Bitterness of Heart
John Johnston. Proverbs 14:10 The heart knows his own bitterness; and a stranger does not intermeddle with his joy. While the Christian has no promise of exemption from the general sufferings of humanity, he has trials peculiar to the life of faith. I. THE NATURE OF THE CHRISTIAN'S BITTERNESS OF HEART. It is hazardous to represent the Christian life as a scene of constant sunshine and unaltered joy. This has occasioned much uneasiness and disappointment. The heart that is right with God has much anxiety, disquiet, and sorrow. These are dependent on disposition and temperament. II. THE SOURCES OF SUCH INWARD SORROW AND DISTRESS. 1. The secret consciousness of guilt. 2. The general infirmity of our intellectual and moral constitution. For instance, that depression of animal spirits to which some of the most regularly constituted minds are often most subject, and which no intellectual energy is at times able to dissipate or surmount. 3. Fears of shortcoming are sometimes the result of that increased spirituality of mind which marks the progress of the Divine life. Whatever be the attainments of the Christian, he has often hours of heaviness and alarm, and is troubled with distressing apprehensions respecting the safety of his state before God. This feeling must, of course, be greatly modified by the temper and circumstances of the believer, and in different individuals may arise from different causes. (John Johnston.) Parallel Verses KJV: The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. WEB: The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.