Proverbs 21:14-17 A gift in secret pacifies anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.… I. THE POWER OF GIFTS. (Ver. 14.) They are neither good nor evil in themselves, but may be employed for good or evil ends. Let us make a good use of this text. We learn that gifts should be quiet, unobtrusive, unobserved; and the same is true of all acts of kindness which are real gilts from the heart. They should neither irritate pride nor depress independence. By such little attentions and marks at love, how much evil may be warded off, how many asperities of temper or circumstance may be soothed! II. DELIGHT IN OR DISGUST FOR RIGHT CONDUCT. (Ver. 15). There is no joy in the world to be compared for depth and purity to that of the good conscience; no exercise that brings so much health and pleasure as acting rightly and doing good. But the corrupt mind of evil men can take no delight in looking at goodness, in contemplating pure and noble conduct. For the consequences can only be the judgment and punishment of their own iniquity. III. THE END OF ALL MORAL OBSERVATIONS. (Ver. 16.) One of the most solemn passages of the Bible. Taken literally or figuratively, of the present or of the future, they contain a statement, a prophecy, a fact. The wicked and unrepentant pass into a night without the hope of a sunrise to follow. IV. THE END OF IDLE AND FRIVOLOUS MIRTH. (Ver. 17.) He that will squander more than his plough can earn must utterly waste (Sirach 8:32). Magnum vectigal est parsimonia, or "Economy is income;" "Waste not, want not." "Better than merry Nineveh" is recorded as an old proverb (see Zephaniah 2:15). - J. Parallel Verses KJV: A gift in secret pacifieth anger: and a reward in the bosom strong wrath.WEB: A gift in secret pacifies anger; and a bribe in the cloak, strong wrath. |
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