Proverbes 28:27 Commentaire

Here is, 1. A promise to the charitable: He that gives to the poor shall himself be never the poorer for so doing; he shall not lack. If he have but little, and so be in danger of lacking, let him give out of his little, and that will prevent it from coming to nothing; as the bounty of the widow of Sarepta to Elijah (for whom she made a little cake first) saved what she had, when it was reduced to a handful of meal. If he have much, let him give much out of it, and that will prevent its growing less; he and his shall not want what is given in pious charity. What we gave we have. 2. A threatening to the uncharitable: He that hides his eyes, that he may not see the miseries of the poor nor read their petitions, lest his eye should affect his heart and extort some relief from him, he shall have many a curse, both from God and man, and neither causeless, and therefore they shall come. Woeful is the condition of that man who has the word of God and the prayers of the poor against him.

The wicked flee when no man pursueth,.... Through the terrors of a guilty conscience, as in Cain and others; who fear where no immediate cause of fear is, are frightened with their own shadows; and as Gaal was with the shadow of the mountains, he took for an army of men, as his friend told him, Jdg 9:36; they are chased with the sound of a shaken leaf, and fancy men are at their heels to destroy them, and therefore with all haste flee to some place of safety; see Lev 26:17; but the righteous are bold as a lion; which turns not away from any creature it meets with, nor mends its pace when it is pursued, but walks on intrepidly, and oftentimes lies down and sleeps in open places, and as securely as in woods and dens, being devoid of all fear; hence the heart of a valiant man is said to be as the heart of a lion, Sa2 17:10; see Pro 30:30; so Pindar (z) compares a courageous man to a lion for boldness. Now righteous men are as bold as this creature, or more so; some of them have stopped the mouths of lions, and have dwelt securely in the midst of them, as righteous Daniel: and all righteous men are or may be as fearless as the lion; fear God they do, but have no reason to fear any other; and many of them are fearless of men, of their menaces and reproaches, or of anything they can do to them; since not only angels are their guardians, but God is on their side, and Christ has overcome the world for them: they are fearless of Satan and his principalities; they are delivered out of his hands; they know he is a coward, though a roaring lion, and when resisted will flee from thorn; yea, that he is a chained, conquered, enemy: and, though they are afraid of committing sin, yet are fearless of the damning power of it; Christ having bore their sins, made satisfaction for thong; for whose sake they are pardoned; and whose righteousness justifies and blood cleanses from all sin: they are fearless of death; its sting being removed, itself abolished as a penal evil, and become a blessing, and is the righteous man's, gain: they are fearless of wrath to come; Christ having delivered them from it, and they being justified by his blood: they are courageous as the lion in fighting the Lord's battles with sin, Satan, and the world, and in enduring hardiness as good soldiers of Christ; knowing their cause is good, that Christ is the Captain of their salvation, their spiritual armour is proved, and they are sure of victory and of a crown They are "confident" (a) as the lion, as the word may he rendered; they are confident of the love of God, of their interest in Christ, of the grace of God in their hearts, and that all things work together for their good; and that it is, and always will be, well with them, let things go how they will in the world, and so are secure. They are bold and undaunted, both before God and men; before God in prayer, knowing him to be their covenant God in Christ, having in view the blood and righteousness of Christ, and being assisted by his Spirit: and they are undaunted before men; if the righteous man is a minister of the word, he speaks it boldly, as it ought to be spoken, fearing the faces of none, knowing it to be the Gospel of Christ, the truth, as it is in him, and the power of God to salvation; and if a private Christian, he is a public professor of Christ, this word and ordinances, which he is not ashamed to own before all the world; in short, the righteous are bold in life and in death, and will be so in the day of judgment; and it is their righteousness which makes them so, from which they are denominated righteous, even not their own, but the righteousness of Christ. (z) Isthm. 4. antistroph. 3. col. 1. v. 5. (a) "confiduat", Mercerus, Gejerus, Trigurine version; "confidet, vel confidere solet", Baynus; "confidit", Michaelis.

He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack,.... That gives alms unto them, relieves them in their distress, supplies them with money, food, or clothes, and does it cheerfully, largely, and liberally, as the case requires; such an one shall not want any good thing; he shall not be the poorer for what he gives; he shall not miss it, nor his substance be diminished; he shall not come to poverty and want, yea, he shall be enriched, and his substance increased, for more is intended than is expressed. Jarchi interprets this of a wise man not restraining doctrine from a disciple, but giving it to him liberally; but he that hideth his eyes; that is, from the poor, as the Targum and Syriac version add; that does not care to see his person, to behold his miseries, or know his case, lest his heart should be moved with compassion, and should draw out anything from him; see Isa 58:7. Such an one shall have many a curse; not only from the poor he hardens himself against, but from other persons, who observe his miserable and covetous disposition; and from the Lord himself, who abhors such persons, and curses their very blessings now, and will bid them depart from him as accursed persons hereafter.

Don’t forget that rule, where it says, “Whoever gives to the poor will never be in want.” Have you already forgotten what the Lord is going to say to those who have given to the poor: “Come, blessed of my Father, receive the kingdom”?

The cry of the hungry person is a challenge in your ears, and the sound of a failing voice from a hungry throat is striking at your door. Why do you not think of that phrase, “Blessed is he that understands concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day.” The businessman who keeps stored away in a sack the money with which he could carry on gainful trading is recognized as being quite a fool.

Whenever you gather the harvest or vintage, calculate your expenses and those of all who pertain to you and include what you will put into your purse. Then, of what remains, because it was not really given to you, as was already said, but was transmitted to you for distribution among the poor, set it all aside or as much as God inspires your heart to give. The result thus will be as though you had put it in God’s hand. If, as we believe, you are willing to do this devoutly, your soul will not only be exasperated and saddened by the captives and poor who come to you but will even rejoice and be glad. With the greatest willingness you will bestow what you set aside for the necessities of the poor out of love for God, and there will be fulfilled in you the words “God loves a cheerful giver” and “He that gives to the poor shall never want.”

(Pro. 28:1-28) A bad conscience makes men timid; the righteous are alone truly bold (Pro 14:26; Psa 27:1).

(Compare Pro 11:24-26). hideth his eyes--as the face (Psa 27:9; Psa 69:17), denotes inattention.

27 He that giveth to the poor suffereth no want; But he that covereth his eyes meeteth many curses. In the first line the pronoun לּו, referring back to the subject noun, is to be supplied, as at Pro 27:7 להּ. He who gives to the poor has no want (מחסּור), for God's blessing reimburses him richly for what he bestows. He, on the other hand, who veils (מעלּים( sl, cf. the Hithpa., Isa 58:7) his eyes so as not to see the misery which calls forth compassion, or as if he did not see the misery which has a claim on his compassion; he is (becomes) rich in curses, i.e., is laden with the curses of those whose wants he cared not for; curses which, because they are deserved, change by virtue of a divine requital (vid., Sir. 4:5f.; Tob. 4:7) into all kinds of misfortunes (opp. רב־בּרכות, 20a). מארה is constructed after the form מגרה, מקרה from ארר.