Proverbs 18:11
A rich man's wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.
Sermons
Some Conditions of Weal and WoeE. Johnson Proverbs 18:10-16














I. CONSTITUTIONS OF LIFE WEAL.

1. First and foremost, religion (ver. 10) and humility (ver. 12). The Name of Jehovah stands for all that God is (the "I am"). Trust in the Eternal is the real ground of confidence for a creature so transient and frail as man. To put the same truth in another way, it is religious principle which can alone sustain the soul calm and erect amidst distress. And with true religion is ever connected humility. The knowledge of one's just position in the world is, on the whole, humbling. It is the conceit that one is greater than one really is which is so pernicious inwardly, and will prove so outwardly.

2. Competence of worldly means. (Ver. 11.) It is the worst hypocrisy and affectation to deny the good of money, even with reference to the culture of the soul. Here we have the common view of riches; they are a source of strength. Truly; but one easily exaggerated.

3. A cheerful temper. (Ver. 14.) Health is the grand elementary and all-inclusive blessing. Well! one of the main conditions of health is a merry heart, or a disposition to look on the best side of things. "I thank it, poor fool; it keeps on the windy side of care."

4. An open mind. (Ver. 15.) The intelligent heart and the ever-listening ear, - these are the great instruments or means of knowledge and wisdom. It is good to have many and large windows in the house; and to keep the soul open on all sides to the light of God.

5. Judicious liberality. (Ver. 16.) We found this lesson insisted on in Proverbs 17:8. The heathen poet said, "Gifts persuade the gods, gifts persuade dread kings." Often as the principle is made bad use of, let us recollect it has an opposite aspect, and make friends to ourselves of the "mammon of unrighteousness."

II. SOURCES OF TROUBLE.

1. Pride. (Ver. 12.) How emphatic by repetition is the warning against this inward vice (Proverbs 16:18)! Like the clouds going up the hill, portending rain, so does self-conceit prophesy sorrow.

2. Excessive eagerness. (Ver. 13.) "Condemn no one," says the Book of Jesus Sirach (Ecclus. 11:7), "before thou knowest the matter in question: know first, and then rebuke. Thou shalt not judge before thou hearest the matter; and let others speak first." Ignorance and self-conceit are ever forward; wisdom holds its strength in reserve.

3. Indulgence in depression. (Ver. 14.) "A cast down spirit who can bear?" We must remember that the ailments of the mind are strictly analogous to those of the body; and if the latter are to an indefinite degree under the control of the will, so too are the former. We must believe in the God-given power of the will, or no medicine can avail us. - J.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it and is safe.
I. EXPLAIN WHAT IS TO BE UNDERSTOOD BY "THE NAME OF THE LORD." No particular virtue or charm attaches to the sound or pronunciation of the name. In a mistaken veneration for the name the Jews refused to pronounce it at all. But a rash profanation of the name of God is unspeakably more criminal. By the name of the Lord we are to understand the Lord God Himself — His nature, as it is discovered to us in all His glorious perfection, particularly in His power and goodness to save and deliver them that put their trust in Him. Three principal ways by which God hath discovered Himself to mankind.

1. The visible creation.

2. The written Word.

3. The daily administration of His providence.

II. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN THE RIGHTEOUS RUNNING INTO THE NAME OF THE LORD AS A STRONG TOWER? The epithet "strong tower" conveys to the mind the idea of protection and defence. God's almighty providence is the surest and strongest defence against all enemies of whatever kind, let their art, their activity, their malignity be what they will.

1. Running into the name implies the lively exercise of faith both in the power and the willingness of God to protect. It is only by faith that we can go to an invisible God. Faith, in applying the power and promise of God, receives very much strength from the examples of His mercy, either towards ourselves or others. The name is recorded in every page of the history of providence.

2. The righteous "runneth into the name" by the exercise of fervent prayer. Praying is the immediate and direct means of imploring the Divine assistance and protection. Faith is the habitual principle, and prayer is the actual application of it. Though God knows all our wants perfectly, He requires that we implore His assistance by prayer. And prayer is the natural remedy to which all are ready to fly in extremity.

3. The righteous "runneth into the name" by diligence in his duty; which implies three things:(1) Diligence in all duties in general.(2) A watchful attention to his conduct in every time of trial or danger. Whether his danger arises from bodily distress, from worldly losses, from slander and reproach, the first and great care of the Christian should be to keep his conscience undefiled.(3) The diligent use of every lawful means for his protection and deliverance.(4) A renunciation of dependence on all created help. We run into the strong tower from everything else.

III. THE PERFECT SECURITY OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

1. Wherein does this safety consist? "Is safe" might be rendered "is exalted," "placed on high." God preserves them from dangers which they could not escape. They have the promise of strength and support in the time of trial. They are sure of deliverance in the end, and complete victory over all sufferings of every kind.

2. The certainty of it is based on the Divine perfections, on the faithful promises, and on the experience of the saints. Learn —

(1)The sinfulness of distrust.

(2)The remedy for distrust.

(J. Witherspoon, D. D.)

The two verses put side by side two pictures, two fortifications: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower"; that is so, whether a man thinks it or not; that is an objective truth and always true. "The rich man's wealth is his strong city," because "in his own conceit" he has made it so. So we have on the one side fact and on the other side fancy. The two pictures are worth looking at. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Now, of course, I need not remind you that "the name of the Lord," or "the name of Jesus Christ," means a great deal more than the syllables by which He is designated, which is all that we understand generally by a name. It means, to put it into far less striking words, the whole character of God, in so far as it is revealed to men. So we have to recognise in that great expression the clearest utterance of the two thoughts which have often been regarded as antagonistic, viz., the imperfection, and yet the reality, of our knowledge of God. His name is not the same as Himself, but it is that by which He is known. Our knowledge of Him, after all revelation, is incomplete, but it is His name — that is to say, it corresponds to the realities of His nature, and may be absolutely and for ever trusted. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower," which, translated into plain prose, is just this — in that revealed character there is all that shelterless, defenceless men can need for absolute security and perfect peace. We may illustrate that by considering either Him who defends or him that is defended. On the one hand, perfect wisdom, perfect love, perfect power, that endure for ever; and on the other hand, men weighed upon by sore distresses, crippled and wounded by many transgressions. These two, the defence and the defenceless, fit into each other like the seal to its impress, the convexity to the cavity. Whatever man needs, God is, and whatever dangers, dreads, pains, losses, sorrows, sins, attack humanity, in Him is the refuge for them all. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." Do you believe that; and is it an operative belief in your lives? "The righteous runneth into it"; and what is that running into it? Neither more nor less than the act of faith. One of the words of the Old Testament which is frequently translated — and rightly so — "trust," has for its literal meaning to flee to a refuge. So, says our teacher, the way to get into the fortress, and to have the solemn battlements of that Divine name round our unarmed and else shelterless weakness, is simply to trust in Him. But the word suggests the urgency and the effort that will always go with faith. "The righteous runneth into it" — not dawdles in it — "and is safe." And that takes effort and means haste. Do not put off your flight. And stop in it when you are there, by that constant communion with the name of the Lord, which will bring you tranquillity. "In Me ye shall have peace." Stay behind the strong bulwarks. But there is a formidable word in this old proverb. "The righteous runneth into it." Does not that upset all our hopes? I need not say anything about the safety, except to make one remark. The word rendered "is safe " literally means "is high." The intention, of course, is to express safety, but it expresses it in a picturesque fashion which has its bearing upon the word in the next verse, viz., it sets before us the thought that the man who has taken refuge in the strong tower goes up to the top of it by the winding staircase, and high up there the puny bows of the foe below cannot shoot an arrow that will reach him. That is a truth for faith. We have to bear the common lot of humanity, but the evil that is in the evil, the bitterness that is in the sorrow, the poison that is in the sting, all these may be taken away for us. And now I need only say a word or two about the companion picture, the illusory imagination. "The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and a high wall in his own conceit." It is very hard to have, and to be concerned about, and to use, the external good without putting our trust in it. The Bible has no foolish condemnation of wealth. And we all know, whether in regard to money, or to earthly loves, or to outward possessions and blessings of all sorts, how difficult it is to keep within the limit, not to rely upon these, and to think that if we have them we are blessed. What can we do, any of us, when real calamities come? Will wealth or anything else keep away the tears? What will prevent the sorrows, deal with the sins, or enable us to be of good cheer in the face of death and disease, and to say, "You cannot touch me"? Ah! there is but one thing that will do that for us. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower." The other man has "a high wall in his own conceit." Did you ever see the canvas fortifications at some entertainments that they put up to imitate strong castles? — canvas stretched upon bits of stick. That is the kind of strong wall that the man puts up who trusts in the uncertainty of any earthly thing, or in anything but the living God. Let us keep ourselves within the Divine limits in regard to all external things. It is hard to do it, but it can be done. And there is only one way to do it, and that is by the same act by which we take refuge in the true fortress — viz., by faith and communion. When we realise that God is our defence, then we can see through the insufficiency of the others.

(A. Maclaren, D. D.)

It is essential that man's hopes should rest on a firm basis.

I. THE NAME OF THE LORD IS A STRONG TOWER. Names have a twofold use — to distinguish and describe. Our names generally serve only to distinguish the individual. Sometimes, however, they describe as well as distinguish, and when this is the ease, their significancy is greatly increased. The name of God is descriptive; it describes the attributes of His character as revealed to us. What God is in Himself is implied in the name Jehovah, the existent. What the Almighty God is to His sinful and rebellious creatures is a matter of anxious inquiry. He is condescending, full of compassion, ready to forgive, slow to anger, yet by no means clearing the guilty. Such is the name of the Lord, which the text reminds us is a "strong tower." A tower is a place built for shelter and security. Its strength consists in the durability of the materials of which it is composed. God's name is called a strong tower, on account of the strength of the foundation on which they build who are sheltered within it.

II. THE CONDUCT OF THE RIGHTEOUS. He "runneth into it." The real Christian is the one who is earnest in the pursuit of everlasting life. He is impelled by a sense of danger. He is animated by the hope of safety.

III. THE SAFETY OF THE RIGHTEOUS WITHIN THE TOWER. He is safe from —

1. The assaults of the devil.

2. From the world.

3. From his own natural depravity.

4. From the accusations of the law.

5. From the accusations of conscience.

6. From the fear of death.

(J. R. Shurlock, M. A.)

As a strong tower was considered, under the ancient system of warfare, to be a place of entire security from harm, this text is nothing else than a figurative manner of expressing the extreme importance of putting our whole trust in God. The reasonableness of this duty will appear if we consider the Divine perfections.

1. God's unlimited power. It is proclaimed by the heavens, the work of His fingers, and by the earth, which He has suspended upon nothing. Everything declares that He is at least fully competent to our preservation and deliverance.

2. His particular providence, as displayed in the government of the universe. Even things which we are wont to regard as casual and trivial are subjected to His perpetual control.

3. His beneficence. He is ever ready to relieve and to bless. He is not only competent, He is willing to promote our good.

4. His tried and approved veracity "God is faithful, who hath promised." In our intercourse with each other, experience is the basis of confidence, of mercantile credit, and of moral character. The same principle should lead us to place confidence in God. Two remarks to guard the subject from misconception.(1) God may sometimes appear unkind, and yet be not the less deserving of our full reliance.(2) A compliance with the Divine will is an indispensable requisite to a well-grounded confidence in the Divine favour. A right trust in God includes personal exertions towards attaining the objects of our desire.

(J. Grant, M. A.)

Weekly Pulpit.
There are many war similes in the Bible.

1. Men mistake by resting satisfied with unstable and insecure bases. The sense of dependence is in every man so strong that no man can be happy quite alone, and leaning on nothing. Men try to satisfy themselves with one or other of three things.(1) Health. They assure themselves that if they were to lose all they possessed, their health and energy would enable them to make their way in the world again.(2) Friends. They say, "I have friends who are well off, and they will be sure to help me."(3) Money. "The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high wall in his own conceit." Neither of these "towers" can be safe trusting-places. Health is uncertain. Friends fail. Money takes wing. If they provide some little shelter from the common sorrows of life, they can provide none for those spiritual sorrows which are the real sorrows.

2. Men cannot be truly strong for life until they have God behind them. To know a man is to apprehend all that makes up his individuality, or to "know his name." So the " name of God" includes everything that spheres Him as God: a just apprehension of God and His relations — a true knowledge of God. To know God in covenant is a strong tower. The "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," is God known through relationships and tried by experience. That God can be our "tower." In Scripture, to know the name of any one implies familiarity and confidence; and to know God by name implies such confidence as makes Him to us a strong "tower." To do anything in the name of another is to carry with you their authority, as with the ambassador or the old prophet. The name of God is a storehouse of wealth and strength, from which all recurring needs can be supplied. Then comes the moral force needed to deal with —

1. The attacks of life.

2. The defences of life.

3. The retreats of life.Who can use this defence of God? Only the man whose purpose is to live the righteous life, and whose constant effort is to realise his purpose.

(Weekly Pulpit.)

I. CHRIST IS A STRONGHOLD, FOR AS SUCH HE HAS BEEN APPOINTED AND ORDAINED BY GOD. Wisdom.

II. CHRIST IS A STRONGHOLD, BECAUSE OF THE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION OF HIS OBEDIENCE, AND THE ENTIRE ADEQUACY OF HIS ATONEMENT. Holiness and justice.

III. CHRIST IS A STRONGHOLD, BECAUSE GOD HAS ACTUALLY ACCEPTED OF HIS VICARIOUS WORK. Faithfulness.

IV. CHRIST IS A STRONGHOLD, BECAUSE AS A KING HE HATH SAT DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND OF THE MAJESTY ON HIGH. Power.

V. THE TESTIMONY OF MEN — THOSE "WHO HAVE FLED FOR REFUGE."

(James Stewart.)

Strong towers were a greater security in a bygone age than they are now. Castles were looked upon as being very difficult places for attack; and ancient troops would rather fight a hundred battles than endure a single siege. He who owned a strong tower felt, however potent might be his adversary, his walls and bulwarks would be his sure salvation.

I. THE CHARACTER OF GOD FURNISHES THE RIGHTEOUS WITH AN ABUNDANT SECURITY. The character of God is the refuge of the Christian in opposition to other refuges which godless men have chosen; and as a matter of fact and reality. The purpose of God in our salvation is the glorifying of His own character, and this it is that makes our salvation positively sure; if every one that trusts in Christ be not saved, then is God dishonoured. His character is the great granite formation upon which must rest all the pillars of the covenant of grace, and the sure mercies thereof. His wisdom, truth, mercy, justice, power, eternity, and immutability, are the seven pillars of the house of sure salvation. This is true not only as a matter of fact but also as a matter of experience. Even when the Lord Himself chastens us, it is most blessed to appeal against God to God.

II. HOW THE RIGHTEOUS AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THIS STRONG TOWER. They run into it. They do not stop to make any preparation. And the running implies that they have nothing to carry; and that fear quickens them. When a man enters a castle, he is safe because of the impregnability of the castle, not because of the way in which he entered into the castle.

III. ENTERING THE STRONG TOWER IS A JOYOUS EXPERIENCE. For "is safe" the margin reads "is set aloft."

1. This is a matter of fact. He is safe, for who can hurt him? Who has power to reach him? What weapon is there that can be used against him?

2. This is a matter of experience. The believer in his high days (and they ought to be every day) is like an eagle perched aloft on a towering crag. Yonder is a hunter down below, who would fain strike the royal bird; he has his rifle with him, but his rifle would not reach one-third of the way. So the royal bird looks down upon him in quiet contempt, not intending even to take the trouble to stretch one of his wings, for he is quite safe, he is up aloft. Such is the faithful Christian's state before God.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

Chambers' Encyclopedia.
In the ancient Greek states certain temples afforded protection to criminals, whom it was unlawful to drag from them, although the supply of food might be intercepted. As early as the seventh century the protection of sanctuary was afforded to persons fleeing to a church or certain boundaries surrounding it. In several English churches there was a stone seat beside the altar, where those fleeing to the peace of the church were held to be guarded by its sanctity.

(Chambers' Encyclopedia.)

The name of God is his harbour, where he puts in as boldly as a man steps into his own house when taken in a shower.

(H. G. Salter.)

People
Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Conceit, Fortified, Heart, Imagination, Imagine, Man's, Property, Protecting, Rich, Strength, Strong, Thoughts, Town, Unscalable, Wall, Wealth
Outline
1. A fool delights not in understanding

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 18:11

     5503   rich, the
     5604   walls
     5907   miserliness
     6186   evil scheming
     8779   materialism, nature of

Library
Two Fortresses
'The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 11. The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit'--PROVERBS xviii. 10,11. The mere reading of these two verses shows that, contrary to the usual rule in the Book of Proverbs, they have a bearing on each other. They are intended to suggest a very strong contrast, and that contrast is even more emphatic in the original than in our translation; because, as the margin of your Bibles
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Our Stronghold
A sermon (No. 491) delivered on Lord's Day Evening, October 26th, 1862, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." {safe: Heb. set aloft}---- Proverbs 18:10. Strong towers were a greater security in a bygone age than they are now. Then, when troops of marauders invaded the land, strong castles were set upon the various hill-tops and the inhabitants gathered up their little wealth and fled thither
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Pride and Humility
A sermon (No. 97) delivered on Sabbath Morning, August 17, 1856 by C. H. Spurgeon. "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility."--Proverbs 18:12. Almost every event has its prophetic prelude. It is an old and common saying that "coming events cast their shadows before them;" the wise man teaches us the same lesson in the verse before us. When destruction walks through the land it casts its shadow; it is in the shape of pride. When honor visits a man's house it casts
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

The Cause and Cure of a Wounded Spirit
A sermon (2494) intended for reading on Lord's Day, December 6th, 1896, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Thursday Evening, April 16th, 1885. "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?"--Proverbs 18:14. Every man sooner or later has some kind of infirmity to bear. It may be that his constitution from the very first will be inclined to certain disease and pains, or possibly he may in passing through life suffer from accident
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

A Faithful Friend
A sermon (No. 120) delivered on Sabbath Morning, March 8, 1857, by C. H. Spurgeon at The Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. "There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."--Proverbs 18:24. Cicero has well said, "Friendship is the only thing in the world concerning the usefulness of which all mankind are agreed." Friendship seems as necessary an element of a comfortable existence in this world as fire or water, or even air itself. A man may drag along a miserable existence in proud solitary
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Pride and Humility
I. In the first place, we shall have something to say concerning the vice of PRIDE. "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty." Pride, what is it? Pride, where is its seat? The heart of man. And pride, what is its consequence? Destruction. 1. In the first place, I must try to describe pride to you. I might paint it as being the worst malformation of all the monstrous things in creation; it hath nothing lovely in it, nothing in proportion, but everything in disorder. It is altogether the very
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

A Faithful Friend
Friendship, however, though very pleasing and exceedingly blessed, has been the cause of the greatest misery to men when it has been unworthy and unfaithful; for just in proportion as a good friend is sweet, a false friend is full of bitterness. "A faithless friend is sharper than an adder's tooth." It is sweet to repose in some one; but O! how bitter to have that support snapped, and to receive a grievous fall as the effect of your confidence. Fidelity is an absolute necessary in a true friend;
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 3: 1857

Would that I were More Closely Bound
"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother." -- Proverbs 18:24. Would that I were more closely bound To my Beloved, who ever lives; Would that my soul were always found Abiding in the peace He gives; Would, that I might more clearly see His love an heritage for me More surely know, more meekly own, His bounteous grace my strength alone! And much I wish but I will pray For wisdom that the lowly find, -- And, O my Savior, every day, More of Thy meek and quiet mind. The comfort of a mind
Miss A. L. Waring—Hymns and Meditations

Epistle cxv. To Syagrius, Bishop of Augustodunum (Autun).
To Syagrius, Bishop of Augustodunum (Autun). Gregory to Syagrius, &c. If in secular affairs every man should have his right and his proper rank preserved to him, how much more in ecclesiastical arrangements ought no confusion to be let in; lest discord should find place there, whence the blessings of peace should proceed. And this will in this way be secured, if nothing is yielded to power but all to equity. Now it has been reported to us that our most beloved brother Ursicinus, bishop of the city
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Have Read the Letter which You in Your Wisdom have Written Me. You Inveigh against Me
I have read the letter which you in your wisdom have written me. You inveigh against me, and, though you once praised me and called me true partner and brother, you now write books to summon me to reply to the charges with which you terrify me. I see that in you are fulfilled the words of Solomon: "In the mouth of the foolish is the rod of contumely," and "A fool receives not the words of prudence, unless you say what is passing in his heart;" and the words of Isaiah: "The fool will speak folly,
Various—Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus.

Messiah Unpitied, and Without a Comforter
Reproach [Rebuke] hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. T he greatness of suffering cannot be certainly estimated by the single consideration of the immediate, apparent cause; the impression it actually makes upon the mind of the sufferer, must likewise be taken into the account. That which is a heavy trial to one person, may be much lighter to another, and, perhaps, no trial at all. And a state
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1

"And if Christ be in You, the Body is Dead Because of Sin: but the Spirit is Life Because of Righteousness. "
Rom. viii. 10.--"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin: but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law," saith our apostle, 1 Cor. xv. 56. These two concur to make man mortal, and these two are the bitter ingredients of death. Sin procured it, and the law appointed it, and God hath seen to the exact execution of that law in all ages; for what man liveth and shall not taste of death? Two only escaped the common
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Commerce
The remarkable change which we have noticed in the views of Jewish authorities, from contempt to almost affectation of manual labour, could certainly not have been arbitrary. But as we fail to discover here any religious motive, we can only account for it on the score of altered political and social circumstances. So long as the people were, at least nominally, independent, and in possession of their own land, constant engagement in a trade would probably mark an inferior social stage, and imply
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Letter xxvi. (Circa A. D. 1127) to the Same
To the Same He excuses the brevity of his letter on the ground that Lent is a time of silence; and also that on account of his profession and his ignorance he does not dare to assume the function of teaching. 1. You will, perhaps, be angry, or, to speak more gently, will wonder that in place of a longer letter which you had hoped for from me you receive this brief note. But remember what says the wise man, that there is a time for all things under the heaven; both a time to speak and a time to keep
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

How those are to be Admonished who do not Even Begin Good Things, and those who do not Finish them when Begun.
(Admonition 35.) Differently to be admonished are they who do not even begin good things, and those who in no wise complete such as they have begun. For as to those who do not even begin good things, for them the first need is, not to build up what they may wholesomely love, but to demolish that wherein they are wrongly occupied. For they will not follow the untried things they hear of, unless they first come to feel how pernicious are the things that they have tried; since neither does one desire
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Of the Character of the Unregenerate.
Ephes. ii. 1, 2. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. AMONG all the various trusts which men can repose in each other, hardly any appears to be more solemn and tremendous, than the direction of their sacred time, and especially of those hours which they spend in the exercise of public devotion.
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

"Boast not Thyself of To-Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." There are some peculiar gifts that God hath given to man in his first creation, and endued his nature with, beyond other living creatures, which being rightly ordered and improved towards the right objects, do advance the soul of man to a wonderful height of happiness, that no other sublunary creature is capable of. But by reason of man's fall into sin, these are quite disordered and turned out of
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Thou Shall Keep Him in Perfect Peace, Whose Mind is Stayed on Thee, Because He Trusteth in Thee. "
Isaiah xxvi. 3.--"Thou shall keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." All men love to have privileges above others. Every one is upon the design and search after some well-being, since Adam lost that which was true happiness. We all agree upon the general notion of it, but presently men divide in the following of particulars. Here all men are united in seeking after some good; something to satisfy their souls, and satiate their desires. Nay, but they
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

An Exhortation to Peace and Unity
[ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR] This treatise was first published in 1688, after Bunyan's death, at the end of the second edition of the Barren Fig Tree, with a black border round the title. It was continued in the third edition 1692, but was subsequently omitted, although the Barren Fig Tree was printed for the same publisher. It has been printed in every edition of Bunyan's Works. Respect for the judgment of others leads me to allow it a place in the first complete edition, although I have serious
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Directions to Awakened Sinners.
Acts ix. 6. Acts ix. 6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. THESE are the words of Saul, who also is called Paul, (Acts xiii. 9,) when he was stricken to the ground as he was going to Damascus; and any one who had looked upon him in his present circumstances and knew nothing more of him than that view, in comparison with his past life, could have given, would have imagined him one of the most miserable creatures that ever lived upon earth, and would have expected
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Mothers, Daughters, and Wives in Israel
In order accurately to understand the position of woman in Israel, it is only necessary carefully to peruse the New Testament. The picture of social life there presented gives a full view of the place which she held in private and in public life. Here we do not find that separation, so common among Orientals at all times, but a woman mingles freely with others both at home and abroad. So far from suffering under social inferiority, she takes influential and often leading part in all movements, specially
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

We Shall not be Curious in the Ranking of the Duties in which Christian Love...
We shall not be curious in the ranking of the duties in which Christian love should exercise itself. All the commandments of the second table are but branches of it: they might be reduced all to the works of righteousness and of mercy. But truly these are interwoven through other. Though mercy uses to be restricted to the showing of compassion upon men in misery, yet there is a righteousness in that mercy, and there is mercy in the most part of the acts of righteousness, as in not judging rashly,
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Concerning Baptism.
Concerning Baptism. [967] As there is one Lord, and one faith, so there is one baptism; which is not the putting away the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience before God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And this baptism is a pure and spiritual thing, to wit, the baptism of the Spirit and Fire, by which we are buried with him, that being washed and purged from our sins, we may walk in newness of life: of which the baptism of John was a figure, which was commanded for a time,
Robert Barclay—Theses Theologicae and An Apology for the True Christian Divinity

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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