Proverbs 15:14

15:14. A wise man seeks to gain more wisdom, growing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. But a carnal mind rests contented, flattering itself. 15. Some are much in affliction, and of a sorrowful spirit. Such are to be pitied, prayed for, and comforted. And others serve God with gladness of heart, and it prompts their obedience, yet they should rejoice with trembling.

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge,.... He that has in his heart an understanding of divine and spiritual things, of the Gospel and of the truths of it, will seek earnestly and diligently in the use of proper means after more knowledge; as he will desire to know more of Christ, his person, offices, and grace, he will follow on to know him, and not be content with the present degree of knowledge he has attained unto; he will hear and read the word, and pray and meditate, in order to come to a more perfect knowledge of the son of God, and of those things which relate to his spiritual peace and eternal welfare; but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness; on foolish talking and jesting; on foolish and unlearned questions; on foolish and false doctrines; on foolish and hurtful lusts; on wind and ashes, a deceived heart having turned them aside: they take pleasure and satisfaction in those things; feed their fancy with them and feast upon them, which shows what fools they are; and such all unregenerate men be.

Verse 14. - The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge ( Proverbs 18:15 ). The wise man knows that he knows nothing, and is always seeking to learn more. Σοφία γάρ ἐστι καὶ μαθεῖν ο} μὴ νοεῖς "To learn what thou hast never thought is wisdom." The mouth of fools. Another reading, is "the face of fools;" but the former is more suitable to what follows. Feedeth on foolishness. So the Vulgate and Septuagint, "The mouth of the undisciplined knoweth evil." The fool is always gaping and devouring every silly, or slanderous, or wicked word that comes in his way, and in his turn utters and disseminates it. Proverbs 15:14

14 The heart of the understanding seeketh after knowledge, And the mouth of fools practiseth folly. Luther interprets רעה as metaphor. for to govern, but with such ethical conceptions it is metaphor. for to be urgently circumspect about anything (vid., Proverbs 13:20), like Arab. ra'y and r'âyt, intentional, careful, concern about anything. No right translation can be made of the Chethib פני, which Schultens, Hitzig, Ewald, and Zckler prefer; the predicate can go before the פּני, after the Semitic rule in the fem. of the sing., 2 Samuel 10:9, cf. Job 16:16, Chethib, but cannot follow in the masc. of the sing.; besides, the operations of his look and aspect are ascribed to his face, but not spiritual functions as here, much more to the mouth, i.e., to the spirit speaking through it. The heart is within a man, and the mouth without; and while the former gives and takes, the latter is always only giving out. In Proverbs 18:15, where a synonymous distich is formed from the antithetic distich, the ear, as hearing, is mentioned along with the heart as appropriating. נבון is not an adj., but is gen., like צדיק, 28a (opp. ופי). חכם, Proverbs 16:23. The φιλοσοφία of the understanding is placed over against the μωρολογία of the fools. The lxx translates καρδία ὀρθὴ ζητεῖ αἲσθησιν (cf. Proverbs 14:10, καρδία ἀδρὸς αἰσθητική); it uses this word after the Hellenistic usus loq. for דעת, of experimental knowledge.

Proverbs 15:14 Their hearts are set upon wickedness, which is meat and drink to them. ## Proverbs 15:15 Of the afflicted; of the troubled in mind or heart, as this general expression may very fitly be restrained from the following clause. ## Are evil; tedious and uncomfortable; he takes no content in any time or thing. ## Of a merry heart, Heb. of a good heart , i.e. composed, and quiet, and contented. ## Hath a continual feast; hath constant satisfaction and delight in all conditions, yea, even in affliction. ## Proverbs 15:16 The fear of the Lord, which gives a man tranquillity and comfort in what he hath. ## Trouble; tumultuous lusts and passions, vexatious cares and fears, horrors of conscience, and expectation of God’s curse and judgment, which riches gotten without God’s fear do commonly produce. ## Proverbs 15:17 Love; true friendship and kindness between those that eat together. ## Proverbs 15:18 Stirreth up strife, because he is very apt both to give and to take all occasions of contention. ## Proverbs 15:19 The way of the slothful man, the way in which he doth or ought to walk, any good work which he pretends or desires to undertake, ## is as an hedge of thorns; as a way hedged up with thorns, as it is expressed, Hos_2:6, troublesome and perplexed, and full, of such difficulties as he despaireth, and therefore never striveth, to overcome.

And as both were given to infants, who had no intelligent acts of sin, it can only be explained by their having a sin of nature. 9th. Scripture Proofs. We have seen how the Bible asserts a universal sinfulness in practice, and how it sustained us in tracing that universal sin up to its source in a sin of nature. We close with a few specimens of other texts, which expressly assert original sin. Job 14:4; 15:14-16; Proverbs 22:15; Psalms 51:5; Ephesians 2:3. The evasions to which the deniers of Original Sin are forced to resort, to escape these categorical assertions, are too numerous and contradictory to be recited or answered here. Let these texts be carefully studded in their scope and connection. One of these I will notice: It has been objected that the innocence of children seems to be asserted in such places as Psalms 106:38; Jonah 4:11; John 9:3; Romans 9:11; I explain, that this is only a relative innocence. The sacred writers here recognize their freedom from the guilt of all actual transgression, and their harmlessness towards their fellow men during this helpless age. This, together with their engaging simplicity, dependence, and infantile graces, has made them types of innocence in all languages. And this is all the Scriptures mean. Imputation Defined.

[Reformed Biblical] unto counsel is wise. The fool's conceit hinders his wisdom. (Job, xi. 12.) 1 discou- raging case! (Chap. xxvi. 12.) His way is right in his own eyes. (Chap. xvi. 2.) He needs no direction, asks no counsel, is stubborn in his own way, because it is his own (Judg. ii. 19), and follows it to his own ruin. His chief danger is his security. (Deut. xxix. 19.) There may be no flagrant sin, nothing that degrades him below the level of his respect- able neighbour. He has no doubt of heaven. Instead of the way being so narrow, that few find it (Matt. vii. 14); in his view it is so easy of access, that few miss it. Thus all his religion is self-delusion. (Chap. xiv. 12.) 0 my God! save me from myself--from my own self-deceitfulness. What a proof of wisdom is a teachable spirit! What an excellent means of increasing it! (Chap. i. 5.) Was not Moses wiser for heark- ening to Jethro's counsel (Exod. xviii. 14-24); and David for listening to the restraining advice of Abigail? (1 Sam. xxv. 23-32.) How precious then to the child of God is the office of the Divine Counsellor! (Isa. ix. 6.) How wise the reverential faith, that hearkens to his counsel! Whom does he ever disappoint? Whom does he "upbraid?" (Jam. i. 5.) 16. A fool's wrath is presently (in that day, marg.) known: but a prudent man covereth shame. Let the tongue be ever under discipline. An unbridled tongue is the proof of an unrenewed heart. (Ib. ver. 26; iii.2.) But specially never let it be loose in a moment of wrath. How readily is the fool known by his wrath! He has no command of himself