Albert Barnes Commentary Proverbs 25
Albert Barnes Commentary
Proverbs 25
Albert Barnes Commentary
Proverbs 25
"These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out." — Proverbs 25:1 (ASV)
A new section.
Copied out - In the sense of a transfer from oral tradition to writing.
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; But the glory of kings is to search out a matter." — Proverbs 25:2 (ASV)
The earthly monarch might be, in some respects, the type of the heavenly, but here there is a marked contrast. The king presses further and further into all knowledge; God surrounds Himself as in “thick darkness,” and there are secrets unrevealed even after the fullest revelation.
"As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, So the heart of kings is unsearchable." — Proverbs 25:3 (ASV)
This is the other side of the thought in Proverbs 25:2. As the mind of God is to those who search for knowledge, so the heart of the true and wise king is to those who try to discern its counsels.
"Take away the wicked [from] before the king, And his throne shall be established in righteousness." — Proverbs 25:5 (ASV)
The interpretation of the proverb of (Proverbs 25:4). The king himself, like the Lord whom he represents, is to sit as a refiner of silver (Malachi 3:3).
"Put not thyself forward in the presence of the king, And stand not in the place of great men: For better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom thine eyes have seen." — Proverbs 25:6-7 (ASV)
The pushing, boastful temper is, in the long run, suicidal. It is wiser as well as nobler to take the lower place at first in humility, than to take it afterward with shame. Compare Luke 14:8-10, which is one of the few instances in which our Lord’s teaching was fashioned, in its outward form, after that of this book.
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