Wisdom has built her house. She has carved out her seven pillars.
She has prepared her meat. She has mixed her wine. She has also set her table.
She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
“Come, eat some of my bread, Drink some of the wine which I have mixed!
Leave your simple ways, and live. Walk in the way of understanding.”
One who corrects a mocker invites insult. One who reproves a wicked man invites abuse.
Don’t reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise person, and he will love you.
Instruct a wise person, and he will be still wiser. Teach a righteous person, and he will increase in learning.
The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom. The knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
For by me your days will be multiplied. The years of your life will be increased.
If you are wise, you are wise for yourself. If you mock, you alone will bear it.
The foolish woman is loud, undisciplined, and knows nothing.
She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city,
to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their ways,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” as for him who is void of understanding, she says to him,
“Stolen water is sweet. Food eaten in secret is pleasant.”
But he doesn’t know that the departed spirits are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 That is, many chief stays and principal parts of…
That is, many chief stays and principal parts of his Church, as were the Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Pastors, and Doctors.
Christ hath prepared him a Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–18 Pro 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath…
Pro 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:
Ver. 1. Wisdom.] Heb., Wisdoms, in the plural; and this, either honoris causa, for honour’s sake, or else by an ellipsis, as if the whole of it were "wisdom of wisdoms," as "the song of songs," for a most excellent song. {Son 1:1} Junius renders it, Summa sapientia. Highest wisdom. {See Trapp on "Pro 1:20"}
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Hath builded her house.] That is, The Church. {1Ti 3:15} {See Trapp on "Pro 1:20"}
She hath hewn out her seven pillars] Pillars, and polished pillars. Anything is good enough to make up a mud wall; but the Church’s pillars are of marble, and those not rough, but hewn; her safety is accompanied with beauty.
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 Hath builded her house, for the reception and entertainment…
Hath builded her house, for the reception and entertainment of her guests, as appears from the following passages. This house is opposed to the harlot’s house, mentioned Pro 7:8; and it is to be understood, either,
1. Of the heavenly house, or the palace of glory; or rather,
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2. Of the church, which Christ, the Wisdom of the Father, hath erected and established in the world, in which this following feast is made, which is called God’s house, 1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:3,4.
Seven, i.e. many pillars; whereby is intimated both the beauty and the stability of the church. Pillars; prophets, and apostles, and ministers of holy things, which in Scripture are called pillars, as Gal 2:9, and elsewhere.
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 On vv1, 13 Wisdom is here introduced as a magnificent and munificent…
Wisdom is here introduced as a magnificent and munificent queen, very great and very generous; that Word of God is this Wisdom in which God makes known his goodwill towards men; God the Word is this Wisdom, to whom the Father has committed all judgment. He who, in the chapter before, showed his grandeur and glory as the Creator of the world, here shows his grace and goodness as the Redeemer of it. The word is plural, Wisdoms; for in Christ are hid treasures of wisdom, and in his undertaking appears the manifold wisdom of God in a mystery. Now observe here,
I. The rich provision which Wisdom has made for the reception of all those that will be her disciples. This is represented under the similitude of a sumptuous feast, whence it is probable, our Saviour borrowed those parables in which he compared the kingdom of heaven to a great supper, Mat 22:2; Luk 14:16. And so it was prophesied of, Isa 25:6. It is such a feast as Ahasuerus made to show the riches of his glorious kingdom. The grace of the gospel is thus set before us in the ordinance of the Lord's supper. To bid her guests welcome, 1. Here is a stately palace provided, Pro 9:1. Wisdom, not finding a house capacious enough for all her guests, has built one on purpose, and, both to strengthen it and to beautify it, she has hewn out her seven pillars, which make it to be very firm, and look very great. Heaven is the house which Wisdom has built to entertain all her guests that are called to the marriage-supper of the Lamb; that is her Father's house, where there are many mansions, and whither she has gone to prepare places for us. She has hanged the earth upon nothing, there in it we have no continuing city; but heaven is a city that has foundations, has pillars. The church is Wisdom's house, to which she invites her guests, supported by the power and promise of God, as by seven pillars. Probably, Solomon refers to the temple which he himself had lately built for the service of religion, and to which he would persuade people to resort, both to worship God and to receive the instructions of Wisdom. Some reckon the schools of the prophets to be here intended. 2. Here is a splendid feast got ready (Pro 9:2): She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine; plenty of meat and drink are provided, and all of the best. She has killed her sacrifice (so the word is); it is a sumptuous, but a sacred feast, a feast upon a sacrifice. Christ has offered up himself a sacrifice for us, and it is his flesh that is meat indeed and his blood that is drink indeed. The Lord's supper is a feast of reconciliation and joy upon the sacrifice of atonement. The wine is mingled with something richer than itself, to give it a more than ordinary spirit and flavour. She has completely furnished her table with all the satisfactions that a soul can desire - righteousness and grace, peace and joy, the assurances of God's love, the consolations of the Spirit, and all the pledges and earnests of eternal life. Observe, It is all Wisdom's own doing; she has killed the beasts, she has mingled the wine, which denotes both the love of Christ, who makes the provision (he does not leave it to others, but takes the doing of it into his own hands), and the excellency of the preparation. That must needs be exactly fitted to answer the end which Wisdom herself has the fitting up of.
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II. The gracious invitation she has given, not to some particular friends, but to all in general, to come and take part of these provisions. 1. She employs her servants to carry the invitation round about in the country: She has sent forth her maidens, Pro 9:3. The ministers of the gospel are commissioned and commanded to give notice of the preparations which God has made, in the everlasting covenant, for all those that are willing to come up to the terms of it; and they, with maiden purity, not corrupting themselves or the word of God, and with an exact observance of their orders, are to call upon all they meet with, even in the highways and hedges, to come and feast with Wisdom, for all things are now ready, Luk 14:23. 2. She herself cries upon the highest places of the city, as one earnestly desirous of the welfare of the children of men, and grieved to see them rejecting their own mercies for lying vanities. Our Lord Jesus was himself the publisher of his own gospel; when he had sent forth his disciples he followed them to confirm what they said; nay, it began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb 2:3. He stood, and cried, Come unto me. We see who invited; now let us observe,
(1.) To whom the invitation is given: Whoso is simple and wants understanding, Pro 9:4. If we were to make an entertainment, of all people we should not care for, much less court, the company of such, but rather of philosophers and learned men, that we might hear their wisdom, and whose table-talk would be improving. "Have I need of madmen?" But Wisdom invites such, because what she has to give is what they most need, and it is their welfare that she consults, and aims at, in the preparation and invitation. he that is simple is invited, that he may be made wise, and he that wants a heart (so the word is) let him come hither, and he shall have one. Her preparations are rather physic than food, designed for the most valuable and desirable cure, that of the mind. Whosoever he be, the invitation is general, and excludes none that do not exclude themselves; though they be ever so foolish, yet, [1.] They shall be welcome. [2.] They may be helped; they shall neither be despised nor despaired of. Our Saviour came, not to call the righteous, but sinners, not the wise in their own eyes, who say they see (Joh 9:41), but the simple, those who are sensible of their simplicity and ashamed of it, and him that is willing to become a fool, that he may be wise, Co1 3:18.
(2.) What the invitation is. [1.] We are invited to Wisdom's house: Turn in hither. I say we are, for which of us is there that must not own the character of the invited, that are simple and want understanding? Wisdom's doors stand open to such, and she is desirous to have some conversation with them, one word for their good, nor has she any other design upon them. [2.] We are invited to her table (Pro 9:5): Come, eat of my bread, that is, taste of the true pleasures that are to be found in the knowledge and fear of God. By faith acted on the promises of the gospel, applying them to ourselves and taking the comfort of them, we feed, we feast, upon the provisions Christ has made for poor souls. What we eat and drink we make our own, we are nourished and refreshed by it, and so are our souls by the word of God; it has that in it which is meat and drink to those that have understanding.
(3.) What is required of those that may have the benefit of this invitation, Pro 9:6. [1.] They must break off from all bad company: "Forsake the foolish, converse not with them, conform not to their ways, have no fellowship with the works of darkness, or with those that deal in such works." The first step towards virtue is to shun vice, and therefore to shun the vicious. Depart from me, you evil-doers. [2.] They must awake and arise from the dead; they must live, not in pleasure (for those that do so are dead while they live), but in the service of God; for those only that do so live indeed, live to some purpose. "Live not a mere animal-life, as brutes, but now, at length, live the life of men. Live and you shall live; live spiritually, and you shall live eternally," Eph 5:14. [3.] They must choose the paths of Wisdom, and keep to them: "Go in the way of understanding; govern thyself henceforward by the rules of religion and right reason." It is not enough to forsake the foolish, but we must join ourselves with those that walk in wisdom, and walk in the same spirit and steps.
III. The instructions which Wisdom gives to the maidens she sends to invite, to the ministers and others, who in their places are endeavouring tot serve her interests and designs. She tells them,
1. What their work must be, not only to tell in general what preparation is made for souls, and to give a general offer of it, but they must address themselves to particular persons, must tell them of their faults, reprove, rebuke, Pro 9:7, Pro 9:8. They must instruct them how to amend - teach, Pro 9:9. The word of God is intended, and therefore so is the ministry of that word, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.
2. What different sorts of persons they would meet with, and what course they must take with them, and what success they might expect.
(1.) They would meet with some scorners and wicked men who would mock the messengers of the Lord, and misuse them, would laugh those to scorn that invite them to the feast of the Lord, as they did, Ch2 30:10, would treat them spitefully, Mat 22:6. And, though they are not forbidden to invite those simple ones to Wisdom's house, yet they are advised not to pursue the invitation by reproving and rebuking them. Reprove not a scorner; cast not these pearls before swine, Mat 7:6. Thus Christ said of the Pharisees, Let them alone, Mat 15:14. "Do not reprove them." [1.] "In justice to them, for those have forfeited the favour of further means who scorn the means they have had. Those that are thus filthy, let them be filthy still; those that are joined to idols, let them alone; lo, we turn to the Gentiles." [2.] "In prudence to yourselves; because, if you reprove them," First, "You lose your labour, and so get to yourselves shame for the disappointment." Secondly, "You exasperate them; do it ever so wisely and tenderly, if you do it faithfully, they will hate you, they will load you with reproaches, and say all the ill they can of you, and so you will get a blot; therefore you had better not meddle with them, for your reproofs will be likely to do more hurt than good."
(2.) They would meet with others, who are wise, and good, and just; thanks be to God, all are not scorners. We meet with some who are so wise for themselves, to just to themselves, as to be willing and glad to be taught; and when we meet with such, [1.] If there be occasion, we must reprove them; for wise men are not so perfectly wise but there is that in them which needs a reproof; and we must not connive at any man's faults because we have a veneration for his wisdom, nor must a wise man think that his wisdom exempts him from reproof when he says or does any thing foolishly; but the more wisdom a man has the more desirous he should be to have his weaknesses shown him, because a little folly is a great blemish to him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. [2.] With our reproofs we must give them instruction, and must teach them, Pro 9:9. [3.] We may expect that our doing so will be taken as a kindness, Psa 141:5. A wise man will reckon those his friends who deal faithfully with him: "Rebuke such a one, and he will love thee for thy plain dealing, will thank thee, and desire thee to do him the same good turn another time, if there be occasion." It is as great an instance of wisdom to take a reproof well as to give it well, [4.] Being taken well, it will do good, and answer the intention. A wise man will be made wiser by the reproofs and instructions that are given him; he will increase in learning, will grow in knowledge, and so grow in grace. None must think themselves too wise to learn, nor so good that they need not be better and therefore need not be taught. We must still press forward, and follow on to know till we come to the perfect man. Give to a wise man (so it is in the original), give him advice, give him reproof, give him comfort, and he will be yet wiser; give him occasion (so the Septuagint), occasion to show his wisdom, and he will show it, and the acts of wisdom will strengthen the habits.
IV. The instructions she gives to those that are invited, which her maidens must inculcate upon them.
1. Let them know wherein true wisdom consists, and what will be their entertainment at Wisdom's table, Pro 9:10 (1.) The heart must be principled with the fear of God; that is the beginning of wisdom. A reverence of God's majesty, and a dread of his wrath, are that fear of him which is the beginning, the first step towards true religion, whence all other instances of it take rise. This fear may, at first, have torment, but love will, by degrees, cast out the torment of it. (2.) The head must be filled with the knowledge of the things of God. The knowledge of holy things (the word is plural) is understanding, the things pertaining to the service of God (those are called holy things), that pertain to our own sanctification; reproof is called that which is holy, Mat 7:6. Or the knowledge which holy men have, which was taught by the holy prophets, of those things which holy men spoke as they were moved by the holy Ghost, this is understanding; it is the best and most useful understanding, will stand us in most stead and turn to the best account.
2. Let them know what will be advantages of this wisdom (Pro 9:11): "By me thy days shall be multiplied. It will contribute to the health of thy body, and so the years of thy life on earth shall be increased, while men's folly and intemperance shorten their days. It will bring thee to heaven, and there thy days shall be multiplied in infinitum - to infinity, and the years of thy life shall be increased without end." There is no true wisdom but in the say of religion and no true life but in the end of that way.
3. Let them know what will be the consequence of their choosing or refusing this fair offer, Pro 9:12. Here is, (1.) The happiness of those that embrace it: "If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself; thou wilt be the gainer by it, not Wisdom." A man cannot be profitable to God. It is to our own good that we are thus courted. "Thou wilt not leave the gain to others" (as we do our worldly wealth when we die, which is therefore called another man's, Luk 16:12), "but thou shalt carry it with thee into another world." Those that are wise for their souls are wise for themselves, for the soul is the man; nor do any consult their own true interest but those that are truly religious. This recommends us to God, and recovers us from that which is our folly and degeneracy; it employs us in that which is most beneficial in this world, and entitles us to that which is much more so in the world to come. (2.) The shame and ruin of those that slight it: "If thou scornest Wisdom's proffer, thou alone shalt bar it." [1.] "Thou shalt bear the blame of it." Those that are good must thank God, but those that are wicked may thank themselves; it is not owing to God (he is not the author of sin); Satan can only tempt, he cannot force; and wicked companions are but his instruments; so that all the fault must lie on the sinner himself. [2.] "Thou shalt bear the loss of that which thou scornest; it will be to thy own destruction; thy blood will be upon thy own head, and the consideration of this will aggravate thy condemnation. Son, remember, that thou hadst this fair offer made thee, and thou wouldst not accept it; thou stoodest fair for life, but didst choose death rather."
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 On vv1–17 Wisdom hath builded her house,.... Or "Wisdoms": of which…
Wisdom hath builded her house,.... Or "Wisdoms": of which see Pro 1:20; Christ, the Wisdom of God, is meant, in whom and from whom all wisdom is. Various are the opinions concerning this house built by him. Some take it to be the whole circle of sciences, and the seven pillars to be the seven liberal ones, as Aben Ezra; though rather, as others, it may design the schools of the prophets, in which young men were trained up in the knowledge of divine and spiritual things. Some would have the whole universe to be meant, and the seven pillars to be the seven days of creation, as Jarchi; or the seven planets, as others: it is an odd notion of Grotius, that the human body is intended, with its five senses; and, to make up the number seven, adds the voice and memory: rather the human nature of Christ, which is a temple, a tabernacle, a house in which the Godhead dwells, is built by Wisdom, made without the hands of men; and then its seven pillars are the graces of the Spirit, by which it was supported and adorned; see Isa 11:2; Some understand it of the temple of a regenerate man's heart; in which God, Father, Son and Spirit, dwell. But there are two other senses, which bid fairest one of them to be right; either the heavenly glory, the house not made with hands, Christ's Father's house, in which are many mansions for his people; and which is a city whose builder and maker is God, and is prepared by Christ; and stands firm upon the promises of God, the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, and the grace of the blessed Spirit: or rather the church of Christ on earth, the house of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth; this is built by Christ upon himself, the rock and foundation; the materials of it are true believers, precious and lively stones; built up a spiritual house, and a fit and suitable habitation for God through the Spirit. Such a house there was under the Old Testament, and such an one there is under the New; and which is continually building up by Christ by means of the word and ordinances, and will continue to the end of the world; see Ti1 3:15;
she hath hewn out her seven pillars; ministers of the Gospel, compared to pillars for strength and stability, and for their being instrumental in supporting the interest and church of Christ; in allusion to the pillars in Solomon's temple, Jachin and Boaz; see Gal 2:9. These are said to be "hewn", being polished, beautified, and adorned with the gifts and graces of the Spirit by Christ, and thereby fitted for their work and service; and said to be "seven", because there is a complete and sufficient number of them, which Christ has provided, and always will provide for his churches, as long as they continue in the world. Though it may be these seven pillars may denote in general the firmness and solidity of this spiritual building, the church, and the continuance of it by the power of God; or they may have respect to the seven states of the church in so many periods of time, to last to the end of all things, signified by the seven churches in the book of the Revelation; so Cocceius (c).
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(c) Vid. Lexic. Heb. col. 623.
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 Christ, under the name of wisdom invites us to…
Christ, under the name of wisdom invites us to his entertainment, ver. 1-6. Foretells the different successes of his invitation, ver. 7-9. Shews the fruit of fearing God, ver. 10-12. Sin, in the person of a foolish woman invites us to her entertainment, ver. 13-17. Which ends in destruction, ver. 18
Her house - For the reception of her guests. Seven - Many pillars; whereby is intimated the beauty and stability of the church. Pillars - Prophets, and apostles, and ministers.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 Wisdom builds her house, makes her provision for a…
CHAPTER IX
Wisdom builds her house, makes her provision for a great feast,
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calls her guests, and exhorts them to partake of her
entertainment, 14.
Different admonitions relative to the acquisition of wisdom,
7-12.
The character and conduct of a bad woman, 13-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. IX.
The same Wisdom speaks here who spoke in the preceding chapter. There she represented herself as manifest in all the works of God in the natural world; all being constructed according to counsels proceeding from an infinite understanding. Here, she represents herself as the great potentate, who was to rule all that she had constructed; and having an immense family to provide for, had made an abundant provision, and calls all to partake of it. This, says Calmet, is the continuation of the parable begun in the preceding chapter, where wisdom is represented as a venerable lady, whose real beauties and solid promises are opposed to the false allurements of PLEASURE, who was represented in the seventh chapter under the idea of a debauched and impudent woman. This one, to draw young people into her snares, describes the perfumes, the bed, and the festival which she has prepared. WISDOM acts in the same way: but, instead of the debauchery, the false pleasures, and the criminal connections which pleasure had promised, offers her guests a strong, well-built, magnificent palace, chaste and solid pleasures, salutary instructions, and a life crowned with blessedness. This is the sum and the substance of the parable; but as in the preceding part, so in this, men have produced strange creatures of their own brain, by way of explanation. One specimen of this mode of interpretation may suffice.
The house built by wisdom is the holy humanity of Jesus Christ; the seven pillars are the seven sacraments, or the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, or the whole of the apostles, preachers, and ministers of the Church; the slain beasts are the sacrifice of Christ's body upon the cross; and the bread and mingled wine are the bread and wine in the sacrament of the Lord's Supper! - FATHERS and DOCTORS.
If we have recourse to any other particulars than those given above in the summary of the chapter, let us follow the first part of the parable, where wisdom is represented as laying the plan of the creation; and then perhaps we may say with safety, that wisdom, having produced the grand ichnograph or ground plot of the whole, with all the requisite elevations and specifications of materials, comes to show us, in this part, that the whole has been constructed on this plan; and specifies the end for which this august building has been raised.
Verse 1. Wisdom hath builded her house] The eternal counsel of God has framed the universe.
She hath hewn out her seven pillars] Every thing has been so constructed as to exhibit a scene of grandeur, stability, and durableness.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16 Pro 9:1. Wisdom, &c. — Wisdom here, under a…
Pro 9:1. Wisdom, &c. — Wisdom here, under a most splendid allegory, is represented “as a queen, sitting in her royal palace, and inviting mortals to a banquet, plentifully furnished with the richest dainties, that they may be fed with celestial delights for a blessed immortality. Various have been the endeavours of commentators to apply every circumstance in this description; but it has been well observed, that whoever would do so, will find themselves in a great error, and quite ignorant of the nature of parabolical writings; for parables may be compared to history paintings, which are intended to convey a general idea, which is to be gathered from the collective body of images, not from any particular figure; the minute circumstances are to be considered only as heightenings of the piece; but the conclusion or general maxim is to be drawn from the scope and assemblage of the whole:” see Schultens and Dodd. Hath builded her house — For the reception and entertainment of her guests; she hath hewn out her seven pillars — That is, many pillars, the number seven being put for any perfect number. Hereby the beauty and stability of the building are signified. Or, perhaps, it is to be understood of the erection of a portico, in which the banquet was to be prepared. This house is opposed to the harlot’s house, mentioned Pro 7:8, and was considered by many of the ancient fathers, as it has also been by many modern commentators, as representing the church, which Christ, the Wisdom of the Father, hath erected and established in the world, which is termed God’s house, (1Ti 3:15; Heb 3:3-4,) in which the prophets, apostles, and ministers of religion are pillars, (Gal 2:9,) and in which a feast of fat things is provided for all that will partake of it: see Isa 25:6, and especially the parables, Mat 22:1-14, and Luk 14:16-24, which greatly illustrate this allegory of Solomon.
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18 A parable full of beauty, and interesting in its…
A parable full of beauty, and interesting in its parallelism to the parables of our Lord Mat 22:3-4; Luk 14:16.
Seven pillars - The number is chosen as indicating completeness and perfection. God revealing Himself in nature, resting in His work, entering into covenant with human beings - these were the ideas conveyed by it.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Charles Bridges 1846 · Public Domain On vv1, 7, 10, 12, 13 1 ¶ Wisdom†a hath builded her house, she hath…
1 ¶ Wisdom†a hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts;†b she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. {her beasts: Heb. her killing} 3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
WE have delighted to contemplate the Divine Savior in his glorious majesty, and specially in his wondrous love to the sons of men. (Pro 8:22-31 .) Here his love is poured out before us. The parable of the marriage-feast clearly identifies the speaker. Then the King made the feast, and sent his servants to invite the guests. (Mat 22:1-4, also Luk 14:16-17 .) Here Wisdom is a Queen, according to Eastern custom, attended by her maidens (Exo 2:5 . Est 4:4 ), and she sends them forth to bid to the feast. She hath builded her house — "the church of the living God" — firm upon the pillars of eternal truth. (1Ti 3:15 . Eph 2:20-22 . Heb 3:3-4 . Mat 16:18 .) The great sacrifice supplies her feast. (1Co 5:7 . Psa 36:8 . Isa 25:6 .) She hath killed her beasts, mingled her wine with the choicest spices,†1 and plentifully furnished her table. And now she cries to the simple — ignorant of his danger (Pro 22:3 ), and easily deceived (Pro 14:15 ) — to him that wanteth understanding (Hos 7:11 ) — who has no apprehension of his need, or desire for the blessing — Let him turn in hither. Here is a feast, not to see, but to enjoy. Come, eat of the bread of life; drink of the wine of gospel grace and joy.†2 Is there not besides a special invitation for her children — a table richly furnished for their refreshment; where they eat of the bread, and drink of the wine, such as "the world know not of"? (Mat 26:26-28 .)
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But are not all comers welcome to the Gospel feast? The Master’s heart flows along with every offer of his grace. His servants are ministers of reconciliation. (2Co 5:18-20 .) Their message is to tell of the bounty of Messiah’s house, and to bid sinners welcome to Him. Here, sinner, is thy warrant — not thy worthiness, but thy need, and the invitation of thy Lord. All the blessings of his Gospel are set before thee — love without beginning, end, or change. Honour the freeness of his mercy. Let him have the full glory of his own grace, who invites thee to a feast, when he might have frowned thee to hell.†3 Let his heavenly hope be enthroned in the soul, displacing every subordinate object from its hold on thine affections, eclipsing the glories of this present world, absorbing thy whole mind, consecrating thy whole heart.
Here only are the ways of peace. The very severities of the Gospel prepare the way for its consolations. But never can these blessings be valued, till the path of the foolish be forsaken. Thou must forsake either them or Christ. (Jas 4:4 .) To abide with them, is to "remain in the congregation of the dead." (Pro 21:16 .) To forsake them, is the way of life and understanding. (Pro 13:20 . Psa 26:3-6 ; Psa 34:12-14 ; Psa 119:115 . Amo 5:15 .) Are they more to you than salvation? To "be the friend of the world is to be the enemy of God." "Come out, and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive thee, saith the Lord Almighty." (2Co 6:17-18 .)
Footnotes:
†a Wisdoms. Heb. Compare note on Pro 1:20 .
†b Compare Gen 43:16 Margin.
†1 Bishop Lowth remarks the difference between the Classics and the Hebrews. The one by mingled wine understand wine diluted with water; the other intend wine made stronger by spices, or other exhilarating ingredients. Note on Isa 1:22 . Compare Pro 23:29-31 . Song of Son 8:2 .
†2 Mat 22:4. Isa 55:1 . Compare Bishop Hall’s note.
†3 Calvin speaks of the pleading invitations of Christ, as ’his sweet and more than motherly allurements,’ and beautifully adds — that ’the word of God is never opened to us, but that he with a motherly sweetness opens his own bosom to us.’ On Mat 23:37 .
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 13, 17, 18 House. The sacred humanity, (St. Ignatius; St. Augustine, City…
House. The sacred humanity, (St. Ignatius; St. Augustine, City of God xvii. 20.) or the Church. (St. Gregory, Mor. xxxiii. 15.) --- Here we may receive all instruction, the seven sacraments, and the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Pleasure had mentioned here attractions: now those of true wisdom are set before us. (Calmet) --- God sent his pastors at all times, to invite people to embrace the latter. They are all included in the number seven, both before and under the law, as well as in the gospel, where St. Paul styles Sts. Peter, James, and John, pillars, Galatians ii. This is the literal sense, on which the mystical is grounded, and both are intended by the Holy Ghost, intimating that the uncreated wisdom took flesh of the blessed Virgin [Mary], prepared the table of bread and wine, as Priest according to the order of Melchisedec, and chose the weak of this world to confound the strong, as St. Augustine explain this passage. (Sup. and q. 51.) (Worthington)
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 15. Allegorical exhibition of the call of men to…
15. Allegorical exhibition of the call of men to the possession and enjoyment of true wisdom, under the figure of an invitation to two banquets
Pro_9:1-18
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a) The banquet of wisdom: Pro_9:1-12
1 Wisdom hath builded her house,
she hath hewn out her seven pillars.
2 hath slaughtered her beasts, spiced her wine,
hath also spread her table;
3 hath sent out her maidens; she inviteth
on the highest points (summits of the high places) of the city:
4 “Whosoever is simple, let him come hither !”—
Whoso lacketh understanding, to him she saith:
5 “Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
6 Forsake the simple, and live,
and walk in the way of understanding.
7 He who correcteth a scorner draweth upon himself insult,
and he who rebuketh the wicked, it is his dishonor.
8 Reprove not the scorner lest lie hate thee;
admonish the wise and he will love thee.
9 Give to the wise and he becometh yet wiser,
instruct the upright and he learneth yet more.
10 The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah,
and knowledge of the Holy (one) is understanding.
11 For by me will thy days become many,
and the years of thy life will increase.
12 Art thou wise, thou art wise for thyself,
and if thou scornest thou alone shalt bear it.”
b) The banquet of Folly: Pro_9:13-18
13 A simple woman (and) clamorous,
is Folly, and knoweth nothing whatsoever.
14 She sitteth at the door of her house
enthroned in the high places of the city,
15 to invite the wayfarers
who go straight on their ways:
16 “Whosoever is simple let him come hither!”—
whoso lacketh understanding to him she saith:
17 “Stolen waters are sweet,
and bread taken in secret is pleasant,”
18 and he knoweth not that the dead are there,
in the depths of hell (the lower world) her guests.
GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL
Pro_9:3. [Böttcher cites מְרֹמֵי as illustrating a peculiar Hebrew idiom by which the emphatic plural of generic designations of persons, places and things is used for the singular with an indefinite article, which the Hebrew lacked, and only in its later periods began to supplement by the numeral. He would therefore translate “on one of the high places of the city.” See Ausführt. Lehrb., § 702, d.].
Pro_9:4. [יָסֻר, an example of the “consultive” use of the Jussive form (see Bött. § 964, 2), which under the influence of the succeeding word retains the u vowel (§ 956, g,—§1132, 3), the ordinary Jussive being אָ֥מְרָה ּיסָֹר Perf. consec. employed, as it sometimes is in the lively discourse of oratory and poetry, without the connective וְ, B. § 974].
Pro_9:9. [וְיוֹסֶף ,וְיֶהְכַם, examples of Jussive with וְ consec., in the “consecutive-affirmative” sense, as giving an assured result. Bött. § 964, a.].
Pro_9:13. [מָה is regarded by Böttcher also as an indefinite, quidquid or quidquam, (§ 899, ε), as it is by Gesenius and Fuerst. Gesen. however finds a different shade of meaning in the verb, and translates “and careth for nothing”].
Pro_9:16. [וְאָמְרָה, an example of the Perf. consec. in the sense of the “Fiens solitum,” the “future” with the idea of customary action. Bött. § 981, B. β.].
EXEGETICAL
1. Pro_9:1-3. Wisdom hath builded her house. The figure of the building of a house which is readily suggested by the appellation “director of the work” in Pro_8:30, appropriately provides for a transition from the description of the agency of eternal Wisdom in the creation of the world, to that here symbolized as an invitation to a banquet,—her activity among men, summoning and morally instructing them. Comp. Pro_14:1.—The designation of Wisdom (חָכְמוֹת) is the same as in Pro_1:20.—Hath hewn out her seven pillars. This hewing out of pillars suggests the splendor of the completed building. The sevenfold number represents this as a sacred work; for seven stands here, as it so frequently does in the Old and New Testaments, as a sacred number (comp. my article “Siebenzahl” in Herzog’s Theol. Real-Encycl., XIV. 353 sq.). The house of the celestial Wisdom is by this peculiar and emblematic description represented, as it were, in advance, as a temple, and the banquet offered in it as a sacred sacrificial meal. Special significance in the seven pillars, e.g., in connection with the seven attributes of the higher wisdom enumerated in Jam_3:17; or the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit referred to in Rev_1:4; Rev_1:12 sq.; Pro_3:1; Pro_4:5; Pro_5:6, etc. (Vitringa, C. B. Michaelis, J. Lange, Von Gerlach, etc.), or the seven principia deductiva Ethices divinæ (according to S. Bohlius, comp. remarks above, p. 74, note), or finally, the first seven chapters of the Book of Wisdom now before us,—all this is indicated by nothing whatever in the context, and is therefore wholly arbitrary. The suffix in עַמּוּדֶיהָ, since בַּיִת is usually masc., seems to refer to Wisdom as the subject of the proposition,—her, not its seven pillars.
Pro_9:2. Hath slaughtered her beasts. Notwithstanding the sacred character of the banquet, טִבְחָהּ is still not to be necessarily translated “her victims,” but signifies “that which is slaughtered,” slain animals in general. There is probably no reference to Pro_7:14.—The “mixing of the wine” seems not to refer to a mere mixing of wine with water, but to the preparation of a strong spiced wine with myrrh, etc.; comp. Isa_5:22; Pro_23:30, etc.
Pro_9:3. She inviteth on the highest points of the city, i.e., so that her servants must ascend the highest elevations of the city (not specifically the roofs of palaces), from which their calls of invitation to the banquet are most widely heard. Hitzig singularly translates “on the bare elevations of the city,” because גַּפִּים in Exo_21:3-4, and according to the Arabic, means naked, unclothed (?).—Furthermore the maidens sent forth, the servants of Wisdom, correspond to the servants by whom the Lord in the Gospel (Luk_14:16 sq.; Mat_22:1 sq.) has the guests invited to his banquet.
2. Pro_9:4-12. “Whosoever is simple let him come hither!” etc. On account of the similarity of this verse to Pro_9:16, which contains the words of Folly’s invitation, and on account of the summons to eat bread (Pro_9:5) which does not agree with the mention of the slain beasts in Pro_9:2, Hitzig pronounces Pro_9:4-5 spurious. But it is very significant and pertinent that Wisdom’s invitation appears clothed in the same words as that of Folly (comp. the analogous verbal repetitions in Christ’s parables and didactic narratives, e.g., Mat_25:20; Mat_25:22; Luk_5:6; Luk_5:9; Luk_16:6-7, etc.); and to “eat bread” stands here as in Pro_4:7, and indeed frequently (e.g., Gen_3:19; Lev_26:5; Deu_29:6; Jdg_19:5; 1Sa_2:36, etc.), by synecdoche for “the partaking of food, the taking a meal” in general. [The allegorical view of this passage as held, e.g., by Wordsw., and in his Commentary supported by ample use of the Church Fathers, may be illustrated by the supposed reference of Pro_9:5 to “the Body of Christ, the Living Bread, and the mystery of His blood, by which we are refreshed at His Holy Table.” A.].—The destitute of understanding, to him she saith. Before the הֲסַר־לֵב there is to be supplied from the 1st member the pronoun מִי,—literally, therefore “who is destitute of understanding, to him she saith.” The discourse accordingly here (and in the 2d member of Pro_9:15) falls back from the style of recital to that of description.
Pro_9:6. Forsake the simple. It will be easiest to take this phrase in its literal sense. For the verses following give this very counsel, not to keep company longer with the simple, with fools and scorners, because these are still incorrigible. The old versions and most modern commentators [as e.g., ST., N., M.] regard the noun as abstract (equivalent to the sing. פְּתִי in Pro_1:22, or the abstract derivative פֵּתַיּוּת in Pro_9:13), and therefore translate “Forsake simplicity, let your simplicity go.” [As Trapp, in his pithy way expresses it: “No coming to this feast in the tattered rags of the old Adam; you must relinquish your former evil courses and companies”]. But such a signification of this plural is attested by no example whatsoever. Just as unadvisable is it to construe the verb absolutely, by which Hitzig reaches the translation, “Cease, ye simple,” etc.; for in Jer_18:14, the verb is construed not absolutely, but rather with מִן; and the connection with what follows at least decidedly favors our explanation, which is supported by Umbreit also among ethers of the later expositors.
Pro_9:7. He who correcteth the scorner draweth upon himself insult. Usually the connection with Pro_9:4-6 is so conceived as if Wisdom were here, (in Pro_9:7-10) explaining her conduct in inviting especially the simple; she is supposed to turn to these alone, for the reason that if she wished to invite the scornful and wicked also she would only expose herself to indignities, and yet would effect nothing. But against this view of the course of thought may be urged decidedly, the warning and admonitory tone of Pro_9:8-9, and the didactic nature of Pro_9:10, which make it easy to find expressed in Pro_9:7 also the spirit of dissuasion, and so to regard Pro_9:7-10 as an argument in support of the demand embodied in the 1st clause of Pro_9:6, to avoid further intercourse with the simple, scorners, villains, etc. A comparison with Pro_1:22 shows that under the “simple” may be included very readily mockers, the violent, etc., as belonging to the same category; so does also the name “simplicity” (פְּתַיוּת) which is below, in Pro_9:13, directly given to the personification of Folly. “Abandon intercourse with such persons” is therefore Wisdom’s admonition, “for you gain from it nothing but insult, hate and contempt; forsake the camp of the simple (פְּתָאִים) and come over into that of the wise (חֲכָמִים), whose watchword is the fear of God and knowledge of the Holy; so will you find abundance of happiness and blessing.”—Hitzig, whose conception of the 1st clause of Pro_9:6 makes the recognition of this as the true connection of thought, from the first impossible, summarily rejects Pro_9:7-10 as a later interpolation. But if in fact the “if thou scornest” in the 2d clause of Pro_9:12 suggested this interpolation, the verses introduced would both in form and substance have been essentially different. And in the form in which the passage has come down in the manuscripts Hitzig’s hypothesis of an interpolation here again finds no kind of support.—And he who rebuketh a wicked man to him it is a shame. The word מוּמוֹ (his fault or shame) cannot be dependent on the verb (לקה) of the first clause which is associated with לוֹ [he taketh to himself his shame], but must be regarded as a predicate: “this is to him shame, such action is his disgrace.” Comp. Ecc_5:16; Psa_115:7.
Pro_9:9. Give to the wise and he becometh wiser. Comp. Pro_1:5, which passage although expressing an idea like that before us, must not for that reason be regarded as derived from this (in opposition to Hitzig). [Lord Bacon (Adv. of Learning, Book II.) says, “Here is distinguished the wisdom brought into habit, and that which is but verbal and swimming only in conceit; for the one upon the occasion presented is quickened and redoubled, the other is amazed and confused”]. With Pro_9:10 comp. Pro_1:7; Pro_2:5. Corresponding with the “Knowledge of God” in the latter passage we have here “knowledge of the holy,” i.e. not “knowledge of the holy” [in plural] (LXX, Vulgate, and most Catholic expositors), but “of the Holy” [in singular, “des Heiligen”], i.e. of God. Comp. further for this plur. majest. Pro_30:3 and Hos_12:1. [See still further examples of the use of participial plurals in the same way in Isa_54:5; Psa_121:5; Ecc_12:1, etc., Ewald, Lehrb., § 178, b, Bött., § 701, Green, § 202.—With regard to the interpretation compare Dr. J. Pye Smith (Script. Test, to the Messiah, I., 311): “According to the usual construction of Hebrew poetry, the plural epithet “the Holy” must be understood in apposition with Jehovah in the former half of the distich.” So H., St. M., and N.—A.]
Pro_9:11-12 are not to be regarded as taking up the discourse after the alleged digression in Pro_9:7-10, and attaching themselves to the words of invitation in Pro_9:4-6 to justify them (Bertheau, Hitzig), but give the reason for the general affirmation in Pro_9:10, which had been added as a peculiarly strong motive to the acceptance of Wisdom’s invitation. The address in the singular has therefore nothing remarkable in it; it simply follows Pro_9:8-9).—By me will thy days become many, etc. Comp. similar promises of long life, Pro_3:2; Pro_4:10. [For the use of this 3d pers. plural יוֹסִיפוּ see the grammars generally, e.g. Ges., § 134, 3; Green, § 243, 2, b, but more fully Bött., § 935, 6].—Art thou wise, thou art wise to thyself. The same thought is found somewhat more fully developed in Job_22:2-3; Job_35:6-9; comp. also Rom_11:35; Rev_22:11-12.—If thou scornest thou alone shalt bear it. Comp. Num_9:13; Jer_7:19; Job_34:31, and also the Latin dictum of Petronius, “Sibi quisque peccat.” The LXX offer in Pro_9:12; Pro_9:1 st clause, the fuller reading “thou shalt be wise for thyself and for thy neighbor” (καὶ τῷ πλησίον) which is surely the result of interpolation, like the addition which they append to Pro_9:10 (τὸ γὰρ γνῶναι νόμον διανοίας ἐστὶν ἀγαθῆς). The longer additions also of three verses each, which they with the Syriac and Arabic translators exhibit after Pro_9:12 and Pro_9:18, hardly rest upon a genuine original text that was before them, although they may readily be rendered back into Hebrew (see Hitzig’s attempts at this, pp. 86 and 88), and therefore very probably date from pre-Alexandrian times.
Pro_9:13-18. A simple woman, clamorous, [violently excited] is Folly. The abstract פְּתַיּוּת, simplicity, foolishness (see above remarks on Pro_9:7) is here plainly the subject, and designates the personified Folly, the exact opposite of Wisdom in Pro_9:1. With this subject is associated and prefixed as the main predicate, the appellation “woman of folly,” i.e., simple woman; the הוֹמִיָה “clamorous, boisterous” is in turn an attribute of this predicate, and describes the passionately excited, wanton desire of the foolish woman represented as an adulteress, just as in Pro_7:11, with which delineation that before us has a general and doubtless intentional correspondence.—And knoweth nothing whatever. In this way in accordance with Job_13:13, this phrase of the Masoretic text (וּבַל־יָדְעָה־מָּה) must unquestionably be interpreted, Utter ignorance (comp. Joh_11:49, “ye know nothing at all”) would accordingly be what is here asserted of Folly. But perhaps Hitzig is right, according to the LXX (ἥ οὐκ ἐπίσταται αἰσχύνην, “who knoweth not shame”) in reading כְּלִמָּה instead of מָה (the disappearance of the two consonants might easily have been occasioned by the false reading כָּל־מָה), and therefore in translating “and knoweth no shame,” which agrees admirably with the “boisterous” of the 1st clause.
Pro_9:14. She sitteth at the door of her house, like harlots who watch for passers by; comp. Jer_3:2; Gen_38:14, and the conduct of the adulteress described in Pro_7:10 sq.—Seated in the high places of the city. The place thus described is not the same as that in the 1st clause, but some other, farther removed from the door of the house. The harlot is therefore quite like the one in Pro_7:10 sq., represented as running irregularly this way and that and often changing her place. In this, however, the representation accords with that in Pro_9:3; as Wisdom so also Folly sends forth her call of invitation from elevated places of the city (comp. also Pro_8:2). A real throne as her seat, which she has erected under the open air, and which, in contrast to the “bald, uncovered heights” (?) mentioned in Pro_9:3, is supposed to be covered with tapestry (Hitzig), is certainly not intended; but the “throne” is here metaphorical; a “lofty throne of the city” (Umbreit) is a figurative and probably an ironical representation of a specially high place on which the wanton harlot has stationed herself, and therefore is as it were enthroned.
Pro_9:15. Who go straight on their ways, and therefore quiet, unwary travellers who take no thought of circuits or by-paths. The expression is doubtless to be taken literally, and yet not without a secondary moral significance.
Pro_9:17. Stolen waters are sweet, etc. Plainly words of Folly, and not of the author (Ewald, Bertheau), or even of one who has been assailed and ensnared by Folly’s allurements (Elster): for the suggestion of the attraction and charm of forbidden pleasures appears most appropriately in the mouth of the beguiler. Comp. Umbreit on this passage. Instead of wine (Pro_9:5) water is here mentioned as the ingredient of the feast, probably with reference to the waters mentioned in Pro_5:15.—Bread of secrecy, i.e. not simply bread secretly enjoyed, but also unjustly gained: an image of the forbidden enjoyment on which the adulterer seizes (comp. Pro_30:20).
Pro_9:18. And he knoweth not, i.e. the foolish victim who heeds her call and enters her house (comp. Pro_8:22).—That the dead (shades) are there, i.e. children of death, who are surely moving on toward the horrors of the lower world, and therefore even now, while the body still lives, are tenants of the lower world (וְפָאִים, comp. Pro_2:18), or “dead” (thus quite correctly according to the sense, Luther [the English version, etc.]: comp. Mat_8:22; Eph_2:1, etc.).—In the depths of hell her guests; literally, “in the depths (not as Umbreit and Ewald would read ‘in the valleys’) of Sheol her invited ones.” Therefore although in the house of Folly and to be found at her banquet those ensnared by her are in truth already in hell. For that house as a throat of hell reaches down to it (comp. Pro_2:18; Pro_7:27), is as it were only a station on the way of these sinners, which leads surely and irresistibly down to hell. Thus, and doubtless correctly, Hitzig, in opposition to others who make this language only anticipative. As to the three verses which the LXX supply after Pro_9:18 see above on Pro_9:12.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL, HOMILETIC AND PRACTICAL
The prototypical relation of the contents of this chapter to our Lord’s parables founded on banquets (Mat_22:1-14; Luk_14:16-24) is evident, and therefore its special importance to the doctrine of the call to salvation. What peculiarly characterizes the representation before us is, however, the twofold banquet to which invitation is given, and the correspondent resemblances and differences no the two feasts with their accompaniments. In both instances, at Wisdom’s feast as well as that of Folly, it is the “simple,” i.e. the great mass of the unrenewed, the children of this world, those indeed needing but not yet partaking the divine salvation, to whom the call goes forth. It also goes in both cases (Pro_9:4; Pro_9:16) with the same words of invitation, and under quite similar conditions,—that is, in such a way that those to be invited are laid hold upon in the street, and at once taken into the house comp. Mat_22:9; Luk_14:21). With these analogies which are found mainly at the beginning of the acts compared, how great are the differences, how fearful the contrasts! In the former case it is a splendid palace with its columns, a holy temple of God, in which the feast occurs; in the latter a common house, a harlot’s abode, built over an entrance to the abyss of hell! In the first the entertainer, represented as the princely occupant of a palace, remains quietly at home, while her servants take charge of the invitations; in the last the common woman goes out herself on the streets and high places of the city, that sitting in the attire of a harlot (comp. Pro_7:10), with the open heavens as a canopy above her, she may craftily and shamelessly attract as many as may be affected and ensnared by the contagion of her wanton lust! In the former instance it is simple words of God that make up the inviting testimony, words that in part with a literal exactness agree with the gracious calls of mercy and love with which the Son of Man once called sinners to repentance (comp., for example, Pro_9:5 with Joh_6:35, Pro_9:7-8 with Mat_7:6; Pro_9:9 with Mat_13:12; Pro_9:6; Pro_9:11-12 with Mat_11:28-30); in the latter it is a Satanic voice of temptation that is heard, setting forth with the boldest effrontery as a commendable principle to which we should conform our lives, the well-known “we ever strive for the forbidden, and desire the denied” (nitimur in vetitum semper cupimusque negata)! comp. Pro_9:17 with Mat_4:3; Mat_4:9; Rom_1:32, etc.
In the homiletic treatment of the passage as a whole it will be appropriate to set in the clearest light this parallelism of the banquets that are compared, with their special resemblances and contrasts; in some such way as this then: The friends of the kingdom of heaven and the friends of this world; or, The call of Christ to His Church, and the enticement of Satan to the service of sin; or, The feast of death, etc. Comp. Stöcker: Christ’s wisdom and humanity (φιλανθρωπία); Antichrist’s folly and destructiveness.—Starke:—A lesson on the founding of the church of the Messiah, and the collection of its members: 1) The founding of the Church by the work of redemption (Pro_9:1-2). 2) The invitation to the enjoyment of the blessings of Christ’s salvation in the Church; and in particular: a) How Christ invites to the enjoyment of these blessings of His salvation (Pro_9:3-6); b) How this invitation is foolishly despised by many men, and the allurements of sin preferred to it.—Wohlfarth:—The cross-roads; while wisdom calls us to the way of virtue and offers herself as our guide on it, at the same time the pleasure of this world calls and offers everything imaginable to draw it itself earth’s pilgrims of all races, ages and conditions.
Single passages. On Pro_9:1-6. Stöcker:—(Sermon on Christmas eve); Christ’s friendliness and condescension, as it appears 1) from the founding of His Church and its maintenance by “seven pillars,” i.e. by the apostles endowed with the manifold gifts of the Holy Ghost (Pro_9:1); 2) from His costly work of redemption in His own sacrificial death (Pro_9:2); by the institution of the means of grace in His Word and Sacrament (Pro_9:2-3); 4) from the gracious invitation to partake of all this (Pro_9:4 sq.).
On Pro_9:7-8. Cramer:—In the office of the Christian ministry the function of discipline must also be especially maintained. It does not, however, produce uniform fruits; some reform, some are and continue scorners.—[Pro_9:7. Flavel:—What we fear might turn to our benefit. The reproof given is duty discharged; and the retort in return is a fresh call to repentance for sin past, and a caution against sin to come.
Pro_9:7-9. Arnot:—Reproof—how to give it and how to take it. There should be jealousy for the Lord’s honor, and compassion for men’s souls like a well-spring ever in the heart; and then the outgoing effort should be with all the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove. For rightly receiving reproof the rule is, be more concerned to get the benefit of the reproof than to wreak vengeance on the reprover.]
On Pro_9:7-12. Calwer Handbuch; Reflections on the reception which Wisdom’s invitation finds among men; mockers answer it with derision; wise, i.e. God-fearing men, and such as continue in sanctification grow not only in wisdom, but also in outward prosperity: the gain is in every case ours, as the loss is the scorner’s.—On Pro_9:11-12. Hasius:—Wisdom and virtue lose nothing by being reviled and defamed; he, however, inevitably loses who makes sport of them.—[T. Adams:—Wisdom is the mother of abstinence, and abstinence the nurse of health; whereas voluptuousness and intemperance (as the French proverb hath it) dig their own grave with their teeth.]
On Pro_9:13-18. Starke:—If the temptation of Satan and his agents is so strong so much the more needful is it to try the spirits whether they be of God, and to beseech God that He will guide us in the right way. Alas! to many men in consequence of their corrupted taste in spiritual things there is more relish in the bread of vice and in draughts from the impure sloughs of the world, than in what is offered to them on the table of Jesus’ grace.—Berleburg Bible:—The more faithfully one serves the world, the more he allows himself to be led by corrupt reason and gives ear to the fascinating voice of temptation, the more enamored he is of the deceitful harlot, so much the deeper will he sink into the lowest depths of hell .... Who would prefer hell to heaven! who would go after death that may attain life!—[Pro_9:17. Trapp:—Many eat that on earth that they digest in hell.—Arnot:—When you have tasted and seen that the Lord is gracious, the foolish woman beckons you toward her stolen waters, and praises their sweets in vain: the new appetite drives out the old]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 mingled--to enhance the flavor (Pro 23:30; Isa 5:22).
mingled--to enhance the flavor (Pro 23:30; Isa 5:22).
furnished--literally, "set out," "arranged."
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 WISDOM MAKETH A FEAST AND INVITETH GUESTS, Pro_9:1-12, The…
WISDOM MAKETH A FEAST AND INVITETH GUESTS, Pro_9:1-12, The discourse on wisdom is continued, (Pro_9:1-12.)
This heavenly wisdom is never separated in thought for a moment from virtue and piety. Though not exactly identical with virtue and piety, inasmuch as it is more comprehensive, these qualities are included in it, and make a principal part of it. (Pro_9:10.) It was contrary to the royal preceptor’s idea that any man could be wise who neglected his obligations to God and man. (See note on Pro_1:7.) The personification of wisdom is still carried on, though she is not always made to speak in her own person, as at Pro_9:5-6. Folly, the opposite of wisdom, is also personified, as a dissolute woman. (Pro_9:13-18.)
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1. Wisdom — חכמות, hhokmoth, literally, wisdoms, the plural of excellency, according to the Hebrew manner, (comp. Pro_1:20,) but the verbs and pronouns connected with it are in the singular, as usual, showing that, though the form is plural, the sense is singular.
Hath builded her house — Compare Pro_14:1. Palace, rather than temple, in which she resides like a queen in royal state, carrying out the idea suggested in Pro_8:34.
Seven pillars — Seven is probably used here, as often, as the mystical or complete number. The sentiment is that of the stability and beauty of the building.
Many, both among the ancients and moderns, fond of running out the allegory in every particular, have found in this “house” and its “seven pillars” a subject for the exercise of their ingenuity. But some, not satisfied with such general idea, have conjectured that the seven pillars were seven schools of the prophets then in existence: while others, again, considering Wisdom as identical with the Logos of the New Testament, have supposed that the building typified the Church, which is called God’s house, (1Ti_3:15; Heb_3:3-4,) in which the prophets, apostles, and ministers are pillars, (Gal_2:9,) and in which a feast of fat things is provided for all that will partake of it. Isa_25:6; and the parable, Mat_22:14; Luk_14:16-24. This much may be said concerning this application, that the principles involved are the same in both cases; and if these expositions are only used in an illustrative way, no great harm is done. But, inasmuch as they are altogether conjectural, they have no logical force when used dogmatically in support of any particular doctrine.
Miller, who spiritualizes every thing, gives us on Pro_9:2-3 a fair specimen of this allegorizing: “‘She has killed her’ killing; namely, Christ. ‘She has mingled her wine;’ namely, his atoning blood. She has, in every respect, a banquet, just as the strange woman offers her banquet. ‘She has spread her table;’ Christ and his cross not being efficient unless administered to men, she has established Churches and ordinances as the mere dishes and seats of the expected banquet. ‘She has sent forth her maidens;’ namely, sermons and providential strokes; the whole heraldry of the doctrine of salvation.”
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 On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18 1. seven pillars] “Pillars form an important feature in…
1. seven pillars] “Pillars form an important feature in Oriental architecture, partly perhaps as a reminiscence of the tent with its supporting poles, and partly also from the use of flat roofs, in consequence of which the chambers were either narrower, or divided into portions by columns.” Smith’s Dict. of Bible, Art. Pillar.
Here, however, it is better to suppose that the great banquet-hall is open all along the front, so as it were to invite entrance, the roof being supported by a row (‘seven’ is the usual symbol of completeness) of stately pillars. The magnificent hall in which the lords of the Philistines sat and watched Samson making sport in the court-yard outside, while on its flat roof no fewer than 3000 people were assembled, was constructed on this principle; the two central pillars of the colonnade forming a chief support of the roof (Jdg_16:25-30).
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 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18 (o). Fifteenth Discourse: the Invitations of Wisdom and Folly…
IX.
(o). Fifteenth Discourse: the Invitations of Wisdom and Folly (Proverbs 9).
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(1) Wisdom hath builded her house—i.e., in preparation for the feast to which she is about to invite her guests. It is not an unusual custom in the Old Testament to describe intimate communion with God, and the refreshment which the soul of man thereby receives, under the figure of a festival. Thus in Exo_24:11, when the elders of Israel were admitted to the vision of the Almighty, they “did eat and drink.” The same idea occurs frequently in the prophets also (as Isa_25:6; Isa_65:13; Zep_1:7-8); and is brought out in the New Testament with great fulness in the parables of the great supper (Luke 14) and the marriage of the king’s son (Matthew 22). Christ, the supreme Wisdom, has “builded His house” by taking man’s flesh at His Incarnation, and thus rearing for Himself a “temple of the Holy Ghost” (Joh_2:19); and also by building for Himself a “spiritual house” (1Pe_2:5), “the house of God, which is the church of the living God” (1Ti_3:15). (For references to the Fathers, see Bishop Wordsworth.) In the previous chapter Christ’s work as Creator was described; now He is set forth as Regenerator of mankind.
She hath hewn out her seven pillars.—Suggestive of the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit (Isa_11:2 Rev_1:4), typified by the seven-branched candlestick of the Tabernacle (Exo_25:37).
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 On vv1–18 Vers. 1-18. Fifteenth admonitory discourse, containing in a parabolic…
Vers. 1-18. Fifteenth admonitory discourse, containing in a parabolic form an invitation of Wisdom (vers. 1-12), and that of her rival Folly (vers. 13-18). The chapter sums up in brief the warnings of the preceding part.
Wisdom was represented as having a house at whose portals persons waited eagerly for admission; (Pro_8:34) the idea is further carried on. Wisdom hath builded her house. (For the plural form of khochmoth, "wisdom," a plural of excellency, see on Pro_1:20) As the "strange woman" in Pr 7 possessed a house to which she seduced her victim, so Wisdom is represented as having a house which she has made and adorned, and to which she invites her pupils. Spiritual writers see here two references one to Christ"s incarnation, when he built for himself a human body; (Joh_2:19) and another to his work in forming the Church, which is his mystical body. (1Pe_2:5) And the sublime language used in this section is not satisfied with the bare notion that we have here only an allegorical representation of Wisdom calling followers to her. Rather we are constrained to see a Divine intimation of the office and work of Christ, not only the Creator of the world, as in Pr 8, but its Regenerator. She hath hewn out her seven pillars. Architecturally, according to Hitzig and others, the pillars of the inner court are meant, which supported the gallery of the first story. Four of these were m the corners, three in the middle of three sides, while the entrance to the court was through the fourth side of the square. The number seven generally denotes perfection; it is the covenant number, expressive of harmony and unity generally, the signature of holiness and blessing, completeness and rest. So in the Apocalypse the whole Church is represented by the number of seven Churches; (Rev_1:4, etc.; see on Pro_26:16) Wisdom"s house is said to be thus founded because of its perfection and adaptability to all states of men. But doubtless there is a reference to the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit, which rested upon the Christ, (Isa_11:2, etc.) and which are the support and strength of the Church, being symbolized by the seven-branched candlestick in the temple.
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Vers. 1-5. The banquet of wisdom.
I THE BANQUET HOUSE.
1. It is substantial. A house, not a mere tent. The feast of wisdom is no brief repast, rarely enjoyed, It is a lasting delight, a frequent refreshment always ready.
2. It is magnificent. Seven pillars are hewn out for the house. It is fitting that the house of God should be more beautiful than a man"s dwelling. He who enters into the habitation of God"s thoughts will find it beautiful and glorious. There is nothing mean about Divine truth. It is all large, noble, magnificent. He who comes into communion with is will find himself in no poor hovel. He will be in a palace of splendour, with which the material grandeur of marble columns, delicate tracery, etc., cannot vie.
II THE PROVISION. Rich and abundant slaughtered beasts, spiced wine, a well furnished table. Nothing looks more sordid than poor fare in splendid apartments. This shad not be seen in the house of Divine wisdom, but, on the contrary, enough for all, and that of the best quality. No thoughts are so full nor so rich as the thoughts of revelation. There is variety here as in the viands of the banquet. And "all things are ready." The table is spread. It waits for the guests. While we are praying for light, the light is shining about us. God has revealed his truth. Christ, the Light of the world, has appeared among us. The feast of the truths of the glorious gospel of the, blessed God is ready for all who will come and share in its bounties.
III THE INVITATION. The maidens are sent forth not one, but many that the message may go to all quarters. They cry in the highest places of the city, that the message may have the greatest publicity, may spread over the widest area, may reach all classes. This is the character of the call of God to us in his truth. He seeks us before we seek him. He has already sought us. The gospel is preached, proclaimed as by heralds; and this gospel contains the invitation to the rich banquet of Divine truth.
IV THE GUESTS. "The simple;" "him that lacketh understanding." So in our Lord"s parable, "the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind" are called. (Luk_14:21) The whole need not the physician; the full need not the feast. They who are satisfied with their own knowledge will not sit humbly at the feet of a Divine revelation. It is they who feel themselves to be foolish, who acknowledge their ignorance and grope dimly after the light, who will be able to enjoy the banquet of wisdom; and these people are specially invited. The heathen, the illiterate, the weak-minded, are all called to receive the saving truth of Christ.
V THE SATISFACTION. "Eat of my bread, and drink of the wine," etc.
1. Divine truth is nourishing. "By every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live". (Deu_8:3) Christ, the "Word," is the Bread of life.
2. Divine truth is a source of joy. At the banquet there is wine that maketh glad the heart of man. The gospel offers no prison fare. It kills the fatted beast. It gives wine spiced wine, things of pleasure and luxury. Yet the pleasure is not enervating; the gospel wine is not harmfully intoxicating. How much better this banquet than the injurious and really less pleasing least of folly (vers. 13-18)!
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON Vers. 1-6. Wisdom"s banquet; or, the call to salvation.
I THE FIGURATIVE REPRESENTATION. Wisdom was termed, in Pro_8:30, a "work mistress," in reference to the structure of the physical world. Here she whose delight is in men and human life is represented as the builder, i.e. the founder of moral and social order. The seven pillars denote grandeur, and, at the same time, sacredness. Her home is a temple. Religion is "the oldest and most sacred tradition of the race" (Herder); and it contains within it art, science, polity all that makes human life stable, rich, and beautiful. Preparation has been made for a feast. The ox has been slain, the spiced wine has been mixed, (Isa_5:22 Pro_23:30) the table set forth. Her servant has been sent forth, and her invitation has been freely made known on all the heights of the city. It is an invitation to the simple, the ignorant, the unintelligent, of every degree.
II THE SPIRITUAL CONTENTS. These receive a richer unfolding in the gospel. (Mat_22:1-14 Luk_14:16-24) Instead of the practical personification of wisdom, we have the living presence of Christ, "the Wisdom of God." Instead of the abstract, the concrete; for an ideal conception, a real Example and a present Object of faith. Instead of the splendid palace temple, on the other hand, we have the thought of the kingdom of God, or the Church, resting on its foundations of apostolic truth. To the provisions of the table correspond the rich spiritual nourishment derivable from Christ, his Word and work the true Bread sent down from heaven. To the invitation of Wisdom, the call to salvation by Christ.
1. The New Testament echoes the Old, and the gospel is essentially the same in every way.
2. The gospel of Christ is the unfolding, expansion, enrichment, of the ancient spiritual lore.
3. The relation of the Divine to the human remains constant; it is that of supply to want, knowledge to ignorance, love and light to sorrow and darkness.
4. The invitation to the kingdom of heaven is free and general, conditioned by nothing except the need of its blessings. J.
HOMILIES BY W. CLARKSON Vers. 1-6. The Divine invitation.
Wisdom invites the sons of men to a feast. Christ, "the Wisdom of God," is inviting us all to partake of eternal life. A feast may well be regarded as the picture and type of life at its fullest. It combines so many of the best features of human life bounty generously offered and graciously accepted, nourishment, enjoyment, social intercourse, intellectual and spiritual as well as bodily gratification. In the gospel of Christ there is offered to us life at its very fullest Divine, eternal. We are invited by Eternal Wisdom to partake thereof, to "lay hold" thereupon. These verses suggest to us
I THE COMPLETENESS OF THE DIVINE PREPARATION. (Vers. 1, 2) The house is built, the full number of pillars hewn, the beasts killed, the wine mingled, the table set out. Everything is arranged and executed; nothing is forgotten or omitted. Every guest will find that which he needs. How complete is the preparation which God has made for us in the gospel of grace and life! The whole of the Old Testament may be said to be a part of the history of his preparation. All his dealings with his ancient people, and his control of the heathen nations, were leading up to the one great issue the redemption of mankind by a life-giving Saviour. The New Testament continues the same account; the birth, the ministry, the life, the sorrows, the death, the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, the evangelizing work and the interpretive letters of the apostles, form the last part of the Divine preparation. And now everything is complete. The house is built, the table is spread, the wine outpoured. There is nothing which a guilty, sorrowing, striving, seeking soul can hunger or thirst for which it will not find at this heavenly feast. Mercy, full reconciliation, unfailing friendship, comfort, strength, hope, joy in God, everlasting life, everything is there.
II THE GRACIOUSNESS OF THE INVITATION. (Vers. 3, 4) Wisdom sends "her maidens" and "cries upon the highest places of the city." She charges those to speak who are likeliest to be listened to, and to utter her invitation where it is surest to be heard. Moreover, she does not restrict her call to those who may be said to be her own children; (Mat_11:19) on the other hand, she addresses herself specially to those who are strange to hereto "the simple," to "him that wanteth understanding," In the gospel of the grace of God:
1. It is the gracious Lord himself who speaks to us, and in the most winning way. It is he himself who says, "Come unto me;" "If any man thirst," etc.; "I am the Bread of life," etc.
2. He has, in his providence and grace, caused the message of mercy to be sounded where all can hear it the highest places of the city.
3. He calks all men to his bountiful board, specially those who are in the greatest need. (Luk_14:21-23 Mat_9:12, Mat_9:13)
III THE CHARACTER OF THE MESSAGE. (Vers. 5, 6) Wisdom calls those who hear her messengers to forsake folly, to walk in righteousness, and thus to enter into life. The Wisdom of God himself calls those who hear his voice to:
1. Turn from their iniquity, turning away from the fellowship of the unholy as well as from the practice of sin.
2. Enter into closest fellowship with him himself; thus eating of the bread and drinking of the water of life; thus walking in the way of truth, holiness, love, wisdom; thus "going in the way of understanding.
3. Partake with him the life which is Divine and eternal life for God, life in God, life with God forever. 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 On vv1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 Wisdom hath builded her house.
Pro_9:1-6
Wisdom hath builded her house.
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Wisdoms invitation
The Bible is fully of mystery, not merely in its doctrines, but also in the manner and in the language by which the truths of revelation are brought before us. In the personification of this passage, Wisdom is seen sympathising with man, caring for man, loving man, diffusing abroad amongst men the benefits of harmony, and of purity, and of eternal life.
I. The provision made by heavenly Wisdom for the spiritual wants of men. When Wisdom is here represented as having furnished her house, and built her dwelling, you have an idea, a correct conception of the Church of God. God is the builder of the Church, and the foundation is deep, broad, and wide, and altogether sufficient for the purposes of human salvation. Men are represented as living stones, quickened and animated, and hewn and fitted to occupy the position for which they are intended, cemented by Divine love, held in attraction to the foundation, and consequently held in relation to each other. In the passage the building is characterised by stability and durability. Seven pillars. Pillars, in Scripture, are emblems of strength, beauty, and durability. The number seven is indicative of perfection. Every pillar, every buttress, every support that Christianity needs the wisdom of God has provided. In the passages is the further idea of a gracious and adequate provision. She hath killed her killings. This is the idea of sacrifice. The idea of what is grateful and refreshing is likewise presented. She hath mingled her wine. Easterns mingled their wines in order, by the power of spices, to make them more attractive, and to strengthen their flavour. Then the table is furnished. Divine truth in its simplest and most complicated form--Divine truth that can guide, and purify, and train the spirit up for heaven--the truth that can make you free--the truth that can bless you with present happiness and eternal glory, is presented in the gospel. The provision of infinite love, then, is precisely adapted to your need.
II. The invitation presented to mankind to accept of this provision.
1. The parties employed to utter the invitation. When Wisdom, as the queen of heaven, spreads her table, she sends out her maidens. They are emblems of feebleness, purity, and attractiveness; and this is just the character of the messengers that were sent out by the Lord.
2. The persons to whom the invitation is directed. Here represented as being foolish, indiscreet, unwise, incompetent to guide their own affairs, incapable of obtaining that support and comfort which they need. Here is a correct idea of the ruined, the guilty, and the helpless condition of man. The gospel is preached to the ignorant, the guilty, and the wretched.
3. The scene of proclamation is described. It is made in the chief places of congress, at the opening of the gate, and the going in of the doors. This teaches us that the proclamation is to be made in the midst of large multitudes of people.
III. The consideration by which this invitation is enforced and pressed home upon attention. There is not the mere announcement of provision, not the mere proclamation of the fact, but an entreaty on the part of those who go out with the messages. Forsake the foolish and live. Life is valuable--all life is valuable. The life of religion, the life of God in the soul of man, is the highest form of life. There is an appeal in the text to the love of enjoyment. There is an appeal also to the love of wisdom. Have you obeyed the invitation? (Gearge Smith, D. D,)
The rival banquets
(with Pro_9:13-18):--
I. The resemblances between them are set forth in a very striking manner.
1. It is the same class of men that is invited. They are in both cases the simple, the void of understanding.
2. The invitations are similar in--
(1) Their universality;
(2) their publicity (Pro_9:8; Pro_14:1-35); and
(3) their urgency. Wisdom sends forth her messengers, and so, presumably, does Folly.
II. But the differences are no less marked.
1. In the banquets themselves. Wisdom has built her grand, substantial palace or temple (Pro_9:1), in virtue of her share in creation (Pro_8:30), and she has provided a satisfying, nourishing, and gladsome feast (Pro_9:2). Not so Folly. In consistency with her parasitic nature, it is not her own goods that she creates and prepares, but she invites to the abuse or illicit enjoyment of the goods God has already bestowed. Wisdom sits as a princess in her rightful home; Folly is hardly more than at the door of her house, which is not described.
2. In the inducements presented. These are not the feasts themselves, but additional commendations setting forth their relative advantages. In the one case satisfying and nourishing viands are offered, whose result is life; in the other, the thing presented is pleasure, and that which is to give it is only spoken of in a mysterious, allusive way. It is the illicit and secret enjoyment that is the charm. But if the Queen of Sheba declared that the half had not been told her of the true wisdom, how much of the truth is kept back in the promises and fair speeches of Folly! Those who are once within her house are to all intents and purposes dead men, and are as if they were already in the depths of Sheol! (St. J. A. Frere, M.A.)
Wisdoms house
I. What person is alluded to by the designation of Wisdom? (Pro_8:22-31). Here we have the eternity of Christ plainly set forth; His absolute Sovereignty saying, By Me kings reign and princes decree justice. He also assures us of His love: I love them that love Me, and those that seek Me early shall find Me. He also speaks of His extensive resources: Riches and honour are with Me, yea durable riches and righteousness.
II. The house which Wisdom has built.
1. An indestructible house. He formed, in the counsels of eternity, by unerring wisdom, a plan which no finite mind could have ever suggested, and which can admit of no improvement. We are thankful for a good plan, when we reflect that the permanence of a building is often, in some measure at least, dependent upon it. This building rests on the securest foundation--the three persons in the ever-blessed Trinity, the perfections of God, and the all-sufficient righteousness of the incarnate One. It reposes, not on the yielding sand of human merit or mortal workmanship, but on the Rock of Ages, which time cannot crumble or change. Not only is the foundation quite safe and immovable, but the superstructure is equally strong. In fact, it is perfectly invincible. She hath hewn her seven pillars. Pillars are used as the supports and ornaments of buildings, and the number seven is the symbol of perfection. We take the seven pillars to denote perfect strength and beauty. We next observe that Wisdoms house affords perfect security to its inhabitants. It is a fortress, a strong tower, a house of defence, a castle of safety, to those who enjoy the privilege of dwelling in it.
2. A house of instruction. It is emphatically the house of Wisdom. A school where the best lessons are taught, in the best possible mode of teaching, and by the best of all teachers.
3. A banqueting house (Pro_9:2). The Church of the living God is a banqueting-hall in which we have the gospel feast prepared and exhibited for all who have a spiritual appetite; and the invitation is freely and earnestly given to all, for there is plenty of room and an abundance of provisions. The entertainment is in reality a feast upon a sacrifice, and what is that sacrifice on which all who wish may feast but the sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? (S. Waller.)
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 On vv1, 13 Pro_9:1. Wisdom, in the plural, as in chap. Pro_1:20,…
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro_9:1. Wisdom, in the plural, as in chap. Pro_1:20, to express excellence and dignity.
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Pro_9:2. She hath mingled her wine. Some commentators understand the mingling to be with water, others with spices; both were customary among ancient orientals.
Pro_9:7. Latter clause. Most commentators translate, “he that rebuketh the wicked, it is his dishonour,” or, “it is a dishonour to him,” i.e., to the wicked man.
Pro_9:10. The Holy, generally understood to stand in apposition to Jehovah.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Pro_9:1-12
WISDOM’S FEAST
I. The house to which Divine Wisdom invites her guests is one which has cost time and labour in the preparation. “Wisdom hath builded her house.” The building of anything implies the expenditure of time and labour. When the eagle builds her nest and prepares a house for her yet unborn young she spends much time in her work and bestows much labour upon it. In the building of a house for human habitation, whether it be a palace or a cottage, time and care, and thought and labour must be given to the building. And so it is in mental building; when thoughts are to be gathered together and fashioned into a book, the gathering and the building involves the expenditure of mental labour and of many hours and days, and sometimes years, before the work is completed. And God has not departed from this rule in the works which He has wrought for the benefit of His creatures. The house which He has built for the habitation of man was not brought into its present form all at once. God did not create the heavens and the earth in one day or in a short period of time We read that “in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is” (Exo_20:2), and the record of the rocks confirms the testimony of revelation that the preparation of the earth for man was a work of time In creation Divine Wisdom “builded her house.” And what is true of creation is true also of redemption. The incarnation of the Son of God took place in the days of Tiberius Cæsar, but the process of building the plan of redemption had been going on for ages. In the Mosaic dispensation it was seen in outline. Its sacrifices were shadows of the house which God intended hereafter to build in the human nature of the man Christ Jesus. The temple of Herod was forty-six years in building (Joh_2:20), but the temple of God was in course of preparation for more than forty-six generations before it was brought to completion in “the Word made flesh” (See Hebrews, chap. 9).
II. That which has been long in preparation is strong and enduring in character. It hath “seven pillars.” The snow-flake is not long in being formed and it is not long in duration. The bubble upon the stream is built in an instant, and passes away as quickly. But the coral island has taken many years and cost a million lives, to build it, and now it stands a rock in the midst of the ocean, and has become the home of man. All that is strong and lasting in the world has taken time in its formation. So is it in the refuge where that is found which will satisfy the soul of man. It was long ere it was completed, but it is a lasting edifice, built upon a sure foundation (Heb_6:18-19).
III. The house which Wisdom has builded contains that which will satisfy human need. The soul-blessings which God offers to men are often compared to a feast (Isa_25:6; Mat_22:4). Here Wisdom is spoken of as having “killed her beasts, mingled her wine, furnished her table.”
1. It is plain that the human spirit needs a feast from the fact that God has spread the board. When the Lord Jesus furnished a table in the wilderness for the multitude it was to supply a manifest need. It was to meet Israel’s need that God fed them with manna in the wilderness. Man’s spiritual nature must starve without the feast which God’s wisdom has prepared. The existence of the feast proves the existence of the need.
2. This feast is of the best quality. The man who prepares a feast for his guests prepares of his best. The feast prepared by a poor man will be the best at his command; the banquet of a king will be such as befits his rank and resources. The banquet to which Divine Wisdom invites her guests is furnished with the most costly provisions that even God has to give. Christ, who declares Himself to be meat and drink to the spirit of man (Joh_6:51; Joh_6:54; Joh_6:56) is the best gift that God had to bestow upon man—the best food that Heaven could furnish.
3. Wisdom’s feast is one in which there is variety. There is flesh, wine, and bread (Pro_9:2; Pro_9:5). The feasts of the rich and great consist of many different dishes, and the variety adds to the enjoyment of the guests. God has provided many different kinds of food to satisfy our bodily appetite. Although they are all adapted to the same end, viz., to the nourishment of the body, the difference in their composition and flavour adds much to man’s enjoyment. The human spirit, like the human body, craves a variety in its food, and God has satisfied that craving. The revelation of God in Christ (in other words, the Gospel) reveals a great variety of spiritual truths upon which the spiritual nature of man can feed. There are things “new and old” in the Gospel treasury (Mat_13:52). And new revelations of life and immortality will be brought to light throughout the coming ages, and the feeling of those who partake of the royal banquet will be like that of the ruler of the feast at Cana: “Thou hast kept the good wine until now” (Joh_2:10).
IV. Those who invite to Wisdom’s feast must be pure in character. The sending forth of “maidens” seems to convey this idea. Maidenhood is a type of purity. The character of the inviter must be in keeping with the nature of the invitation. If a man gives an invitation to the Gospel-feast, he will find that those whom he invites will look at the invitation through the glass of his character, and unless it is one through which the invitation can be favourably viewed, there will be little hope of his words proving effectual. Character and doctrine are inseparable. God intends the first to be a recommendation of the last. The invitation to “Come,” from the lips of the Lord Jesus, was mighty in its power, because the purity of His teaching was equalled by the purity of His life. The great power of the invitation to Wisdom’s feast in the mouths of the first Christian teachers sprang from the character of those who gave the invitation (see 2Co_1:2).
V. The means by which the guests are brought in. They are invited. There can be no compulsion in bringing men to the feast of Wisdom. No man can be compelled to partake of a feast. Persuasion can be used, and men can be induced to eat of it from a sense of need, but force is useless. A man may be placed at the board and kept there against his will, but the eating must ever be his own act. And so it is with the spiritual blessings which God has prepared for men. All the force that can be exercised is the force of persuasion. The first servants who went forth to invite men to the Gospel-feast were fully convinced that the weapon which they were to use was that of persuasion. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2Co_5:20). “Knowing the terrors of the Lord we persuade men” (2Co_5:11).
VI. The publicity and general nature of the invitation. “She crieth upon the highest places of the city.” On this head see Homiletics on chaps. Pro_1:20-21; Pro_8:2-3.
VII. The different characters with whom Wisdom’s servants meet in giving her invitation. They meet with the wise and just man (Pro_9:9), and with the wicked, who are again classified as the simple (Pro_9:4), and the scorners (Pro_9:7). There is often a great difference in things of the same class and kind. All the fruit upon a tree may be bad, but all may not be equally bad. So among sinners are men of different degrees of sinfulness. There are the simple—those who are merely heedless of Divine teachings through a culpable ignorance and thoughtlessness, there are men so bad that they scorn all God’s invitations and set at nought His threatenings. This character is held up in Scripture as having reached the climax of iniquity. (See Homiletics on chap. Pro_1:22). The just man (Pro_9:9), is here synonymous with the wise man. He only is a wise man who has a worthy end which he sets himself to attain, and who uses the best means to attain that end. Hence the good or just man is the only truly wise man. He lays hold of all the means within his reach to increase his godliness, to get power to enable him to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk with God, and thus shows himself to be a member of the kingdom of the good which is the kingdom of the wise. He must be a just man, one who is upright in all his relations in life, one who will not knowingly leave undone his duty to his fellow-men. A man who is right in his relations towards God will not fail in his relations towards men. Simeon was a devont man, therefore he was a just man (Luk_2:25), so was Cornelius (Act_10:2; Act_10:22). But these wise men are not all equally wise, and none are so wise that they cannot increase in wisdom, and therefore Wisdom sends forth her invitations to all, to the wise and just men as well as to the simple and the scorner.
VIII. The opposite effects of the invitation upon opposite characters. The scorner hates it—the wise man loves it (Pro_9:8). When the sun shines upon a diseased eye it produces a sense of discomfort, but the same light falling upon a healthy eye gives a sensation of pleasure. The opposite feelings are the results of opposite conditions. The different receptions which are given to God’s invitations arise from the different spiritual conditions of the men who hear them. The man who “loves darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil” is pained when he receives Wisdom’s invitation, because the very invitation condemns him. It is a rebuke to him (Pro_9:7-8) for continuing to reject the feast for husks, for preferring to spend “money upon that which is not bread and his labour upon that which satisfieth not.” Hence he who thus reproveth a scorner gets to himself shame, and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot (Pro_9:7). The preacher of the Gospel endures the shame of the cross when he delivers his message to such an one, but it meets with quite an opposite reception from the wise and just. A wise man because he is wise desires more wisdom. Those who know most about a good thing are those who desire to know more, and this desire prevents them from being offended with those who offer to give them more knowledge. Even if Wisdom’s invitation takes the form of a rebuke (Pro_9:8), the wise man, considering that the end of the rebuke is to do him good, loves the ambassador of Wisdom who administers it. When a sick man receives severe treatment from a physician, he accepts it patiently because he bears in mind the end in view, viz., his restoration to health. And this is the light in which all wise men regard Divine reproof, whether it comes directly from Himself in the form of providential dispensations, or through the medium of the lips of one of His servants. The message which is a “savour of death” to the scorner, is a “savour of life” to them.
IX. If the invitation is effectual, there will be a forsaking and a fearing. “Forsake the foolish and live” (Pro_9:6). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro_9:10). A forsaking of the wrong path must go before the entrance into the right one, and a fear that we may go wrong will help to keep us in the right way. A wholesome dread of God’s displeasure will lead a man to repentance, which is but another name for a change in life’s end, and aims, and purposes. A conviction that he has been going in the wrong direction will cause him to lend a willing ear to those who invite him to set out on the right path; and the acceptance of the invitation is the beginning of a life of true wisdom, because it is the beginning of the only safe and satisfying course of life.
X. Whatever reception is given to the invitations of Divine Wisdom, God is above all human approbation. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it” (Pro_9:12). The sun will go on shining, whatever men think or say about it. All the approbation of all the world will not add to the glory of the light that rules the day, and if men were to find fault with the manner in which it dispensed its light and heat, it would still hold on its way “rejoicing, as a strong man to run a race.” The children of Wisdom, who accept the Divine invitation, and fall in with God’s way of saving them, do not make God their debtor in any way. He would still be the moral Sun of the universe, if all mankind were to turn a deaf ear to His invitations, and all the praise of all the good in Heaven and earth cannot add one ray to the moral glory of His being. The scorn of the scorner cannot harm the God whose revelation he scorns, any more than a man could injure the wind that blows upon him by beating it. If men disapprove of God’s way of governing the world, or of His conditions of salvation, it cannot harm the Divine Being in any way. He is above all the approval or disapproval—all the rejection or acceptance of any finite creature. Eliphaz, the Temanite, spoke truly when he said, “Can a man be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to Him that thou makest thy ways perfect?” (Job_22:2-3). It therefore follows, as a matter of course, that the Divine plan of redemption has been devised solely out of regard to His creatures; that love is the only motive that prompts Him to multiply invitations and warnings; and that the sufferings which are entailed upon men by their rejection of His provisions spring from nothing selfish or arbitrary in the Divine character.
XI. The acceptance of the Divine invitation is an obedience to the lawful instinct of self-love. Self-love is often confounded with selfishness, but they are widely different. The principle of self-love is recognised as lawful and right throughout the Bible. God commands a man to love his neighbour as he loves himself, thereby laying down the principle that self-love is necessary and right. Our Saviour appeals to this Divinely-implanted instinct when He urges men to save their souls, because of the infinite profit which they will thereby gain (Mar_8:36). And the fact that God has made self-love the standard whereby we are to measure our love to others, and that it is urged upon men as a motive by the Divine Son, at once places a great gulf between it and selfishness. Obedience to self-love leads men to obey Wisdom’s invitation and thus to become truly wise themselves. Self-love leads men to desire to make the best of their existence, and no man can do this unless he accepts the call to the feast which Wisdom has prepared. The Hebrew nation thought they could get profit to themselves apart from acceptance of the Divine proposals. They persuaded themselves that they could do without God’s way of life, and that the feast which He had prepared could be neglected with impunity. But they found when too late that they had done themselves an eternal wrong by “making light” of the call of the king’s servants. (See Mat_22:14). But “Wisdom is justified of her children,” and although our Lord likens the men of that generation to children who neither dance to the sound of joyful music nor mourn to strains of lamentation (Luk_7:31-35), there have always been some who have so regarded their real interest as to be willing guests of the Divine Inviter. Obeying His call they come into possession of a righteous character, the only attainment of real profit which can be gotten out of existence. It is the only end worth living for. The end of a true soldier’s existence is not the keeping of his bodily life. That with him is quite a secondary consideration. Neither is it his happiness. These things are nothing to him in comparison with the attainment of a character for bravery and fidelity to his trust. And so with every man in God’s universe. Not ease and comfort, not fame or high position, but character is that only which will make existence really profitable, which will make it a gain to live. Happiness will, of necessity, follow godliness, but it is not the thing to be aimed at. The attainment of the highest earthly fame, or the amassing of vast riches, will not necessarily make a man a good companion for himself, and if he is not this, he has failed to draw true profit out of his existence. He may be a wise man according to men’s judgment, but if he has failed to consult his own true self-interest, he is a fool. A position in heaven would be nothing to such a man if he could obtain it. The blessedness of the heavenly world springs from the holy character of those who inhabit it, and this can be obtained only by listening to Wisdom’s voice, and so gaining that “fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the holy, which is understanding” (Pro_9:10). “If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself” (Pro_9:12); in other words—thou thyself shall reap the first and principal benefit.
XII. The consequence of the rejection of Wisdom’s invitation must be borne by him who rejects it. “If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.” If a man refuses to use the power which he possesses to walk, he will, in the course of time, lose the power of using his limbs. The man who will not listen to the promptings of self-love will stifle its voice. But though he may destroy self-love, he cannot destroy himself. That belongs to God alone. Man can make his existence into a terrible burden, can change that which God intended to be a blessing into a curse, and in this sense he can destroy himself—can “lose his soul;” but he must live still, and bear the consequences of his choice. We can burn up the most costly articles and reduce them to black ashes, but no power of man can annihilate a single particle of the ashes. They exist still in some form or other. So men, by scorning God’s invitations, can blacken and spoil the existence which God has given them, but they cannot annihilate themselves. They must live and bear the self-imposed burden.
ILLUSTRATION OF Pro_9:3
This may derive some illustration from a custom which Hasselquist noticed in Egypt, and which may seem to be ancient in that country. That it has been scarcely noticed by other travellers may arise from the fact that, although they may have seen the maidens on their way, they had not the means of knowing on what errand they were bound. He says that he saw a great number of women, who went about inviting people to a banquet in a singular, and, without doubt, in a very ancient manner. They were about ten or twelve, covered with black veils, as is customary in that country. They were preceded by four eunuchs; after them, and on the side, were Moors, with their usual walking staves. As they were walking, they all joined in making a noise, which, he was told, signified their joy, but which he could not find resembled a joyful or pleasing sound.—Kitto.
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Pro_9:1. “House” among the Hebrews was an image of all well-being (Exo_1:21). It means shelter. It means nurture. It means repose. It means the centre of all provision. It means the home of all convivial feasts. If Wisdom has built such a shelter for the lost, it means she has furnished for them every possible necessity. An Eastern house depended upon columns that were around a court. Samson put his hand upon such interior supports. If Wisdom “has hewed out her seven pillars,” it means that the provision she has made for the saints is absolutely secure. The very number “seven” betokens a perfect, because a sacred support; and we have but to ask upon what the Gospel rests in its eternal promises and in the righteousness of its Great Head, to settle the question as to these sacred pillars.—Miller.
The Holy Spirit—having described in the foregoing chapter the office and work of Christ, as Creator, in the world of nature—now proceeds to describe His office and work in the world of grace. Solomon, the son of David, and the builder of the holy house at Jerusalem, here describes the operation of His own Divine Antitype, the Essential Wisdom, in building His house. The Son of God, having existed from eternity with the Father, in the fulness of time became Incarnate, building for Himself a human body, and also building for Himself a mystical body—the Church universal.… Wisdom’s seven pillars represent the perfection and universality of Christ’s work in both respects.—Wordsworth.
Pillars, and polished pillars. Anything is good enough to build a mud wall; but the church’s pillars are of marble, and those not rough but hewn; her safety is accompanied with beauty.—Trapp.
If Wisdom dwell anywhere, herself must build the house; if she set up the pillars, herself must hew them. Nothing can be meet to entertain her which is not her own work. Nothing can be fit for God’s residence, which is not made fit by God’s influence.—Jermin.
In the preceding chapter, Wisdom represented herself as manifest in all the works of God in the natural world; all being constructed according to the counsels of an infinite understanding. Here, she represents herself as the great potentate, who was to rule all that she had constructed; and having an immense family to provide for, had made an abundant provision, and calls all to partake of it.—Adam Clarke.
Pro_9:2. “She hath mingled her wine,” viz., with spices and other exhilarating ingredients, as was the custom in the East (Son_8:2). Not with water which is the emblem of degeneracy. The wine mingled with aromatic spices is the exhilarating joy and comforts of the gospel (Isa_55:1; Mat_26:29).—Fausset.
Does Christ give us His own flesh and blood, to nourish and refresh our souls? what grace, what comfort, what privilege will He withhold? He is most willing to communicate this provision to us.—Lawson.
God’s favour and grace is always ready to be found when it is faithfully sought. Our faith can never make Him tardy in desiring that at the present which He cannot give till hereafter, or in being beforehand to demand that which His ability is behindhand to perform. The messengers say not in the Gospel, Be there at such a time, and in the meanwhile things shall be prepared, or, Go with me now, and dinner will be ready anon; but Come, for all things are now ready.—Dod.
Christ provideth for His the best of the best; “fat things full of marrow, wines on the lees” (Isa_25:6); His own flesh, which is meat indeed; His own blood, which is drink indeed; besides that continual feast of a good conscience, whereat the holy angels, saith Luther, are as cooks and butlers, and the blessed Trinity joyful guests. Mr. Latimer says that the assurance of salvation is the sweatmeats of this stately feast.—Trapp.
Without asking what the flesh and wine specially mean, they are figures of the manifold enjoyment which makes at once strong and happy.—Delitzsch.
Pro_9:3. “Her maidens.” Sermons and providential strokes, the whole heraldry of the doctrine of salvation.—Miller.
Wisdom being personified as a feminine word, fitly has maidens as her ministers here. May there not also be an intimation (as Gregory and Bede suggest) of the natural feebleness of the Apostles and other ministers of the Gospel who have their treasure in earthen vessels (2Co_4:7), and also of the tender love which the preachers of the Gospel must feel for the souls of those to whom they are sent?… The great Apostle of the Gentiles speaks of himself spiritually as a nurse and a mother.—Wordsworth.
She, together with her maids, crieth; she puts not off all the business to them, but hath a hand in it herself. “We are workers together with God,” saith Paul.—Trapp.
Pro_9:4. Ignorance is not a cause that should stay men from hearing the Word of God, but rather incite them to it. Their necessity doth require it, for who hath more need of eye-salve than they whose eyes are sore? And who have more need of guides than they who have lost their sight and are become blind? And especially when the way is difficult and full of danger.—Dod.
Pro_9:5. Not for the first time, in John 6, or on the night of the Last Supper, had bread and wine been made the symbols of fellowship with eternal life and truth.—Plumptre.
Indeed, to come is to eat; to come to Wisdom by attention is to eat of her instructions by receiving it into the soul.—Jermin.
The invitation is free. So it is throughout the Bible. The blessings of salvation are the gift of God. They are offered to sinners with the freeness of Divine munificence. Not only may they be had without a price, but if they are to be had at all it must be without a price. This is one of their special peculiarities. In treating with our fellow-men in the communication of good, we make distinctions. From some, who can afford it, we take an equivalent; from others, who cannot, we take none. We sell to the rich, we give to the poor. In the present case there is no distinction. All are poor. All are alike poor; and he who presumes to bring what he imagines a price, of whatever kind, forfeits the blessings, and is “sent empty away.” The invitation, too, is universal; for all men, in regard to divine and spiritual things, are naturally inconsiderate and foolish, negligent and improvident of their best and highest interests. And it is earnest, repeated, importunate. Is not this wonderful? Ought not the earnestness and the importunity to be all on the other side? Should not we find men entreating God to bestow the blessings, not God entreating men to accept them? Wonderful? “No,” we may answer in the terms of the negro woman to the missionary when he put the question, “Is not this wonderful?” “No, Massa, it be just like him.” It is in the true style of infinite benevolence. But is it not wonderful that sinners should refuse the invitation? It is not in one view, and it is in another. It is not, when we consider their depravity and alienation from God. It is, when we think of their natural desire for happiness, and the manifest impossibility of the object of their desire being ever found, otherwise than by their acceptance of them.—Wardlaw.
Pro_9:7. The reproof given is duty discharged, and the retort in return is a fresh call to repentance for sin past, and a caution against sin to come.—Flavel.
Here caution is given how we tender reprehension to arrogant and scornful natures, whose manner it is to esteem it for contumely, and accordingly to return it.—Lord Bacon.
The three verses, 7–9, in their general preceptive form, seem somewhat to interrupt the continuity of the invitation which Wisdom utters. The order of thought is, however, this: “I speak to you, the simple, the open ones, for you have yet ears to hear; but from the scorner or evil-doer of such, I turn away.” The rules which govern human teachers, leading them to choose willing or fit disciples, are the laws also of the Divine Educator. So taken, the words are parallel to Mat_7:2, and find an illustration in the difference between our Lord’s teaching to His disciples and to them that were without.—Plumptre.
The passage is telling the consequences to the poor hardened man (see Critical Notes). Man is not like a thermometer, raised or sunken by every breath, but he is the subject of a change which makes a difference in moral influences. Without that change, instruction hardens him. With that change, it moves him and makes him better. Without the change the thermometer is always sinking; with the change it is rising all the time. This teaching is had in all forms in the New Testament. John says, “I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you” (1Jn_2:12); his plain implication being, that it would be useless to write except for the grace of forgiveness. We hear of a “savour of death unto death” (2Co_2:16); and Christ tells (Joh_15:24) that “if He had not come among them, and done the works that none other man did, they had not had sin.”—Miller.
Pro_9:8. By which I do not understand that we are forbidden to preach to the impenitent, but that we are to contemplate two facts: first, that unless they are changed our preaching will make them worse, and, therefore, second, that though our preaching is a chosen instrument of the change itself, yet, if they are scorners—i.e., if they are what our Saviour calls “swine” (Mat_7:6), and He means by that, specially incorrigible—we are not to scatter our pearls to them. We are not to intrude religion upon scoffers. We are to withhold the good seed to some extent (yet with infinite compassion for all,) for what may more reasonably be hoped to be the good and honest ground (Mar_4:8).—Miller.
We must distinguish between the ignorant and the wilful scorner. Paul “did it ignorantly, in unbelief” (1Ti_1:13). His countrymen deliberately refused the blessing, and shut themselves out from the free offers of salvation.—Bridges.
Pro_9:9. Instruction may be given with advantage to the wise.
1. No truly wise man will account it impossible to make accessions to his wisdom. Such a man is not wise in his own conceit (Rom_12:16). His entrance into this course is of too recent a date, and the efforts which he has made to gain wisdom too defective, to permit him to think his wisdom incapable of augmentation (Joh_8:2). And
(2) every wise man, whatever be the nature of his wisdom, will wish it to be increased as much as possible (Pro_18:15). Hence
(3), whatever instruction is given to him which is adapted to his character and circumstances, that is, which shows wherein he is defective, either in the end which he is pursuing, or in the manner of his pursuit, no matter by whom the instruction is given, he will account himself happy in having it, and will be the better for it.—Sketches of Sermons.
Pro_9:10. Men cannot begin to be wise except in holiness; unless it begins to be the fact that God is teaching a man, you cannot teach him.—Miller.
The heart that is touched with the loadstone of Divine love trembles still with godly fear.—Leighton.
The “knowledge of the holy” is the knowledge of all that is involved in hallowing God’s name; knowing experimentally all that tends to our sanctifying the Lord in our hearts and in life.—Fausset.
Some of the true wisdom is a nucleus, round which more will gather. A little island once formed in the bed of a great river, tends continually to increase. Everything adds to its bulk. The floods of winter deposit soil on it. The sun of summer covers it with herbage and consolidates its surface. Such is wisdom from above once settled in a soul. It makes all things work together for good to its possessor.—Arnot.
Pro_9:12. As we are not aware that the mass of the impenitent actually scoff at religion, we must look at this word, so often selected by Solomon, as meaning that practical scorn, by which men, who profess to respect the Gospel, show it the practical contempt of their worldliness.—Miller.
The principle involved in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25) is embodied in the first intimation. The talents are in the first instance not won by the servant, but given by the master. So wisdom is specifically the gift of God (Jas_1:5). Those servants who use the talents well, are permitted to retain for their own use both the original capital and all the profit that has sprung from it: whereas he who made no profit is not allowed to retain the capital. Thus the Giver acts in regard to the wisdom which it is his own to bestow. The wisdom, with all the benefit it brings, is your own. Every instance of wise acting is an accummulation made sure for your own benefit. It cannot be lost. It is like water to the earth. The drop of water that trembled on the green leaf, and glittered in the morning sun, seems to be lost when it glitters in the air unseen; but it is all in safe keeping. It is held in trust by the faithful atmosphere, and will distil as dew upon the ground again, when and where it is needed most. Thus will every exercise of wisdom, though fools think it is thrown away, return into your own bosom, when the day of need comes round. Equally sure is the law that the evil which you do survives and comes back upon yourself. The profane word, the impure thought, the unjust transaction, they are gone like the wind that whistled past, and you seem to have nothing more to do with them. Nay, but they have more to do with you. Nothing is lost out of God’s world, physical or moral. When a piece of paper is consumed in the fire and vanishes in smoke, it seems to have returned to nothing. If it bore the only evidence of your guilt, you would be glad to see the last corner disappear before the officers of justice came in. All the world cannot restore that paper and read the dreaded lines again. The criminal breathes freely now no human tribunal can bring home his crime. But as the material of the paper remains undiminished in the mundane system, so the guilt which it recorded abides, held in solution, as it were, by the moral atmosphere which encircles the judgment-seat of God. Uniting with all of kindred essence that has been generated in your soul, it will be precipitated by a law, and when it falls, it will not miss the mark. Thou alone shalt bear it. Those who have not found refuge in the Sin-bearer must bear their own sin. Sins, like water, are not annihilated, although they go out of our sight. They fall with all their weight either on the sin-doer or on the Almighty Substitute. Alas for the man who is “alone” when the reckoning comes.—Arnot.
A man’s self is not that which he is for a short time and space, but that which he is for continuance, indeed for an endless continuance. And therefore that which we are in this life is not ourselves, but that which we shall be, that is ourselves. So that whosoever is wise for that time is wise for himself, and for that time we shall be wise if we be made so by the instruction of Eternal Wisdom.—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.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 If the Wisdom spoken of by Solomon be none…
Pro 9:1
If the Wisdom spoken of by Solomon be none other than Christ, the house of Wisdom must be the spiritual house which Christ builds—His Church. This house is described as being strong and stable. Wisdom hath hewn out her seven pillars. Seven is the number constantly used in the Bible to typify perfection or completeness: and the meaning is, that the building rests on so many and such strong pillars that, once erected, it will never fall.
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I. The first pillar is that of Faith, which rests the most directly upon the foundation of all—that Rock which is Christ.
II. The second pillar is that of Hope. Despair is a deadly element in the spiritual house. There is no greater traitor in our camp than he who cries, "All is lost."
III. The pillar of Love binds the whole building together, "the very bond of peace and of all virtues." If faith be the foundation-stone on which the building rests, and hope the soaring tower which points to heaven, love is the porch by which all must enter, and without which they are intruders, who have climbed up some other way.
IV. There is the pillar of Discretion: the spirit which knows what to say and what not to say, what to do and what to leave undone. We are often discredited with the world because we lack this pillar in our building.
V. There is the pillar of Sacrifice. There is no room for drones in the hive, no place in the house for those who have not helped to build it, or are not helping to make it serve the purpose for which it was built.
VI. There is the pillar of Truthfulness. As a matter of eventual success, no less than of Christian duty, we must renounce the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
VII. The last pillar is that of Memory. Not only is the Church built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, we are surrounded also by a great cloud of witnesses, of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues—a multitude which no man can number, who form the unbroken line of our spiritual ancestry. We must not cut ourselves off from these. The memories of the past belong to the Church, as much as the hopes of the future.
A. Blomfield, Sermons in Town and Country, p. 260.
References: Pro 9:1-5.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xxii., p. 80; C. Kingsley, Discipline and other Sermons, p. 11; Outline Sermons to Children, p. 70.
Pro 9:1-6
The marriage supper for the king’s son.
I. The house. The frame is set up from everlasting, well-ordered in all things, and sure. The tried Foundation is the Lord our Righteousness. The seven pillars indicate, in Oriental form, that its supports and ornaments are perfect in strength and beauty.
II. The feast prepared. The provisions of God’s house are wholesome, various, plentiful. Whatever the covenant provides, the true Church diligently sets forth in the ordinances before the people.
III. The inviting messenger. These are the ambassadors whom Christ employs to carry the message of His mercy to their brethren.
IV. The invited guests. The message is specially addressed to the simple. Those who are conscious of ignorance are ever most ready to learn the wisdom from above.
V. The argument by which the invitation is supported is: (1) positive, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled;" and (2) negative, "Forsake the foolish and live." The grand turning-point is to get the prodigal to break off from that which destroys him.
W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 209.
Reference: Pro 9:1-18.—R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i., p. 207.
Pro 9:3-4, Pro 9:16
I. Choose. Here is the manliness of manhood, that a man has a reason for what he does, and has a will in doing it. Be the masters and lords of the circumstances in which you stand. Put your heel on temptations if they come to you. Remember there is the alternative, the one thing or the other, and it becomes you to make up your mind, to resolve, to know why you have done so, and to act because and as you have resolved.
II. Choose wisdom. There are the two claimants that are standing wooing your affections: Wisdom, on the one side; and this "foolish woman," the embodiment and impersonation of Folly, on the other. (1) At first sight, on a cursory reading of the earlier chapters of this Book of Proverbs, it may seem as if all that was meant by wisdom was a shrewd earthly common-sense and worldly prudence; while folly, on the other hand, may seem to be mere ignorance and want of understanding. But look a little closer, and you will see that the wisdom spoken of in all these chapters is closely connected, not only with clearness of the well-furnished head, but with uprightness of the heart. (a) The wisdom that he speaks about is wisdom that has rectitude for an essential part of it, the fibre of its very being a righteousness and holiness. If a man would be wise it must be with a wisdom that was in God before it is in him. (b) The true wisdom is no mere quality, but a living person; her voice is the voice of Christ, our Brother, our Sacrifice, and our Lord. (2) Mark the manner of these appeals and the consequences of listening to them. The wisdom of our text appeals to conscience. Folly appeals only to the sense of pleasure and desire of gratification. Severe and pure though the beauty of wisdom is, yet "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and her paths are peace." "All the things thou canst desire" are not to be compared with what she has to bestow.
III. Choose Christ now. There is no more dark remembrance to a Christian man than the early days when he put off decision. Every day that you live makes it less likely that you will choose. Every day that you live makes it harder for you to choose aright. Every day adds to the heap of wasted hours that you will carry regretfully with you to your graves, if ever you give the trust of your spirits, the love of your hearts, the obedience of your lives to Christ Jesus at all.
A. Maclaren, Sermons Preached in Manchester, p. 304.
References: Pro 9:5.—J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 3rd series, p. 48. Pro 9:7.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. viii., p. 183. Pro 9:7-9.—W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 213.
Pro 9:10
I. Nothing can prosper long that runs its head against any of the great walls of the universe. Life is known by its manifestations; no one has ever seen it. And no one ever sees the invisible barriers that close like a prison round the living, whenever they violate the laws of life. There arc unseen, pitiless limits existing—walls of adamant, against which the waves of human passion and human folly dash, and break, and are shattered without mercy, even though every drop be a life, and every life be dashed to pieces in hopeless agony in the vain endeavour to go its own way, and set its own will as the judge what that way shall be. There is an eternal march of judgment, which they who choose can see. And calm, and clear, and pitiless on every side, amidst the noise of ignorant self-will, the clash of blinded passion, and wisdom blinder still, the voiceless warning strikes upon the world; and the great prison walls close in on those who will have it so.
II. It may be said: "These are but words; what proof is there of this invisible, everlasting wall of doom, and of the unseen executioners, God’s secret police, that arrest the guilty and the careless, self-indulgent fools?" I answer: "Take any form of vice you like, give it power, give it wealth, and then—wait a few years and see what comes of it. Watch the curse day by day, and hour by hour, walking by the victim’s side; watch him dragged from bad to worse; stand in his dreary home when the last scene comes,—and doubt no more of God’s great prison walls on earth."
III. But it is equally true that the great laws of life act for good to those who follow them. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." God has not only set His prison walls that punish, and appointed His secret police of vengeance that avenge; but He has also set within the broad space of the world the protecting walls of the fold of Christ, the happy home of those who follow Him, where His sheep go in and out, and find pasture.
E. Thring, Uppingham Sermons, vol. ii., p. 358.
References: Pro 9:10.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. ix., p. 156. Pro 9:12.—W. Arnot, Laws from Heaven, 1st series, p. 219. Pro 9:13-18.—Ibid., p. 221. Pro 10:1.—Ibid., p. 229. Pro 10:4.—Ibid., p. 234. Pro 10:1-5.—R. Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. i., p. 219.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Rivals
The Rivals
Folly and Wisdom invite guests to their respective houses. The consequences of accepting either of the two invitations are described. We are reminded of the Greek parable, 'The choice of Hercules,' which related how the hero, at the beginning of his career, was accosted by two fair women, Virtue and Vice, who would have him tread, one the rough, the other the flowery way.
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1-6. Wisdom's invitation.
1. The word Wisdom is in the plural, to indicate her variety and perfection. She has a house, and therefore is always ready to entertain. The seven pillars—a complete number—are in the courtyard, supporting a gallery.
2. The wine was mixed with spices (Isa_5:22).
3. Messengers are sent when the meal is ready (Luk_14:17).
4. Simple] i.e. inexperienced, easily led, capable of being turned either way. Hence Folly (Pro_9:16) has equal hopes of influencing them.
5. Bread] The name for food in general (Pro_9:2).
6. Read, 'Forsake folly.' 7-12 are out of their proper context.
7. He will insult and revile you.
10. The holy] RV 'the Holy One.'
12. Cp. Eze_18:4; Gal_6:5.
'From David's lips this word did roll,
'Tis true and living yet:
No man can save his brother's soul,
Nor pay his brother's debt.'
13-18. Folly is personified as a woman, the traits of whose character are drawn from the description already given of the lewd woman; and unchastity is looked on as the supreme exhibition of folly.
13. She is 'loud' and ignorant. We speak of a 'loud,' meaning a vulgar woman.
17. The forbidden is attractive.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv10, 18 (See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
fear
(See Scofield "Psa 19:9")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 1. The invitation of Wisdom (Pro 9:1-12)
CHAPTER 9
1. The invitation of Wisdom (Pro 9:1-12)
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2. The contrast with Folly. (Pro 9:13-18)
Pro 9:1-12. The first section of Proverbs closeth with a contrast of Wisdom and Folly, both personified. The one, our Lord, the other under the symbol of a foolish woman. Wisdom sends forth her invitation after her house is built and the feast is spread. It reminds us of the parable of the great supper (Luk 14:1-35). Here too is the gracious invitation, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled.”
Pro 9:13-18. Folly too has her house and sitteth in the door on a seat in the high places of the city to call to her victims. She invites to the stolen waters, so sweet to the natural man, to eat bread in secret places, equally pleasant. But what is the end? “The dead are there; ... her guests are in the depths of hell.” The foolish woman is the world with its lusts.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 13 The Banquet of Wisdom
The Banquet of Wisdom
v. 1. Wisdom, the divine and true wisdom, as it is exercised and exhibited here on earth among men, hath builded her house, to dwell in the midst of men. She hath hewn out her seven pillars, the reference being to the pillars of the inner court, which bear the upper stories, the number seven referring to the chief attributes of wisdom, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Isa 11:2.
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v. 2. She hath killed her beasts, slaughtering them in preparation for the great feast which she had planned; she hath mingled her wine, by adding spices of various kinds to enhance the flavor; she hath also furnished her table, set the table for the banquet.
v. 3. She hath sent forth her maidens, bearing the invitations; she crieth upon the highest places of the city, so that the calls of invitation may be heard by all inhabitants and visitors. The message, as proclaimed by the messengers in the name of wisdom, is now given:
v. 4. Whoso is simple, inexperienced, not yet acquainted with the dangers and temptations of life, let him turn in hither, to partake of wisdom’s banquet; as for him that wanteth understanding, that is, who lacks the proper insight, she saith to him,
v. 5. Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine which I have mingled, the gifts which she freely offers.
v. 6. Forsake the foolish and live, because the leaving of the company of fools and scorners is the first step in the right direction on the road to life, and go In the way of understanding, moving straight ahead on the way by which men obtain true knowledge. This demand, to abandon intercourse with the enemies of wisdom, is now further substantiated.
v. 7. He that reproveth a scorner, trying to correct him, getteth to himself shame, his efforts are met with insults and mocking rejection, and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot, that is, his labor of love has the reward of bringing him into discredit with men, of heaping disgrace upon him.
v. 8. Reprove not a scorner, the warning being not to attempt instruction and correction while the scorner is in his mood of opposition, lest he hate thee; rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee, his willingness to accept a deserved correction showing the soundness of his wisdom. Only a fool is always in the right; a wise man knows that to err is human.
v. 9. Give instruction to a wise man, for he is willing to learn, and every correction serves for his further training, and he will be yet wiser; teach a just man, showing him how he may make still further progress in righteousness of life, and he will increase in learning, he will add to his store of knowledge and make proper use of it.
v. 10. The fear of the Lord Is the beginning of wisdom, the basis and source of all true wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy, of Him who is the essence of holiness, is understanding, since it acts as a spur to ever greater efforts in holiness of life.
v. 11. For by me, through the knowledge and strength given by true wisdom, thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased, a long and happy life being the reward of the use of true wisdom.
v. 12. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself, he who makes use of wisdom having the greatest benefit therefrom himself; but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it, for the foolish must pay the price of their folly, sooner or later. It pays to learn the wisdom of the Word of God and be guided by it in every vicissitude of life.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16 General Information:
General Information:
These verses begin a parable in which wisdom is imagined to be a woman who is giving good advice to people. (See: Personification)
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Wisdom has built
The writer speaks about wisdom as if it were a woman who has built her own house. (See: Personification)
She has slaughtered her animals
This refers to animals whose meat will be eaten in the dinner that Wisdom will give. AT: "She has killed the animals for meat at dinner" (See: Metonymy and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
mixed her wine
In ancient Israel, people often mixed wine with water. AT: "prepared her wine by mixing it with water" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
she has set her table
"she has prepared her table"
translationWords
wise
column
wine
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18 9:1-6 The invitation to join Wisdom for a lavish…
9:1-6 The invitation to join Wisdom for a lavish meal is met by a competing invitation in 9:13-18.
9:1 The number seven can denote grandeur or fullness, so the seven columns represent the grandeur of Wisdom’s house, the place where it dwells.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.