Homilist Proverbs 27:14 He that blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. Flattery is a species of conduct generally most pleasing, always most pernicious. The flattery in the text is a loud vaunting. It intrudes itself on all occasions; it is busy and demonstrative. I. IT IS A CURSE TO ITS AUTHOR. He who practises sycophancy inflicts an incalculable injury on his own spiritual nature. The spirit of independence, the feeling of honest manhood, give way to a crawling, creeping instinct; it is a sneaking art used to cajole and soften fools. II. IT IS A CURSE TO ITS VICTIM Perhaps this is what Solomon means when he says "it shall be counted a curse to him," i.e., the object of it. "Of all wild beasts," says Johnson, "preserve me from a flatterer." (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. |
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