Proverbs 11:28

Pro 11:28 He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.

Ver. 28. He that trusteth to his riches shall fall.] Riches were never true to any that trusted to them. The rich churl that trusted and boasted that he had "much goods laid up in store" for many years, when, like a jay, he was pruning himself in his boughs, he came tumbling down with the arrow in his side. {Luk 12:15-21} So did Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Herod, &c. "The righteous also shall see and fear, and laugh at such a one, saying, Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness." {Psa 52:6-7} "But I am like a green olive tree," &c. {Psa 52:8} Agreeable whereunto is this that follows here: "But the righteous shall flourish as a branch," while the wicked, Faenea quadam felicitate temporaliter florent, et exoriuntur ut exurantur, {a} flourish and ruffle for a time, but shall be soon cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

{a} Aug., Epist. 120.

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.

Pro_11:28

He that trusteth in his riches shall fall

Trusting in riches

I.

Here is a common tendency. Trusting in wealth is--

1. Spiritually unsatisfactory.

2. Necessarily evanescent.

II. Here is a terrible catastrophe. Fall.

1. Whence? From all his hopes.

2. Whither? To disappointment and despair.

3. When? Whenever moral conviction seizes the soul, whether before or after death.

4. Why? Because wealth was never a fit foundation for the soul. (Homilist.)

But the righteous shall flourish as a branch.--

The secret of spiritual life

The righteous--and some such there have been even in the darkest periods of the worlds history--the righteous flourish as a branch. They lean not on their own stem and live not on their own root. From the beginning the same Jesus to whom we look was made known to faith. The manner and measure of making known truth to the understanding were in those days widely different; but the nature and the source of spiritual life were the same. But though all the real branches live, all do not equally flourish. Whatever girds the branch too tightly round impedes the flow of sap from the stem and leaves the extremities to wither. Many cares and vanities and passions wrap themselves round a soul and cause the life even of the living to pine away. When the world in any of its forms lays its grasp round the life, the stricture chokes the secret channels between the disciple and his Lord, and the fruit of unrighteousness drops unripe. It is only as a branch that Christians can flourish in this wilderness; they have no independent source of life and growth. (W. Arnot, D.D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Pro_11:28. Branch, rather, “a green leaf.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro_11:28

TRUST IN RICHES AND TRUST IN GOD

I. The trust in riches springs,

1. From the fact that gold, and what it can do for us, is within reach of the senses. Unless the bodily senses are counterbalanced by the moral—the spiritual—sense, they have a tendency to shut us in upon the seen—to shut out the unseen. This is why men make to themselves gods that they can see and carry about with them. The rich man can look upon his gold and upon all that it has purchased for him, his mansion, his lands, his sumptuous table, his obsequious servants. All these things are daily before his eyes, and if his spiritual sight is not keen, they are very likely to become his confidence.

2. From the fact that gold can do very much for men. It can afford him opportunities of the best education. Gold can place the son of a tradesman side by side with that of the nobleman in this respect. It can surround him with all the refining influences of life. It will open to him positions of power and influence, its magic power will surround him with friends. When a man feels that he owes all these good things to gold, he is very prone to trust in it.

3. From the fact that gold is so universal in its influence in the present world. There is no place upon the globe, where there are human beings, where gold, or what gold can purchase, will not do something for a man. No monarch has such a wide dominion or so many subjects as this King Gold.

II. But he that trusts in riches will find them fail him.

1. Because he is more than the object of his trust. Man is more than gold because it was made for him and not man for gold. God made it to be his servant, but when a man makes it the object of his supreme hope and confidence, he inverts the Divine order and becomes its slave. And man needs something more than himself to be the object of his trust.

2. Because there are comforts for existence that gold cannot buy. Faith in a living God, a good conscience, hope for the future, present peace and rest of soul cannot be purchased for all the gold of the Indies. Nebuchadnezzar could make an image of gold, but all his riches could not purchase the faith and godly courage of the three Hebrew youths. The rich man in hell needed comfort that all his earthly wealth could not have purchased.

3. Because the only Being who can supply man’s deepest needs cannot be bribed. Pardon of sin cannot be “gotten for gold neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.” A holy character “cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the precious onyx or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.” (Job_28:16-17). The Holy Ghost—that “gift of God,” cannot be “purchased with money.” (Act_8:20). A golden key will not open the gate of heaven. Therefore “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God. (1Ti_6:17).

III. The righteous man shall not fall, but flourish as a branch, because as a branch in a tree he is in connection with life. Gold is a dead thing, but the God of the good man is a Living Person, a Being who can understand and supply all his soul’s need—a Being who is not only King of the present and the seen, but of the future and of the unseen. “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” “Because I live, ye shall live also” (Joh_14:19; Joh_15:5). He shall not only live, but flourish—“his leaf shall not wither”—“he shall bring forth fruit in his season” (Psa_1:3). The cause of the branch being laden with fruitfulness and beauty is because of its connection with the root. Trust is the link between the creature and the Creator, which makes the one a partaker of the fulness of the other. “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” (Jer_17:7-8).

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

I have read of one that, upon his dying bed, called for his bags, and laid a bag of gold to his heart, and then cried out, “Take it away, it will not do, it will not do!” There are things that earthly riches cannot do. They can never satisfy Divine justice, nor pacify Divine wrath, nor quiet a guilty conscience. And till these things are done, the man is undone.—Brooks.

As sheep that go in fat pastures come sooner to the slaughter-house than those which are kept upon the bare common: so, likewise, rich men, who are pampered with the wealth of this world, sooner forsake God, and therefore are sooner forsaken of God than others.—Cawdray.

He that trusts in riches may trust in that which may not disappoint him. That is, it may remain great, and may follow him to the grave. But while his riches are piling up, he himself is withering away. It is not the rich, but they that trust in riches (Mar_10:24). The truly important thing is the man himself; and while the unregenerate falls, or decays, the righteous, even without money, prospers. He grows from within. That is he grows, and not his money.—Miller.

Be not proud of riches, but afraid of them, lest they be as silver bars to cross the way to heaven. We must answer for our riches, but our riches cannot answer for us.—Mason.

Riches were never true to any that trusted in them. The rich churl that trusted and boasted that he had “much goods laid up in store” for many years, when, like a jay, he was pruning himself in his boughs, came tumbling down with the arrow in his side.—Trapp.

Riches are of a falling nature, now they fall to a man, now they fall from him, now they fall to this man, now to that, now to another. There is no holdfast of them, and less holdfast by them. He, therefore, that trusteth in them shall fall, fall into their hands and power, who seek his hurt and mischief, because not trusting in God, he receiveth no succour from Him.—Jermin.

Good men have the Lord Jesus Christ for their root, and God the Father to dress and keep them, therefore the drought of adversity shall not hurt them, nor the dews of wholesome prosperity fail them. They shall have safety for their bodies, graces for their souls, competency for their state, and all good furtherances for their everlasting glory.—Dod.

Money, thou bane of bliss, and source of woe,

Whence com’st thou, that thou art so fresh and fine?

I know thy parentage is base and low:

Man found thee poor and dirty in a mine.

Surely thou didst so little little contribute

To this great kingdom, which thou now hast got,

That he was fain, when thou wert destitute,

To dig thee out of thy dark cave and grot.

Then forcing thee, by fire he made thee bright;

Nay, thou hast got the face of man: for we

Have with our stamp and seal transferred our right:

Thou art the man, and man but dross to thee.

Man calleth thee his wealth, who made thee rich,

And while he digs out thee, falls in the ditch.

Herbert.

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.

11:28 Money can be a blessing from God, but it is uncertain. The godly trust in God and flourish (see Ps 1).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Observe, 1. Our riches will fail us when we are in the greatest need: He that trusts in them, as if they would secure him the favour of God and be his protection and portion, shall fall, as a man who lays his weight on a broken reed, which will not only disappoint him, but run into his hand and pierce him. 2. Our righteousness will stand us in stead when our riches fail us: The righteous shall then flourish as a branch, the branch of righteousness, like a tree whose leaf shall not wither, Psa 1:3. Even in death, when riches fail men, the bones of the righteous shall flourish as a herb, Isa 66:14. When those that take root in the world wither those that are grafted into Christ and partake of his root and fatness shall be fruitful and flourishing.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(Compare Pro 10:15; Psa 49:6; Ti1 6:17).

righteous . . . branch-- (Psa 1:3; Jer 17:8).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(28) He that trusteth in his riches shall fall.—Because of their uncertainty, and because they prevent his trusting in the living God (1Ti_6:17).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

28. branch] Rather leaf, R.V. Comp. Gen_3:7; Psa_1:3.

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.

He that trusteth in his riches shall fall,.... As leaves in autumn, which are withered and dry. To trust in riches is to trust in uncertain things; things not to be depended on, being here today and gone tomorrow; it is like leaning upon a broken staff, which giving way, the person falls: and so the fall of Babylon will be, while she is trusting in and boasting of her riches and grandeur, Rev 18:7;

but the righteous shall flourish as a branch; that abides in the tree, is alive and green, full of leaves, and laden with fruit: so the righteous are as branches in Christ, and receive life and nourishment from him, and abide in him; and bring forth fruit and flourish, like palm trees and cedars, in the house of the Lord, and grow in every grace, and in the knowledge of Christ; see Jer 17:7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Branch - Better, leaf, as in Psa 1:3; Isa 34:4.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He that trusteth in his riches, as his chief portion, and felicity, and ground of safety,

shall fall, as a withered leaf, by comparing this clause with the latter.

The righteous, who maketh God alone, and not riches, his trust,

shall flourish as a branch, to wit, a green and flourishing branch.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

28. Shall fall — Fall off, as a withered leaf from a tree. The Hebrew is emphatic: Himself shall fall. His riches may not fall, but he will if he trusts in them. Compare Mat_10:24. Flourish as a branch — A leaf. A green and flourishing leaf was an emblem of prosperity. Compare Psa_1:3; Psa_49:6; Psa_92:12; Isa_34:4; Jer_17:8; Luk_12:21; 1Ti_6:17.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There are many expressions in this and the following verses which recall Ps 1. He that trusteth in his riches shall fall. (Pro_10:2 Psa_49:6, 7 52:7; Ecc_5:8) Wealth is of all things the most uncertain, and leads the heart astray from God. (1Ti_6:17) As a branch; " as a leaf". (Psa_1:3 Isa_34:4) The righteous grow in grace and spiritual beauty, and bring forth the fruit of good works. Septuagint, "He who layeth hold on what is righteous or, "helpeth the righteous shall spring up (anatelei )."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The following proverbs are especially directed, as connected with this כן, against the contradiction of the external appearance and of the masked internal nature.

20 An abomination to Jahve are the crookedly dishonest of heart,

And they who are of honest walk are his delight.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Here is the cause and misery of the fall. Man seeks his rest in God’s blessings, in opposition to himself. (Jer 9:23-24 .) Riches are one of his grounds of trust. (Pro 10:15 . Luk 12:19 .) He depends on them, as the saint upon his God. (Pro 18:10-11 .) And is not this the "denial of the God that is above"? (Job 31:24-25, Job 31:28 .) A revolting truth indeed! such as only the heart crucified to the world by the cross of Christ can receive. Not that the possession of riches is a sin,†1 but the trusting in them. (Mar 10:24 .) Nor may it be always wrong to improve an opportunity of increasing them. But no one that cares for his own soul, and believes the testimony of God (Mar 10:25-27 . 1Ti 6:9-10 ), will seek the opportunity; or even avail himself of it without a plain call, and clear advantage for the glory of God. (1Ti 6:18-19 .) Let God be our satisfying portion. Let him be supremely loved and honoured, and he will determine for us, whether the worldly advantage be a Providence or a temptation.

Disappointment will be the certain end of this trust. (Psa 49:6-12 . Ecc 5:10-11 .) When we need a staff, we shall find a piercing spear. (1Ti 6:10 .) Or we shall fall, like the withered leaf or blossom before the blast. (Deu 8:17-19 .) And how many a lovely blossom has thus fallen! (Mar 10:21-22 .) Thus does "the rich man fade away in his ways!" (Jas 1:10-11 .)

But the righteous is the branch; not like the leaf or blossom, easily shaken and withered;†2 but abiding in the true vine: full of life and fruit. (Joh 15:5 .) There may be, as in nature’s winter, times of apparent barrenness. But the spring returns, and with it the branch flourishes; never ceasing from yielding fruit; yea — "filled with the fruit of righteousness" (Jer 17:8 ): the branch of "the LORD’s planting; the work of his hands, that he may be glorified;" to be transplanted in his own best time to the other side of the river, where "the leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed." (Isa 60:21 . Eze 47:12 .) Shall not this prospect fill us with lively joy and praise?

Footnotes:

†1 See the gift of God to Abraham, Gen 24:35 ; to David 1Ch 29:12 ; to Solomon 2Ch 1:11-12 ; to Job 42:11-12.

†2 See the same contrast, Psa 52:7-8 .

Charles Bridges, An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (1846) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

trusteth

(See Scofield "Psa 2:12").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

v. 28. He that trusteth In his riches, placing his confidence in his outward possessions, shall fall, for such trust is a species of idolatry; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch, like a green leaf, like luxurious foliage.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.