Proverbs 3:11

Fifth Address. Chap. 3. Pro_3:11-20

11, 12. This short paragraph is at once in contrast and in harmony, with what precedes and follows it. It states the contrast that it may introduce the harmony. The pathway of wisdom, so the rest of the chapter insists, is the pathway of temporal prosperity. But the experience of life proves that there is another side to the truth. There is, these verses say, a contradictory side, but it is so in appearance not in reality; for to the childlike follower of wisdom the apparent exceptions and contradictions are but as passing discords and minor strains that lend force and sweetness to the overmastering harmony of love.

Christian teaching itself has no better solution than this to give of the mystery of suffering. See Heb_12:3-13.

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.

Pro 3:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:

Ver. 11. Despise not the chastening of the Lord.] Slight it not, but "sit alone," {Lam 3:28} and "consider." {Ecc 7:14} Some think it a goodly thing to bear out a cross by head and shoulders, and wear it out as they may, never improving it. As a dog that getting out of the water into which he is cast shakes his ears; or as a man, that coming out of a shower of rain, dries again, and all is as before. Perdidistis fructum afflictionis, saith Augustine of such scape thrifts. {a} Thus the proud Greeks (having lost two castles in Chersonesus, taken from them by the Turks) commonly said, that there was but a hog sty lost, alluding to the name of that country. Whereas that was the first footing that the Turks got in Europe, and afterwards possessed themselves of the imperial city of Constantinople. Shortly after, 1358 AD, Callipolis also being lost, the mad Greeks, to extenuate the matter, when they had any talk thereof, in jesting ways commonly said, that the Turks had but taken from them a bottle of wine. {b} So Galienus, the Roman Emperor, hearing that Egypt was revolted, said, Quid? sine lino Ægyptio esse non possumus? What? cannot we be without the hemp of Egypt? So when Calais was taken from us by the French, the court parasites, to ease Queen Mary’s mind (which yet they could not), said, that it was only a refuge for renagade heretics; and that no true Roman Catholic ought to deplore, but rather rejoice at the damage. {c}

At Regina gravi iamdudum saucia cura

Vulnus alit venis. - Virgil.

Monsieur de Cordes used to say that he would be content with all his heart to lie in hell seven years, on the condition that Calais were taken from the English. {d} And a considerate English captain being asked by a proud Frenchman, When will ye fetch Calais again? gravely replied, Quando peccata vestra erunt nostris graviora, When your sins shall weigh down ours. God is to be seen in everything we suffer, since light afflictions, not improved, are but as a drop of wrath forerunning the great storms, a crack forerunniug the ruin of the whole.

Neither be weary of his correction.] This is the other extreme, despair and despondency of spirit. {e} See my "Love Tokens," p. 44, &c.

{a} Miserrimi facti estis, et pessimi permansistis. - Aug., De Civit. Dei, lib. i. cap. 33.

{b} Turk. Hist., fol. 185,186.

{c} England’s Elisabeth.

{d} Heyl., Geog.

{e} Non quia dura, sed quia molles patimur. - Sen.

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_3:11

Despise not the chastening of the Lord.

Chastisements disciplinary

The text is a kind of condensation of practical wisdom for the direction of life. It has reference to those dealings of God with men which have a stern and severe aspect, which are in themselves painful and unwelcome, and under which the human soul cannot well be satisfied or sustained aside from the two considerations, first, that they are the appointments of God, and second, that they are designed to be instrumental of our good. One of the most striking and unusual marks of human destiny is to be found in the afflictive dispensations which trouble us. The general counsel of the text is aimed at one of the common errors of men, viz., not being affected by our trials in a wise and beneficial manner.

I. Consider our afflictions as chastenings, corrections.

1. They are of God, and God takes no pleasure in the miseries of His creatures. They must be disciplinary--a part of the discipline of His love. It is a wonder that God should love us at all; no less a wonder than that, loving, He should afflict us.

2. The rule or order of human afflictions indicates their corrective intent. All of them do not come under this principle, indeed, but many of them do. God makes the miseries of life follow close and visible the sins and crimes of life to a very wide extent. They follow the sins of individuals and of nations. But we cannot rank all miseries under this rule. If we could know as God knows all the secondary causes which He employs, it is extremely probable that we should attribute many human miseries to human sin which we now attribute to the just and naked sovereignty of God. Whenever we can see the connection, and trace our unhappiness to a fault, that unhappiness is clearly the blow of a rod of discipline.

3. A state of entire innocence would have kept the world from all suffering.

4. The nature of our afflictions has in it something very remarkable. They are not so heavy as to crush us. They have many accompanying alleviations. For the most part we are able to bear up under them. They are not destructive, they must be disciplinary.

5. Consider the manner in which our afflictions ordinarily come upon us. They commence gently, and if the chastised do not amend, they are increased.

6. The alleviations which accompany earthly afflictions furnish almost a demonstration that the afflictions are designed for amendment.

II. The improvement of this subject. It becomes us, who have so many distresses to bear, to consider well the design of them. The world we live in, with its mingled chastisements and mercies, perfectly accords with the declarations of the gospel, that God is displeased, but waits to be gracious. And we shall soon have done with this system of disciplinary affliction for ever. (I. S. Spencer, D. D.)

Life a discipline

People sunk in heathenism do not trouble themselves about the true meaning of life. They are at the unreflective age of experience. They are in a position of ignorance or indifference with respect to the moral and religious aspect of mans life. But with the rise and growth of reflection the significance of existence comes to the front, and presses in upon the mind, sometimes with painful urgency. This inquiry seems to us, who have eighteen centuries of Christian teaching, a comparatively easy one. But the answer varies to some extent with the individual. The attitude assumed towards God and the truths of revealed religion enters into the matter. This is seen by comparing the views of a sceptical and a believing person. The question as to the true interpretation of life was weighed and discussed by the wise and good men who wrote the Scriptures. Their conclusion was that life is, in part at least, disciplinary in its nature. Its hindrances, trials, sufferings are connected with the fatherly goodness of God, and offer opportunities for spiritual growth and improvement which would otherwise be impossible. This idea is, however, associated in most minds with the severer dispensations of Providence, and with these alone. But it really runs through life. The world is so constituted as to be a school of training for the human spirit. The moral government of the world gives clear evidences that God wills other ends than happiness, ends that even involve the present loss of happiness.

I. This broader and deeper aspect of the matter is disclosed in the relationship subsisting between man and nature. In the natural world the fullest scope has been left for effort, inquiry, perseverance, diligence. Had the world, as created by God, given a premium to indolence and incapacity it would have given us no hint of a Divine purpose underlying our life, but constituted as it is, it forces us to the conclusion that life was meant to be disciplinary in its character.

II. This truth is revealed in our relationship with men--with society. The moral law, which is our guide to duty, is stamped upon the consciences of men, so that there is no excuse for ignorance regarding it. But though the abiding principles of Gods kingdom are plain and undeniable, they do not save us from the trouble of thinking. The very difficulty of doing the right thing, we know, is a sign of the moral purpose underlying our life. Life is a discipline, but life may not be in any true sense a discipline to this individual and to that, because so much depends upon the attitude of the soul to God, and to His will. It remains with each man to enter into Gods redeeming purpose, and to become a fellow-worker with Him. (Morison Bryce.)

Despising Gods chastenings

I. What is it to despise the chastenings?

1. To receive them without any emotion. Trials should be felt; the heart should smart under the rod.

2. To fail to look into the cause of them. When afflictions come men seldom seriously set themselves to see why God contendeth with them.

3. To fail to be altered and improved by them. If a child is not better for his parents discipline, we say that correction has been thrown away upon him.

II. What is it to be weary of His correction?

1. It is the fault of those who make too much of their afflictions. Some are swallowed up of overmuch sorrow. It overwhelms, stupefies, consumes them. They brood over every circumstance of the stroke which has befallen them, and see it in the most aggravated light. Their imaginations even add to the reality. The believer, when he meets with sorrow, should consider the bright as well as the dark side of the Lords dealings with him. It is the sore temptation by which sufferers are sometimes exercised to be led to doubt, because of their suffering, that they are objects of the Lords interest.

2. It is the fault of those who rebel against the correction, who fret and murmur at the stroke. We weary of correction--

3. When we cannot wait the Lords time for the removal of our trials. We almost long to take the times out of His hands, and arrange things for ourselves. As trial never comes a day too early, so it never stays a day too long. We have afflictions to sustain, trials to endure; but we have a God of all comfort to make those trials easy. (A. Roberts, M.A.)

Right conduct under affliction

I. What must be our care when we are in affliction?

1. We must not despise an affliction, be it ever so light or short, as if it were not worth taking notice of; or as if it were not sent on an errand, and therefore required no answer. We must not be stocks or stones, insensible of them.

2. We must not be weary of an affliction, be it ever so heavy or long, nor faint under it; nor be dispirited, nor driven to use indirect means for our relief and redress of our grievances. We must not think that the affliction either presses harder, or continues longer than is meet, nor conclude that deliverance will never come because it does not come so soon as we expect it.

II. What will be our comfort when in affliction?

1. That it is a Divine correction.

2. That it is a fatherly correction. Afflictions not only consist with, but flow from, covenant love. They are so far from doing any real hurt, that they become the happy means of sanctification. (Matthew Henry.)

Chastening

The course of human life is a course of chastening. It is not a word confined to the vocabulary of religion. But chastening seems to be unequally distributed. There is s possibility of treating godly chastisement in an ungodly spirit. It may be despised, or it may be endured with impatience. Gods purpose requires time for its exposition and realisation; and we require patience to abide its complete unfoldment. Patience often accomplishes what the most overwhelming strength could never effect. (J. Parker, D.D.)

Moral beauty the result of chastening

Scarcely any gem reveals its true beauties in a natural state. The diamond in the rough is most unattractive, and would be thrown away by a casual observer as a worthless pebble; its perfections are hidden under a hard crust, which can only be removed by its own powder. The deep velvet hues of the sapphire, the glowing brilliant red of the ruby, the soft clear green of the emerald, and the delicate strata of the onyx, alike only display themselves in their true character after the lapidary has used his skill in cutting them into facets and polishing them; and on the perfection of this operation depends in a great measure the beauty of the gem. As it is with these, so it is also with human gems. (Scientific Illustrations.)

Neither be weary of His correction.

Suffering in its bearing on conversion

The text assures that there is nothing in our present affliction that need make us despair. Suffering is altered in character as soon as we enter into possession of the Divine favour. It is no longer absolute and irremediable; it forms part of the plan of Divine love. It has not, however, ceased to bear its character of chastisement. How does affliction help us to realise the Divine love?

1. It acts as a dyke against the overflow of evil, it incessantly restrains and thrusts it back. Pain is a restraining and preserving power in this sinful world.

2. It acts as a preparative. Suffering, under the influence of grace, fills up the infinite distance between man and the Cross. It was the suffering of a God who humbled Himself that saved us; and it is suffering dispensed by this same God which prepares the sinner to believe in the crucified One. Suffering also makes us seize the salvation thus wrought for us, but which must be consummated in us. It must, therefore, pursue its work on this redeemed earth, where sin still dwells. (E. De Pressense, D.D.)

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

Pro 3:11-12. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord — Either by making light of it, or not being duly affected with it, or by accounting it an unnecessary thing; but rather esteem it a privilege and favour from God. Neither be weary of his correction — Neither think it tedious or hard, but endure it with patience and cheerfulness. For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth — Afflictions are not calamities, but benefits and comforts, because they are testimonies of God’s love, which is infinitely more desirable than any evil can be terrible. They show God’s design, desire, and care to purge us from our sins, and make us fit for his presence and kingdom. These two verses seem to be here inserted in the midst of his commendations of wisdom, to remove an objection against the excellence and happiness of wise or pious men, taken from those many afflictions to which such persons are frequently exposed, the reason of which he here gives.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The contrast here follows. As God should not be forgotten in days of prosperity, so one should not suffer himself to be estranged from Him by days of adversity.

11 The school of Jahve, my son, despise thou not,

Nor loathe thou His correction;

12 For Jahve correcteth him whom He loveth,

And that as a father his son whom he loveth

Vid., the original passage Job 5:17. There is not for the Book of Job a more suitable motto than this tetrastich, which expresses its fundamental thought, that there is a being chastened and tried by suffering which has as its motive the love of God, and which does not exclude sonship.

(Note: Here Procop. rightly distinguishes between παιδεία and τιμωρία.)

One may say that Pro 3:11 expresses the problem of the Book of Job, and Pro 3:12 its solution. מוּסר, παιδεία, we have translated "school," for יסּר, παιδεύειν, means in reality to take one into school. Ahndung [punishment] or Rge [reproof] is the German word which most corresponds to the Hebr. תּוכחה or תּוכחת. קוּץ ב (whence here the prohibitive תּקץ with אל) means to experience loathing (disgust) at anything, or aversion (vexation) toward anything. The lxx (cited Heb 12:5.), μηδὲ ἐκλύου, nor be faint-hearted, which joins in to the general thought, that we should not be frightened away from God, or let ourselves be estranged from Him by the attitude of anger in which He appears in His determination to inflict suffering. In 12a the accentuation leaves it undefined whether יהוה as subject belongs to the relative or to the principal clause; the traditional succession of accents, certified also by Ben Bileam, is כי את אשׁר יאהב יהוה, for this passage belongs to the few in which more than three servants (viz., Mahpach, Mercha, and three Munachs) go before the Athnach.

(Note: Vid., Torath Emeth, p. 19; Accentuationssystem, vi. 6; the differences between Ben-Asher and Ben-Naphtali in the Appendixes to Biblia Rabbinica; Dachselt's Biblia Accentuata, and Pinner's Prospectus, p. 91 (Odessa, 1845).)

The further peculiarity is here to be observed, that את, although without the Makkeph, retains its Segol, besides here only in Psa 47:5; Psa 60:2. 12b is to be interpreted thus (cf. Pro 9:5): "and (that) as a father the son, whom he loves." The ו is explanatory, as Sa1 28:3 (Gesenius, 155, 1a), and ירצה (which one may supplement by אתו or בּו) is a defining clause having the force of a clause with אשׁר. The translation et ut pater qui filio bene cupit, is syntactically (cf. Isa 40:11) and accentually (vid., 13b) not less admissible, but translating "and as a father he holds his son dear," or with Hitzig (after Jer 31:10, a passage not quite syntactically the same), "and holds him dear, as a father his son" (which Zckler without syntactical authority prefers on account of the 2nd modus, cf. e.g., Psa 51:18), does not seem a right parallel clause, since the giving of correction is the chief point, and the love only the accompanying consideration (Pro 13:24). According to our interpretation, יוכיח is to be carried forward in the mind from 12a. The lxx find the parallel word in יכאב, for they translate μαστιγοῖ δὲ πάντα υἱὸν, ὃν παραδέχεται, and thus have read יכאב or ויכאב.

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.)

(Pro 3:11-12 quoted in the NT: Heb 12:5-6 )

Prosperity and adversity in their wise mixture and proportion, form our present condition. Each is equally fruitful in opportunity of honouring the LORD; in prosperity — by the full consecration of our substance (Pro 3:9-10 ); in adversity — by a humble and cheerful submission to his dispensation. ’In prosperity it is well to expect the rod; and suppose it be his pleasure, let it not make thee either doubt of his gracious Providence, or out of impatience take any unlawful course to remove it from thee.’†1 His "exhortation" — the apostle reminds us — "speaketh to us, as unto children."†2 And indeed, under no character does he approach so near to us, and endear himself so closely to us, as that of a Father. Most precious at all times, especially under correction, is the privilege of adoption — My son.

Nowhere, indeed, are our corruptions so manifest, or our graces so shining, as under the rod. We need it as much as our daily bread. Children of God are still children of Adam; with Adam’s will, pride, independence, and waywardness. And nothing more distinctly requires Divine teaching and grace, than how to preserve in our behaviour the just mean between hardness and despondency; neither despising the chastening of the LORD, nor being weary of his correction.†3

Too often, while we guard against an error on the right hand, we forget one not less hurtful on the left; like the man, who, in guarding against the precipice on the one side, rushes into some fearful hazard on the other. The middle path is the right path. Doubtless the Lord means his chastening to be felt. (2Sa 15:26 . Psa 39:10-11 .) A leviathan iron-heartedness (Job 41:24-29 . Jer 5:3 ) is the stubbornness of the flesh, not the triumph of the spirit; a frame most offensive to him, and most unseemly for the reception of his gracious discipline. To be as though no pain was felt or cared for; sullenly to "kick against the pricks" (Act 9:5 . Compare Pro 19:3 ), and to dare God to do his worst — this is, indeed, to despise his chastening.†4 But pride will lift up the head, stiff and unbending: many a stroke does it require to bring it down.

Yet, alas! This is not the sin only of the ungodly. Often do we see the child of God in an undutiful spirit (Job 5:17 . Heb 12:6 ), caring little whether his Father smiles or frowns. The chastening is lightly passed over. He considers only second causes, or immediate instruments. (Amo 3:6 .) He is irritated by looking at the rod, rather than at the hand that inflicts it. (2Ch 16:10-12 .) He shrinks from searching into the cause. He disregards his Father’s loving voice and purpose. Hence there is no softening humiliation (Psa 32:3-4 ); no "acceptance of the punishment of iniquity" (Lev 26:41, Lev 26:43 ); no child-like submission; no exercise of faith in looking for support. Is not this to despise the chastening of the LORD?

But while some despise the hand of God as light, others "faint" under it as heavy. (Heb 12:5 . Psa 38:2-3 ; Psa 39:10 .) They are weary of his correction. Beware of yielding to heartless despondency, or fretful impatience. (Psa 73:14 ; Psa 77:7-10 .) Resist hard and dishonourable thoughts of God. (Gen 42:36 . Jdg 6:13 . Jon 4:9 .) Their very admission spreads destruction. Very apt are we to judge amiss of our Father’s dealings;†5 to neglect present duty; to cherish a morbid brooding over our sorrows (Job 6:1-16 ): to forget our title and privilege of adoption (Heb 12:5 ); or in obstinate grief to "refuse to be comforted" with the "hope of the end" (Psa 77:2 . Compare Jer 29:11 ; Jer 31:15-17 .) And is not this to be weary of his correction?

But these rules imply much more than their negative meaning. Instead of despising, reverence the chastening of the LORD. Let it be a solemn remembrance to thee, that thou art under thy Father’s correction. (Lam 3:28-29 . Mic 7:9 .) Receive it then in good part. Instead of being weary of it, hang upon his chastening hand, and pour thy very soul into his bosom. (1Sa 1:10-15 .) Kiss the rod. (Job 34:31-32 . 1Pe 5:6 .) Acknowledge its humbling, but enriching, benefit. (Psa 119:67-71 .) Expect a richer blessing from sustaining grace, than from the removal of the deprecated affliction. (2Co 12:7-10 .)

After all we must add, that chastening is a trial to the flesh (Heb 12:11 ); yet overruled by wonder-working wisdom and faithfulness to an end above and contrary to its nature. This very rod was sent in love to the soul. Perhaps we were living at ease, or in heartless backsliding. The awakening voice called us to our Bible and to prayer. Thus eyeing God in it, we see it to be love, not wrath; receiving, not casting out. We might perhaps have wished it a little altered; that the weight had been shifted, and the cross a little smoothed, where it pressed upon the shoulder. But now that our views are cleared, we discern blessing enough to swallow up the most poignant smart. We see the "needs-be," for our preservation from imminent danger (Compare Pro 1:32 ; Psa 55:19 ), and for "the trial of our faith." We come to an unhesitating verdict in favor of the absolute perfection of the dispensation. (Psa 51:4 ; Psa 119:75 .) Faith understands the reasons of the discipline (1Pe 1:6-7 ); acknowledges it as a part of his gracious providence (Deu 8:2, Deu 8:15-16 ), and the provision of his everlasting covenant (Psa 89:30-32 ); waits to see the end of the Lord (Jas 5:11 ); and meanwhile draws its main support from the seal of adoption.

For indeed it is the declared test of our legitimacy. (Heb 12:7-8 . Rev 3:19 .) He corrects whom he loves, the son in whom he delighteth. His discipline is that of the family; not of the school; much less of the prison. He corrects his children, not as criminals, but as those whom he beholds without spot, "made accepted in the Beloved." (Eph 1:6 .) Nor is there caprice, as too often with an earthly father, in his chastisement. (Heb 12:10 .) It is wisdom in the spirit of love. "He rejoiceth over his child to do him good" (Jer 32:41 ); yet as a wise and affectionate father, he would not suffer him to be ruined for want of correction. (Pro 13:24 . Deu 8:5 .) It is correction — this is for your humbling. It is only correction — this is your consolation. The intolerable sting of penal infliction is removed. Here then the child has rest indeed?†6 The rod is now meekly, yea — thankfully borne, because it is in the hand of One supreme in wisdom, as in love, who knows what is our need, and how to apply the discipline. He chooses the fittest time (Isa 30:18 . 1Pe 5:6 ), the surest yet gentlest means, the most considerate measure (Isa 27:7-8 . Jer 30:11 . Lam 3:31-33 ), the most effective instruments. And, comparing our affliction with our sin, is not the marvel that it is so light? (Ezr 9:13 . Psa 103:10 . Lam 3:39 .) Have we not more than deserved it all? ’I love the rod of my heavenly Father’ — exclaimed the saintly Fletcher — ’How gentle are the stripes I feel! How heavy those I deserve!’†7 ’O God, I have made an ill use of thy mercies, if I have not learnt to be content with thy correction.’†8

Should he then at any dark season ask — "If it be so, why am I thus?" (Gen 25:22 ) — you are thus, because this is your Father’s training discipline for heaven.†9 He loves thee so well, that he will bestow all pains upon thee. He will melt thee in his furnace, that he may stamp thee with his image. (Isa 27:9 ; Isa 48:10 . Zec 13:9 . Mal 3:3 .) He would make thee "partake of his holiness" (Heb 12:10 ), that thou mightest partake of his happiness. But unless thou enter into his mind, thou wilt, so far as thou canst, defeat his purpose, and lose the benefit — a loss never to be told.†10 (Compare Jer 6:8 .) Look then well into the dispensation. (Job 10:2 . Psa 139:23-24 . Ecc 7:14 . Lam 3:40 .) Every rod is thy Father’s messenger; and he will not bear to have his messenger despised. Be anxious to "hear the rod, and who hath appointed it" (Mic 6:9 ); well knowing that "the Lord hath not done without cause all that he hath done." (Eze 14:23 .) Be more concerned to have it sanctified than removed; yea, above all things deprecate its removal, until it has fully wrought its appointed work. (Isa 4:4 .) We can but admire that considerate dispensation, which uses these "light" afflictions as the means of deliverance from the most deadly evil. Should flesh and blood rebel; should the earthly tabernacle shake with "the blow of his hand" (Psa 39:10, ut supra): yet shalt thou bless him throughout eternity, that even by this crushing discipline he should accomplish his most merciful purpose. Meanwhile, give him unlimited confidence; and if some steps of the way are hid, wait and "see the end." (Job 23:8-10 ; Jas 5:11 .) Watch for the first whispers of his will, the first intimation of his Providence, the guidance of his eye. (Psa 32:8-9 .) Many a stroke will thus be saved to thy peace and quietness. This indeed is a golden opportunity, requiring for its due improvement much study, prayer, and retirement. No communion is so close, so endearing, so fruitful, as with a chastening God. Never is Christ more precious to us; his love never more sweet, than in the midst, — yea, in the very form of chastening. Never have we so full a manifestation of the Divine character (Psa 119:75 ), and perfections. What we have before learnt in theory, we here learn experimentally; and what we have before imperfectly understood, is here more fully revealed.†11 With regard to the full weight and duration of the trial, and all its minute circumstances, successively so bitter and piercing — we may ask — ’Which of them could be spared?’ It is quite clear as to the whole time, the whole weight, the whole number and variety of circumstances that all and each were as necessary as any part. Where could we have stopped, without making that stop fatal to the great end? What does it all mean, but the Lord holding to his determination to save us; all the thoughts of his heart, every exercise of his power, centering in this purpose of his sovereign mercy?

Footnotes

†1 Bishop Patrick.

†2 Heb 12:5. We must not overlook the apostle’s testimony to the Divine inspiration of the Book; showing the instruction throughout to be the teaching of our Heavenly Father to his beloved children.

†3 The philosopher’s definition is striking and accurate, but infinitely above his own practical standard — ’Non sentire mala tua, non est hominis; et non ferre, non est viri.’ — (It is inhuman not to feel thine afflictions, and unmanly not to bear them.) — Seneca, Consol. ad Polyb. c. 36.

†4 Compare Pharaoh — Exo 7:23 . Jehoram — 2Ki 6:31 . Ahaz — 2Ch 28:22 . Israel — Isa 1:5 . Zep 3:2 . Compare Job 15:25-26 .

†5 Pro 24:10. Isa 40:27-31 ; Compare 1Sa 27:1 ; 1Ki 19:4 ; Job 3:1-3 ; Jer 20:14-18 .

†6 1Sa 3:18 . 2Sa 15:25 ; 2Sa 16:10-11 . Psa 39:9 . Job 1:21 . Isa 39:8 .

†7 Life of Rev. H. Venn. pp. 238, 584.

†8 Bishop Hall.

†9 Job 33:14-29; Job 36:8-10 . Heb 12:7-8, ut supra. — The term refers to the education of children.

†10 Joh 18:11. The heathen philosopher has accurately drawn the line — ’Chastisement is on the sufferer’s account. Vengeance is for the satisfaction of him that inflicts it.’ — Arist. de Rhetor b. i. c. 10.

†11 Job 42:5. Compare the apostle’s most instructive and encouraging exposition. Hebrews 12. There is some slight variation between Heb 12:6, and Pro 3:12 . The one describes the mode and subject of the chastening. The other shows the Father’s delight in his chastened child. Some by inverting the first clause, ver. 12, grossly pervert the meaning, and conclude themselves to be the Lord’s children, because they are afflicted. But though every child is corrected, not every one that is corrected is a child. The same hand — but not the same character — gives the stroke to the godly and the ungodly. The scourge of the Judge is widely different from the rod of the Father. Compare 1Sa 28:15-20, with 2Sa 12:13-14 ; Pro 1:26 . Isa 1:24, with Jer 31:18-20 . Hos 11:7-8 ; also Isa 27:7-9 . Nor is it chastening, but the endurance of chastening, according to the rules prescribed, that seals our adoption. Heb 12:7 .

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

Proverbs

THE GIFTS OF HEAVENLY WISDOM

Pro 3:11 - Pro 3:24.

The repetition of the words ‘my son’ at the beginning of this passage marks a new section, which extends to Pro 3:20, inclusively, another section being similarly marked as commencing in Pro 3:21. The fatherly counsels of these early chapters are largely reiterations of the same ideas, being line upon line. ‘To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.’ Many strokes drive the nail home. Exhortations to get Wisdom, based upon the blessings she brings, are the staple of the whole. If we look carefully at the section {Pro 3:11 - Pro 3:20}, we find in it a central core {Pro 3:13 - Pro 3:18}, setting forth the blessings which Wisdom gives, preceded by two verses, inculcating the right acceptance of God’s chastisements which are one chief means of attaining Wisdom, and followed by two verses {Pro 3:19 - Pro 3:20}, which exalt her as being divine as well as human. So the portraiture of her working in humanity is framed by a prologue and epilogue, setting forth two aspects of her relation to God; namely, that she is imparted by Him through the discipline of trouble, and that she dwells in His bosom and is the agent of His creative work.

The prologue, then, points to sorrow and trouble, rightly accepted, as one chief means by which we acquire heavenly Wisdom. Note the profound insight into the meaning of sorrows. They are ‘instruction’ and ‘reproof.’ The thought of the Book of Job is here fully incorporated and assimilated. Griefs and pains are not tokens of anger, nor punishments of sin, but love-gifts meant to help to the acquisition of wisdom. They do not come because the sufferers are wicked, but in order to make them good or better. Tempests are meant to blow us into port. The lights are lowered in the theatre that fairer scenes may become visible on the thin screen between us and eternity. Other supports are struck away that we may lean hard on God. The voice of all experience of earthly loss and bitterness is, ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get Wisdom.’ God himself becomes our Schoolmaster, and through the voice of the human teacher we hear His deeper tones saying, ‘My son, despise not the chastening.’

Note, too, the assurance that all discipline is the fruit of Fatherly love. How many sad hearts in all ages these few words have calmed and braced! How sharp a test of our childlike spirit our acceptance of them, when our own hearts are sore, is! How deep the peace which they bring when really believed! How far they go to solve the mystery of pain, and turn darkness into a solemn light!

Note, further, that the words ‘despise’ and ‘be weary’ both imply rather rejection with loathing, and thus express unsubmissive impatience which gets no good from discipline. The beautiful rendering of the Septuagint, which has been made familiar by its adoption in Hebrews, makes the two words express two opposite faults. They ‘despise’ who steel their wills against the rod, and make as if they did not feel the pain; they ‘faint’ who collapse beneath the blows, which they feel so much that they lose sight of their purpose. Dogged insensibility and utter prostration are equally harmful. He who meets life’s teachings, which are a Father’s correction, with either, has little prospect of getting Wisdom.

Then follows the main part of this section {Pro 3:13 - Pro 3:18},-the praise of Wisdom as in herself most precious, and as bestowing highest good. ‘The man that findeth Wisdom’ reminds us of the peasant in Christ’s parable, who found treasure hidden in a field, and the ‘merchandise’ in Pro 3:14, of the trader seeking goodly pearls. But the finding in Pro 3:13 is not like the rustic’s in the parable, who was seeking nothing when a chance stroke of his plough or kick of his heel laid bare the glittering gold. It is the finding which rewards seeking. The figure of acquiring by trading, like that of the pearl-merchant in the companion parable, implies pains, effort, willingness to part with something in order to attain.

The nature of the price is not here in question. We know who has said, ‘I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire.’ We buy heavenly Wisdom when we surrender ourselves. The price is desire to possess, and willingness to accept as an undeserved, unearned gift. But that does not come into view in our lesson. Only this is strongly put in it-that this heavenly Wisdom outshines all jewels, outweighs all wealth, and is indeed the only true riches. ‘Rubies’ is probably rather to be taken as ‘corals,’ which seem to have been very highly prized by the Jews, and, no doubt, found their way to them from the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. The word rendered ‘things thou canst desire’ is better taken as meaning ‘jewels.’

This noble and conclusive depreciation of material wealth in comparison with Wisdom, which is not merely intellectual, but rests on the fear of the Lord, and is goodness as well as understanding, never needed preaching with more emphasis than in our day, when more and more the commercial spirit invades every region of life, and rich men are the aristocrats and envied types of success. When will England and America believe the religion which they profess, and adjust their estimates of the best things accordingly? How many so-called Christian parents would think their son mad if he said, ‘I do not care about getting rich; my goal is to be wise with God’s Wisdom’? How few of us order our lives on the footing of this old teacher’s lesson, and act out the belief that Wisdom is more than wealth! The man who heaps millions together, and masses it, fails in life, however a vulgar world and a nominal church may admire and glorify him. The man who wins Wisdom succeeds, however bare may be his cupboard, and however people may pity him for having failed in life, because he has not drawn prizes in the Devil’s lottery. His blank is a prize, and their prizes are blanks. This decisive subordination of material to spiritual good is too plainly duty and common sense to need being dwelt upon; but, alas! like a great many other most obvious, accepted truths, it is disregarded as universally as believed.

The inseparable accompaniments of Wisdom are next eloquently described. The picture is the poetical clothing of the idea that all material good will come to him who despises it all and clasps Wisdom to his heart. Some things flow from Wisdom possessed as usual consequences; some are inseparable from her. The gift in her right hand is length of days; that in her left, which, by its position, is suggested as inferior to the former, is wealth and honour-two goods which will attend the long life. No doubt such promises are to be taken with limitations; but there need be no doubt that, on the whole, loyal devotion to and real possession of heavenly Wisdom do tend in the direction of lengthening lives, which are by it delivered from vices and anxieties which cut many a career short, and of gathering round silver hairs reverence and troops of friends.

These are the usual consequences, and may be fairly brought into view as secondary encouragements to seek Wisdom. But if she is sought for the sake of getting these attendant blessings, she will not be found. She must be loved for herself, not for her dowry, or she will not be won. At the same time, the overstrained and fantastic morality, which stigmatises regard to the blessed results of a religious life as selfishness, finds no support in Scripture, as it has none in common sense. Would there were more of such selfishness!

Sometimes Wisdom’s hands do not hold these outward gifts. But the connection between her and the next blessings spoken of is inseparable. Her ways are pleasantness and peace. ‘In keeping’-not for keeping-’her commandments is great reward.’ Inward delight and deep tranquillity of heart attend every step taken in obedience to Wisdom. The course of conduct so prescribed will often involve painful crucifying of the lower nature, but its pleasure far outweighs its pain. It will often be strewn with sharp flints, or may even have red-hot ploughshares laid on it, as in old ordeal trials; but still it will be pleasant to the true self. Sin is a blunder as well as a crime, and enlightened self-interest would point out the same course as the highest law of Wisdom. In reality, duty and delight are co-extensive. They are two names for one thing-one taken from consideration of its obligation; the other, from observation of its issues. ‘Calm pleasures there abide.’ The only complete peace, which fills and quiets the whole man, comes from obeying Wisdom, or what is the same thing, from following Christ. There is no other way of bringing all our nature into accord with itself, ending the war between conscience and inclination, between flesh and spirit. There is no other way of bringing us into amity with all circumstances, so that fortunate or adverse shall be recognised as good, and nothing be able to agitate us very much. Peace with ourselves, the world, and God, is always the consequence of listening to Wisdom.

The whole fair picture is summed up in Pro 3:18: ‘She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her.’ This is a distinct allusion to the narrative of Genesis. The flaming sword of the cherub guard is sheathed, and access to the tree, which gives immortal life to those who eat, is open to us. Mark how that great word ‘life’ is here gathering to itself at least the beginnings of higher conceptions than those of simple existence. It is swelling like a bud, and preparing to open and disclose the perfect flower, the life which stands in the knowledge of God and the Christ whom He has sent. Jesus, the incarnate Wisdom, is Himself ‘the Tree of Life in the midst of the paradise of God.’ The condition of access to it is ‘laying hold’ by the outstretched hand of faith, and keeping hold with holy obstinacy of grip, in spite of all temptations to slack our grasp. That retaining is the condition of true blessedness.

Pro 3:19 - Pro 3:20 invest the idea of Wisdom with still loftier sublimity, since they declare that it is an attribute of God Himself by which creation came into being. The meaning of the writer is inadequately grasped if we take it to be only that creation shows God’s Wisdom. This personified Wisdom dwells with God, is the agent of creation, comes with invitations to men, may be possessed by them, and showers blessings on them. The planet Neptune was divined before it was discovered, by reason of perturbations in the movements of the exterior members of the system, unaccountable unless some great globe of light, hitherto unseen, were swaying them in their orbits. Do we not see here like influence streaming from the unrisen light of Christ? Personification prepares for Incarnation. There is One who has been with the Father from the beginning, by whom all things came into being, whose voice sounds to all, who is the Tree of Life, whom we may all possess, and with whose own peace we may be peaceful and blessed for evermore.

Pro 3:21 - Pro 3:24 belong to the next section of the great discourse or hymn. They add little to the preceding. But we may observe the earnest exhortation to let wisdom and understanding be ever in sight. Eyes are apt to stray and clouds to hide the sun. Effort is needed to counteract the tendency to slide out of consciousness, which our weakness imposes on the most certain and important truths. A Wisdom which we do not think about is as good or as bad as non-existent for us. One prime condition of healthy spiritual life is the habit of meditation, thereby renewing our gaze upon the facts of God’s revelation and the bearing of these on our conduct.

The blessings flowing from Wisdom are again dilated on, from a somewhat different point of view. She is the giver of life. And then she adorns the life she gives. One has seen homely faces so refined and glorified by the fair soul that shone through them as to be, ‘as it were, the face of an angel.’ Gracefulness should be the outward token of inward grace. Some good people forget that they are bound to ‘adorn the doctrine.’ But they who have drunk most deeply of the fountain of Wisdom will find that, like the fabled spring, its waters confer strange loveliness. Lives spent in communion with Jesus will be lovely, however homely their surroundings, and however vulgar eyes, taught only to admire staring colours, may find them dull. The world saw ‘no beauty that they should desire Him,’ in Him whom holy souls and heavenly angels and the divine Father deemed ‘fairer than the sons of men’!

Safety and firm footing in active life will be ours if we walk in Wisdom’s ways. He who follows Christ’s footsteps will tread surely, and not fear foes. Quiet repose in hours of rest will be his. A day filled with happy service will be followed by a night full of calm slumber, ‘Whether we sleep or wake, we live’ with Him; and, if we do both, sleeping and waking will be blessed, and our lives will move on gently to the time when days and nights shall melt into one, and there will be no need for repose; for there will be no work that wearies and no hands that droop. The last lying down in the grave will be attended with no terrors. The last sleep there shall be sweet; for it will really be awaking to the full possession of the personal Wisdom, who is our Christ, our Life in death, our Heaven in heaven.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3:11-12 The Lord’s discipline can take the form of hardships, disappointments, and frustrations (see Heb 12:4-6). Like a good father, God’s purpose is to make us wise, good, and happy.

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

The true intent of afflictions considered; they do not contradict the assertion of the blessed state of the pious (Job 5:17; Heb 12:5-6).

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

Verse 11. Despise not the chastening of the Lord] The word מוסר musar signifies correction, discipline, and instruction. Teaching is essentially necessary to show the man the way in which he is to go; discipline is necessary to render that teaching effectual; and, often, correction is requisite in order to bring the mind into submission, without which it cannot acquire knowledge. Do not therefore reject this procedure of God; humble thyself under his mighty hand, and open thy eyes to thy own interest; and then thou wilt learn specially and effectually. It is of no use to rebel; if thou do, thou kickest against the pricks, and every act of rebellion against him is a wound to thine own soul. God will either end thee or mend thee; wilt thou then kick on?

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(11) Despise not the chastening of the Lord . . .—Comp. Job_5:17. A wonderful advance beyond the teaching of the Pentateuch: e.g., Deuteronomy 28, in which the Jews had to be treated as children, and punishment or reward follow as the immediate consequence of bad or good behaviour. Under such a discipline misfortune could only be regarded as a punishment, a sign of God’s displeasure; but now a further manifestation of His dealings with man is made. When He sends trouble upon His children, He is no longer to be regarded as an offended father punishing their faults, but as one who in love is correcting them. Even the New Testament quotes these words with approval, and without adding anything to their teaching (Heb_12:5-13). There it is shown how all God’s children must, without exception, submit to this discipline.

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

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,.... This seems to be introduced to prevent an objection that may be made to the above promise of plenty; seeing the children of God are often afflicted in this world; even the wise and pious, and those that fear the Lord, and honour him; which is accounted for, and the reason of it given, in Pro 3:12. These words are cited in Heb 12:5, and are represented as an exhortation, spoken unto children, the children of God; by which it appears, that not any single person is meant by "my son"; and, as not here, so neither elsewhere in this book, where the same phrase is used. It is not to be limited to any son of Solomon's according to the flesh; nor to any person or persons, that applied to him for instruction, and were taught by him; nor to all the people of God in his time: but it has respect to the Jews in the times of the apostles; and even to all the children of God in all ages, who more or less endure afflictions, here called "the chastening of the Lord", because they are from him; whatever concern men or devils, or second causes, may have in them, they are originally from the Lord, either sent or suffered by him; they are indeed by his appointment, and are ordered, limited, and restrained by him, and are overruled for his glory and his people's good: they are not chastisements in a way of vindictive wrath and justice, which would be contrary to the satisfaction of Christ, the justice of God, his everlasting and unchangeable love, and to his word and oath; but they are in love; they are the chastisements of a father, in which he deals with them as with children; and uses them for the good discipline and instruction of them, as the word (r) here signifies; and therefore not to be "despised", or loathed and abhorred, as disagreeable food or physic be; or as if they were unnecessary and unprofitable, or unworthy of notice and regard; or as little, slight, and trifling things, without considering from whence they come and for what they are sent; but, on the contrary, should be regarded as useful and serviceable; see Job 5:17;

neither be weary of his correction; "rebuke" or "reproof" (s); so in Heb 12:5; "when thou art rebuked of him", not in wrath and fury, but in love, as before. The same thing is meant by correction as chastening; and supposes a fault to be committed by him that is corrected, for God corrects none but for sin; and authority in the corrector, which he, as the Father of spirits, and as our covenant God and Father in Christ, has a right to do: he corrects by his Spirit, by his word, by his ministers, and by his providences, afflictive ones, which last is here meant; and it is always for good, at a proper time, and when necessary, in measure and with judgment: and of this the children should not be "weary", as grievous and intolerable; and especially should not be weary of their lives on account of it, in which sense the word is used in Gen 27:46 which has been the case of Job and others; but should bear it quietly and peaceably, and with patience, without fretting and murmuring; or should not "faint", as it is rendered in Heb 12:5; or sink under the weight, but cheerfully support under it. The two extremes, which men are apt to run into, are here guarded against; on the one hand, to make little or nothing of an affliction; to outbrave it, not to be affected with it, nor humble under the mighty hand of God; nor consider the rod, and him that has appointed it: and, on the other hand, to aggravate an affliction, as if no sorrow was like theirs, and to be quite dejected and overwhelmed with it.

(r) "disciplinam", V. L. Cocceius, Schultens; "eruditionem", Junius & Tremellius. (s) "ad increpationem ejus", Tigurine version, Mercerus, Gejerus; "redargutionem ejus", Cocceius; "sub redargutione ejus", Schultens.

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

Despise ... be weary - The temper is not that of contempt. To struggle impatiently, to fret and chafe, when suffering comes on us, is the danger to which we are exposed when we do not accept it as from the hands of God. Compare Jon 4:9; Job 5:17.

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

Him. Correction is rather a proof of love than of anger, Psalm iii. 19. (Calmet) --- God thus shews that he approves of his servants; and therefore his other promises, which seem of a temporal nature, must be understood with reference to the next life. (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).

Despise not the chastening of the Lord; either,

1. By making light of it, or not being duly affected with if; and so this is one extreme opposed to the other in the next clause. Or rather,

2. By accounting it an unnecessary, and useless, and troublesome thing; but rather esteem it as a privilege and favour from God, and a benefit to thyself; for such negatives do oft imply the contrary affirmatives by a common figure called meiosis, as Pro 17:21, and oft elsewhere. And this sense seems to agree better both with the following clause, which repeats the same thing with some aggravation, after the manner; and with the reason used to enforce this and the following command, Pro 3:12, which concerns not such as are insensible, but rather such as had too deep a sense of the evil of affliction.

Neither be weary of his correction; neither esteem it tedious and intolerable, but endure it with patience and cheerfulness.

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

11, 12. Despise not the chastening — Suppose it be the Lord’s will, as it may, that any affliction befall thee, contemn not the discipline, as if it were a mere natural occurrence or accident.

Neither be weary — Better, nor feel horror (our word weary is too weak) when thou art rebuked by him, for it is an evidence of his tenderest regard: a father, by chastening the son in whom he delights, does him a favour, is gracious to him, in the act. See Heb_12:5; Heb_12:10, where the passage is quoted with some variation, following the Septuagint. Comp. Job_5:17; Rev_3:19.

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

My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord. The teacher, in vers. 11 and 12, passes to another phase of life. The thought of prosperity suggests the opposite one of adversity. Abundant prosperity shall flow from honouring Jehovah, but he sometimes and not unfrequently sends affliction, and, indeed, without this life would be incomplete. The object of the exhortation is, as Delitzsch states, to show that, as in prosperity God should not be forgotten, so one should not suffer himself to be estranged by days of adversity. Submission is counselled on the ground that, when Jehovah afflicts, he does so in the spirit of love, and for good. The "chastening" and "correction," though presenting God in an attitude of anger, are in reality not the punishment of an irate God. The verse before us is evidently copied from Job_5:17, "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth, therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty;" and the whole passage is cited again in the Epistle to the Hebrews. (Heb_12:5, Heb_12:6) It has been said that ver. 11 expresses the problem of the Book of Job, and ver. 12 its solution (Delitzsch). Despise not (al-timas); Vulgate, ne abjicias; LXX, mh oligwrei . The verb mass is first "to reject," and then "to despise and contemn." The Targum Jonathan puts the thought in a stronger form, ne execreris, "do not curse." They despise the chastening of Jehovah who, when they see his hand in it, do not humbly and submissively bow, but resist and become refractory, or, as it is expressed in Pro_19:3, when their "heart fretteth against the Lord." Job, notwithstanding his bitter complaints, was on the whole, and in his better moments, an example of the proper state of mind under correction. (see Job_1:21 Job_2:10) Jonah, in treating contemptuously the procedure of God, is an exemplification of the contrary spirit, which is condemned implicitly in the text (Wardlaw). Chastening (musar); i.e. correction not by reproof only, as in Pro_6:23 and Pro_8:30; but by punishment also. as in Pro_13:24 Pro_22:15. The meaning here is expressed by the LXX paideia , which is "instruction by punishment," discipline, or schooling (cf. Vulgate, disciplina). Neither be weary (altakots); i.e. do not loathe, abhor, feel disgust nor vexation towards. The expression, "do not loathe," is a climax to the other, "despise not." It represents a more deeply seated aversion to Jehovah"s plans. Gesenius takes the primary meaning of kuts to be that of vomiting. The word before us certainly denotes loathing or nausea, and is used in this sense by the Israelites in their complaints against God and against Moses in Num_21:5. (cf. Gen_27:46) The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in quoting the passage, adopts the LXX reading, mh okluou , "nor faint;" Vulgate, ne deficias, i.e. "do not give way to despondency." Correction. This word, like musar above, has a twofold meaning of either punishment or chastening, as in Psa_73:14; or reproof, as in Pro_1:23 Psa_5:12 Psa_27:5, where it also occurs. It is here used in the former sense. To loathe the correction of Jehovah is to allow it to completely estrange us from him. We faint under it when, by dwelling on or brooding over, or bemoaning the trial, the spirit sinks to faintness. To faint at correction ignores the belief in the truth that "all things work together for good to them that love God.

Vers. 11, 12. Chastening.

I GOD CHASTENS HIS CHILDREN WITH SUFFERING. All suffering is not chastening. Some trouble is the pruning of branches that already bear fruit, in order that they may bring forth more fruit. (Joh_15:2) But when it meets us in our sins and failings, it is to be regarded as a Divine method of correction. It is not then the vengeance of a God simply concerned with his own outraged anger; before this we should tremble with alarm. It is not the chance product of the unconscious working of brute forces; such a materialistic explanation of suffering might well induce blank despair. The teaching of revelation is that suffering comes with a purpose, and that the purpose is our own good; it is a rod to chasten us for our faults, that we may be led to forsake them, and a pruning knife to fit us for larger fruitfulness.

II THE MOTIVE WITH WHICH GOD CHASTENS HIS CHILDREN IS FATHERLY LOVE.

1. God must be angry with us for our sin. His anger, however, is not the fruit of malignant hatred, but the expression of grieved love. For love can be angry, nay, sometimes must be, if it is pure and strong. The weak kindliness which is a stranger to indignation at wrong doing is based on no deep affection.

2. If God chastens in love, it is for our own good. Weak love seeks the present pleasure of its objects; strong love aims at the highest welfare, even though this involve misunderstandings and temporary estrangement.

3. God"s paternal relation with us is the ground of his chastening in love. We do not reel called upon to correct in strange children the faults for which we chastise our own family. The very love we bear to our children rouses indignation at conduct which we should scarcely heed in others. True love is not blind to the faults of those who are loved, it is rather rendered keen sighted by sorrowful interest. Hence we may take the chastening as a proof of the love and Fatherhood of God. If we were not children, God would not thus put us to pain. Instead of regarding trouble as a proof that God has deserted us, we should see in it a sign that God is owning us and concerning himself with our welfare. The worst curse a man can receive is to be deserted by God and left unchecked in pursuit of folly and sin. (Heb_12:8)

III TO RIGHTLY RECEIVE DIVINE CHASTENING WE MUST NEITHER DESPISE IT NOR GROW WEARY OF IT. The good it will do to us depends on the reception we give it. Like other graces, the grace of correction may be received in vain, may be abused to our own hurt. We must not be satisfied, therefore, with the mere fact that we are being chastened. Two evils must be avoided.

1. Despising chastening. Cynical indifference and stoical hardness will render the chastening inefficacious. We must open our hearts to receive it. It blesses the broken heart. The very sorrow it induces is of the essence of its healing grace.

2. Growing weary of chastening. This is the opposite failing. We may despair, complain, show impatience, and rebel. Then the chastening loses its utility. The right reception is evidently to feel its grievousness, but to submit humbly and to seek to learn its bitter but wholesome lessons. The two all-essential thoughts, that suffering is for our own good, and that it is sent in love and is a proof of God"s fatherly care for our welfare, should help us neither to be indifferent to it nor to rebel against it, but thus humbly to accept it.

Vers. 11, 12. Wrong views of affliction, and the right one.

Sorrow is a very large ingredient in the cup of human life. It begins so early and lasts so long; it lies so near the surface and it strikes so deep into our nature; it is so certain that we shall meet with it before long, and so likely that we may renew our acquaintance with it very soon, that they must be unwise indeed who do not prepare for its coming, and they must be losers indeed who do not know how to treat it when it knocks at their door. There are

I MANY MISTAKES WE MAY MAKE ABOUT IT.

1. We may treat it thoughtlessly; we may "despise the chastening of the Lord" (ver. 11). We may allow ourselves to have "the sorrow of the world," of which Paul speaks; (2Co_7:10) i.e. we may decline to consider what it means; content ourselves with the sullen thought that we have something that we must endure as best we can, not attempting to discover whence it comes or what it means.

2. We may conclude that it is only accidental. This is another way of "despising the chastening of the Lord." We may take that view which is intellectually the most easy and spiritually the most barren, and refer our trouble to the "course of events;" we may recognize no guiding hand, we may decide, with off-handed readiness, that we are the unhappy victims of unkind circumstances, and go on our way "grinding our teeth" with impatient spirit.

3. We may he crushed under the weight of it. We may (to use the words in Heb_12:5) "faint when we are rebuked." We may suffer a spiritual collapse, may meet affliction with an unreadily spirit of prostration, and, instead of bending bravely beneath the yoke and bearing it, break down utterly and miserably.

4. We may repine under long continuance of it. We may "be weary" of God"s correction. Sometimes, when affliction is long continued, men feel that either God has nothing to do with them at all, or that he is not regarding their prayer, or that he is punishing them above that which they are able to bear, and they repine; they are weary in their spirit, querulous in their tone, perhaps positively complaining in their speech. But there is

II THE ONE RIGHT WAY IN WHICH TO TAKE IT. And that is to accept it as the correction of fatherly kindness. "For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth," etc. (ver. 12).

1. We may be God"s unreconciled children, and he is seeking to win us to himself.

2. Or we may have returned to him, but reed fatherly correction. He maybe rebuking us for some departure from his will. He may be desirous of removing the spirit of pride or of selfishness, or of worldliness, and of leading us along paths of humility, self-surrender, spirituality. Certainly he is seeking our truest welfare, our highest good, our lasting joy. Let each afflicted heart ask What is the lesson the Father wishes me to learn? C.

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

Despise not - Either by making light of it, or not being duly affected with it; or by accounting it an unnecessary thing: but rather esteem it a privilege and favour from God. Weary - Neither think it tedious or hard, but endure it with patience and chearfulness.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

General Information:

The writer writes as a father teaching his son.

a son who pleases him

"a son in whom he delights." This refers to the father's affection for the son, and not to the father's approval of the son's behavior. AT: "a son whom he loves" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

Yahweh

rebuke

discipline

love

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

My son, despise not the discipline of the Lord Should pains come upon you, they should be dear to you.

and do not abhor Heb. תקץ, from the expression of (Gen. 27:46) “I abhor (קצתי) my life.”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.