สุภาษิต 25:20 วิจารณ์

This verse is the title of this latter collection of Solomon's proverbs, for he sought out and set in order many proverbs, that by them he might be still teaching the people knowledge, Ecc 12:9. Observe, 1. The proverbs were Solomon's, who was divinely inspired to deliver, for the use of the church, these wise and weighty sentences; we have had many, but still there are more. Yet herein Christ is greater than Solomon, for if we had all upon record that Christ said, and did, that was instructive, the world could not contain the books that would be written, Joh 21:25. 2. The publishers were Hezekiah's servants, who, it is likely, herein acted as his servants, being appointed by him to do this good service to the church, among other good offices that he did in the law and in the commandments, Ch2 31:21. Whether he employed the prophets in this work, as Isaiah, Hosea, or Micah, who lived in his time, or some that were trained up in the schools of the prophets, or some of the priests and Levites, to whom we find him giving a charge concerning divine things (Ch2 29:4), or (as the Jews think) his princes and ministers of state, who were more properly called his servants, is not certain; if the work was done by Eliakim, and Joah, and Shebna, it was no diminution to their character. They copied out these proverbs from the records of Solomon's reign, and published them as an appendix to the former edition of this book. It may be a piece of very good service to the church to publish other man's works that have lain hidden in obscurity, perhaps a great while. Some think they culled these out of the 3000 proverbs which Solomon spoke (Kg1 4:32), leaving out those that were physical, and that pertained to natural philosophy, and preserving such only as were divine and moral; and in this collection some observe that special regard was had to those observations which concern kings and their administration.

1. The absurdity here censured is singing songs to a heavy heart. Those that are in great sorrow are to be comforted by sympathizing with them, condoling with them, and concurring in their lamentation. If we take that method, the moving of our lips may assuage their grief (Job 16:5); but we take a wrong course with them if we think to relieve them by being merry with them, and endeavouring to make them merry; for it adds to their grief to see their friends so little concerned for them; it puts them upon ripping up the causes of their grief, and aggravating them, and makes them harden themselves in sorrow against the assaults of mirth. 2. The absurdities this is compared to are, taking away a garment from a man in cold weather, which makes him colder, and pouring vinegar upon nitre, which, like water upon lime, puts it into a ferment; so improper, so incongruous, is it to sing pleasant songs to one that is of a sorrowful spirit. Some read it in a contrary sense: As he that puts on a garment in cold weather warms the body, or as vinegar upon nitre dissolves it, so he that sings songs of comfort to a person in sorrow refreshes him and dispels his grief.

These are are also proverbs of Solomon,.... These that follow to the end of the book, as well as those which go before. Here begins a "third", some say a "fourth" part of this book. The Targum and Syriac version read, "these are also the deep proverbs of Solomon;'' and the Arabic version adds, "the exposition of which is difficult;'' which the men Hezekiah king of Judah copied out; out of the writings of Solomon; out of his three thousand proverbs, it, nay be; or out of the public records, which contained an account of his words and deeds. Who these men were is not certain; perhaps his ministers of state, Eliakim, Sheban, and Joah; or the prophets of his time, Isaiah, Micah, and Hosea: the Targum and Syriac version call them his "friends". Whoever they were, no doubt they were employed by Hezekiah; and which is recorded to his honour, that he was so careful to preserve such useful sayings, and annex them to those that were already collected and put together as above. This verse, it is likely, was written by one of the copiers. The proverbs begin in Pro 25:2.

As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather,.... Either takes it off of himself, or another person, when it would be rather more proper to put another garment on, and so is exposed to the injury of cold weather; and as vinegar upon nitre: nitre was found in Egypt, beyond Memphis, as Strabo says (p); there were two mines of nitre, which produced much, and thence it was called the Nitriotic Nome: others say, nitre has its name from Nitria, a town in Egypt (q), which gives name to the Nitrian desert, where there is a lake called Latron; from the bottom of which, that sort of nitre, called Natron, arises to the top, as is apprehended, and there, by the heat of the sun, condenses into this kind of substance (r), which will react with an acid; and so vinegar poured upon it will irritate and disturb it, cause it to react, and make a noise and a hissing. This must be understood only of this sort of nitre, of the nitre of the ancients; not of the moderns, which is no other than saltpetre; for though this will ferment with vinegar, saltpetre will not (s): nitre is dissolved by a liquid, but not any, only that which is cold, as Aristotle observes (t), as is vinegar; and therefore, with great propriety, this is joined to what goes before; so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart; rather distresses and afflicts him the more; as he cannot sing himself, he cannot bear to hear others sing; such rather should be condoled and wept with than to have songs sung to them. Some understand the words in a sense the reverse; the word rendered taketh away, in the first clause, has the signification of adorning with a garment; hence they render it, "as he that putteth on a garment (u) for ornament in cold weather, and as vinegar to nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart"; that is, as an additional garment drives away cold, and vinegar dissolves nitre, so singing songs to a heavy hearted man drives away sorrow; as in the case of Saul, such an effect had music on him, Sa1 16:21; or rather, to put on a thin garment for ornament in cold weather is as absurd and unseasonable as to put vinegar to nitre, or to a wound, as Schultens, and to sing songs to a heavy heart; all absurd. (p) Geograph. l. 17. p. 552. (q) Isidor. Origin. l. 16. c. 2. (r) Philosoph. Transact. abridged, vol. 2. p. 530. (s) Ibid. p. 532. Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. p. 1009, 1010. (t) Meteorolog. l. 4. c. 6. (u) "ornans vestem suam", Gussetins, p. 880. "ornata veste instruens"; Schultens.

Vinegar upon niter, etc. Niter took its name from the province of Nitria, where it is especially accustomed to be produced; nor does it differ much from the appearance of ammoniac salt. For just as salt is made on the seashore by the heat of the sun, hardening the sea waters into rock, which the greater force of the winds or the heat of the sea itself hurls further onto the shore, so in Nitria, where the prolonged rains of summer soak the land, there is so much heat of the star, which coagulates the very rain waters through the breadth of the sands into a stone very similar to salt or ice in appearance, but having neither any cold rigor nor salty taste. Yet according to the nature of salt, it is accustomed to harden in the heat and to flow and liquefy in cloudy weather. The inhabitants take and keep this, and where it is needed, they use it for washing. Hence the prophet says to sinning Judah, "Though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me," says the Lord God (Jer. II). It fizzes in water like living glass, and it itself dissolves, but it makes the water suitable for washing. Solomon, seeing its nature and to whom it is aptly figured, says, "Like vinegar upon lye, so is he who sings songs to a heavy heart." For if vinegar is put into lye, it immediately bubbles up, and a perverse mind, when rebuked through chastisement, or persuaded to good by the sweetness of preaching, becomes worse through correction; and from that correction, incited to the iniquity of murmuring, it should have been restrained from iniquity.

(Pro. 25:1-28) The character of these proverbs sustains the title (see Introduction). also--refers to the former part of the book. copied out--literally, "transferred," that is, from some other book to this; not given from memory.

Not only is the incongruity of songs (that is, joyful) and sadness meant, but an accession of sadness, by want of sympathy, is implied.