Bridges on Proverbs 27:1
 
 
Charles Bridges on Proverbs 27:1
 
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1.  Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. {to...: Heb. to morrow day}
 
LET the Apostle expound the wise man — “Go to now, ye that say — To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain.” Both apply the same rebuke to the boast; Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth — Whereas “ye know not what shall be on the morrow.” (James 4:13, 14.) To provide for the morrow is a scriptural duty. The husbandman, when he has reaped his harvest, sows his seed for the next. The Christian in his calling, reposing on God's Providence, walks with God. But to boast of to-morrow — “all such rejoicing is evil.” (James 4:16.) Indeed it is absurd to boast of what is not our own. To-morrow is finely described as an unknown birth. It may be in eternity. And yet the sensualist and the worldling boast, as if it was their own; and thus virtually put God out of his own world. The ungodly reckon upon being religious to-morrow, and therefore put off repentance, forsaking the world, and living for eternity, to some infinitely future day. (Acts 24:25.) Would they do this if they did not reckon upon to-morrow being given to them? Nay, do we not all naturally cherish this looking forward, which the great enemy works up into practical forgetfulness of God? Yet we must not live as if to-morrow would not come. Else would the world be in a state of stagnation. The present duties of the day would be absorbed in the instant preparation for the coming eternity. But we start from death when he enters our houses, as if we did not expect him. How little do we die daily! (1 Corinthians 15:31.) We can even coolly calculate upon the death of others for our own benefit. Our intense anxiety about earthly, and apathy about heavenly things, speak but too plainly. The young look to the middle age; the more advanced to the last stage of life. All, in contradiction to their avowed profession, boast themselves of to-morrow.
How awfully has this boasting been put to shame! In the days of Noah, “they married wives, and were given in marriage, until the very day when the flood came, and destroyed them all.” Abner promised a kingdom, but could not ensure his life for an hour. Haman plumed himself upon the prospect of the queen's banquet, but was hanged like a dog before night. The fool's soul was required of him “on the very night” of his worldly projects “for many years” to come. ‘Serious affairs to-morrow’ — was the laughing reply of Archias, warned of a conspiracy which hurried him into eternity the next hour. The infidel Gibbon calculated upon fifteen years of life, and died within a few months, at a day's warning. We know not what a day may bring forth.
How natural is it for the young to be looking for to-morrow's prospect! But have you never seen the lovely flower cropped, or faded in the blossom? Is not the robust, as well as the feeble, frame cut down in the prime? (Job 21:23.) Have you a lease of your life? If there be a promise of forgiveness to the repenting, where is the promise of to-morrow for repentance? Will consideration naturally come with years? Or will not rather long-protracted habits of ungodliness harden into a second nature? What if in the midst of thy boasting, flattering thyself that thou shouldst see another and another day — thou shouldst be surprised, unprepared, and be left to lament for ever thy presumption in the lake of everlasting fire! Stop — consider — weep — pray — believe — now — while conscience speaks; while thou art halting between God and the world, between conviction and inclination. Now in this “accepted time” devote thyself to God. Enthrone the Savior in thine heart.
The universe does not present a more affecting sight than an aged sinner, with one foot in the grave, losing all in the world, infinitely more in eternity. A moment, and he is gone. Heaven and hell are no trifles. To-morrow presumed upon, to-day neglected, ruins all. Standing on the brink of the precipice — how precious the moment for prayer — ere the door of mercy is closed for ever!
Has the child of God reason to boast of to-morrow? What a change may it make in your worldly circumstances (Job 1:21), or Christian experience? (Psalm 30:7.) Never will you feel more secure, than in the consciousness that you have no security for a single hour. Divide your cares with God. Rest all in his bosom. (Ib. 37:4.) Let disappointment prepare you for your heavenly rest, and bound all your wishes and pleasures by his gracious will. (James 4:15.) But have you no need of warning? How speaks the too full current of affections towards earthly enjoyment? Did you practically believe that “the time is short, and the fashion of this world passeth away,” would you not “rejoice, as though you rejoiced not”? (1 Corinthians 7:29-32.) Would pleasures of earth be so highly prized, if there was no secret dependence on to-morrow? Surely this thought may more than sustain in the loss of them — The shadow only is gone — the body of my happiness remains immovable. To see things temporal, as if we “looked not at them,” is the life of spiritual religion. (2 Corinthians 4:18.) To remember ‘this world as the grand laboratory for perfecting of souls for the next’ to have “our loins girt about” for our Lord's coming; to live, as not to be surprised by the call, and in readiness to “open to him immediately” — this is our secret and our happiness. “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching.” (Luke 12:37.)
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
James 4:13, 14
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. {It...: or, For it is}
 
 
Footnote:
Chapter 6:6-8; 10:5; 24:27. Compare Genesis 41:35. Acts 11:28, 29.
 

 
Proverbs 6:6-8
6 ¶ Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: 7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, 8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
 
Proverbs 10:5
5 ¶ He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
 
Proverbs 24:27
27 ¶ Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.
 
Compare
Genesis 41:35
35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.
 
Acts 11:28, 29
28 And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea:
 
 
James 4:16
16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
 
 
Footnote:
Isaiah 56:12. Luke 12:16-19.
 

 
Isaiah 56:12
12 Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
 
Luke 12:16-19
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
 
 
Acts 24:25
25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
 
 
1 Corinthians 15:31
31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. {your: some read, our}
 
 
Footnote:
Luke 17:26-29
 

 
Luke 17:26-29
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
 
 
Footnote:
2 Samuel 3:9, 10, 27
 

 
2 Samuel 3:9, 10, 27
9 So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the LORD hath sworn to David, even so I do to him; 10 To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba. 27 And when Abner was returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gate to speak with him quietly, and smote him there under the fifth rib, that he died, for the blood of Asahel his brother. {quietly: or, peaceably}
 
 
Footnote:
Esther 5:12; 7:1-10.
 

 
Esther 5:12
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself; and to morrow am I invited unto her also with the king.
 
Esther 7:1-10
1 ¶ So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. {to banquet: Heb. to drink} 2 And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee: and what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of the kingdom. 3 Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: 4 For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage. {to be destroyed...: Heb. that they should destroy, and kill, and cause to perish} 5 Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? {that...: Heb. whose heart hath filled him} 6 And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. {The adversary: Heb. The man adversary} {before: or, at the presence of} 7 ¶ And the king arising from the banquet of wine in his wrath went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king. 8 Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. {before me: Heb. with me} 9 And Harbonah, one of the chamberlains, said before the king, Behold also, the gallows fifty cubits high, which Haman had made for Mordecai, who had spoken good for the king, standeth in the house of Haman. Then the king said, Hang him thereon. {gallows: Heb. tree} 10 So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Footnote:
Luke 12:19, 20.
 

 
Luke 12:19, 20
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? {thy...: Gr. do they require thy soul}
 
 
Footnote:
Rollin's Ancient History. Book 12.
 
 
Job 21:23
23 One dieth in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. {his...: Heb. his very, or, the strength of, his perfection}
 
 
Footnote:
Matthew 24:48-51; 25:10-12. Luke 13:25. Compare Ecclesiasticus 5:7.
 

 
Matthew 24:48-51
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. {cut...: or, cut him off}
 
Matthew 25:10-12
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
 
Luke 13:25
25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
 
Compare
Ecclesiasticus 5:7
7 Make no tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day: for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of vengeance.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Job 1:21
21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
 
 
Psalm 30:7
7 LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. {made...: Heb. settled strength for my mountain}
 
 
Psalm 37:4
4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
 
 
James 4:15
15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
 
 
1 Corinthians 7:29-32
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; 30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; 31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away. 32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: {that belong...: Gr. of the Lord}
 
 
2 Corinthians 4:18
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
 
 
Footnote:
Sir M. Hale.
 
 
Luke 12:37
37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.