m, one that when the wicked rise to power, people have to hide themselves in order to escape danger to life and property. The verb is more literally rendered, "are searched for," i.e. they have betaken themselves to hiding places, and have to be looked for; they fear oppression and injury, and venture no longer into the streets and open places. Vulgate,regnantibus impiis ruinae hominum, "When evil men are m power, there is general ruin;" Septuagint, "In the places of the ungodly men are caught." Other interpretations of the proverb have been suggested, though none is so satisfactory as that given above. Thus some take the searching out to mean testing, in the sense that evil times try men"s characters, and bring out their true nature. (1Co_11:19) Others explain that, under the reign of the impious, men do not come forward to take part in public affairs, but retire sullenly into private life.
Vers. 12, 28. Hidden manhood.
Read full note →
The two main truths here taught have been anticipated by a foregoing proverb, viz. the advantage to society of promoting the good; and the injury done by the advancement of the wicked. (see Pro_11:10)
But there is a truth suggested by the wise man"s language which does not elsewhere appear; he says that when the wicked rise "a man is hidden," that "men hide themselves." The fact here alluded to is clear enough; we have often read, or have frequently observed, that the best men retire to seclusion and inactivity when iniquity is on the throne, when unprincipled cleverness holds the reins; they will not serve under a sovereign whom they despise, or in circumstances which make office holding a disgrace, if not a danger. But beyond and beneath this fact the language is fitted to suggest to us that there is much of hidden manhood amongst us. We find it in
I PREMATURE RETIREMENT. Not only under the conditions stated in the text, when the withdrawal of honorable men is necessary to the upright and the high-minded, but also under very different conditions. When men are allured by a desire for quietude and ease, or when they are disheartened by disappointment, or are disgusted by the slowness of their ascent to place and power, or when they underestimate their capacity and their opportunity, and they therefore lay down the weapon and leave the field. This is a serious loss. Then "a man is hidden;" a man is burying the wisdom of maturity, the large result of manifold experience, the gathered fruit of many years. He is hiding in his own home the cultured capacity he should be expending on the city, on the country of his birth.
II UNDEVELOPED FACULTY. We do not know how often it happens that men are born with great capacities in their nature, and who live and die without manifesting them to the world. They fail to receive the education which would bring them forth, or they are confined within a range so narrow that they have no chance of showing what they could be and do. They "die with all their music in them;" they pass away, unknown, unproved, unfelt. That is expended upon unimportant trifles which might have directed the affairs of some great company, or guided the activities of some influential Church, or decided the course of some powerful nation. A "man is hidden," and a community is left unenriched.
III UNDISCIPLINED FORCE. When God gives to a human spirit a strong power of will, there is an imperative necessity that it should be wisely and rightly guided and controlled in youth. Faithfully disciplined, such a one becomes a most useful man, who will contribute largely to the advancement and happiness of the world. But if that discipline be withheld, and the clever, wilful boy be allowed to grow up into untrained and uncultured manhood, there will be a sad waste of power. He will be more likely than not to do harm rather than good to his generation; he may be a blight instead of a blessing. There is "a man hidden;" one who has it in him to be one of the highest and worthiest, but who, as it is, is lost or even worse than lost, to his contemporaries and his country.
IV UNRESCUED WRONG. Even when we see humanity at its very worst, in its very foulness and baseness, we do well to feel that beneath the humiliating and pitiful exterior is a hidden manhood. It is the noble work of Christian beneficence to get down to this, to lay its kind and holy hand upon it, to raise and to restore it, to bring it into the sunshine of truth and love, to make it visible and even beautiful in the sight of God and in the estimate of man. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 28:12 When the wicked take charge: See also 28:28.
28:12 When the wicked take charge: See also 28:28.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.