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This rendition of the Charles Bridges Commentary (which Spurgeon called “the best work on the Proverbs”) was created to make this excellent resource more readily available over the internet, utilizing the familiar look and helpful features of a web browser. The linking capability reduces the time required to check the plethora of cross-references found in the book, and the linked Subject Index entries enable quick jumping to the specified places within the expositions / footnotes. Also included are links to display how each Proverb has been rendered in different translations, links to see how other reputable preachers and commentators have expounded a passage, links to R.A. Torrey's cross-reference resource Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, pages for displaying each chapter in its entirety, and expanded entries in the Subject Index section (discovered because of the computer's ability to do exhaustive keyword searches; these have been placed in parentheses to make them identifiable as not a part of the original hardcopy).
This work was created from scratch using Banner of Truth printing ISBN 0 85151 088 4 (from 1987). Some mistakes in the book were discovered and corrected (a listing of which can be found here if you would like to correct your hardcopy).
Below is the Main Index page. Tapping/clicking on any number brings you to the first verse(s) of that particular chapter or to the other sections of the book (the Preface, the Conclusion, etc.). The chapter numbers are in different colors, indicating the three major divisions as set forth in the Preface. This third division is further sub-divided into lighter orange (for chapters 25-29) and darker orange (for 30-31) to distinguish between the two diffeent human authors.
The window below is an example of an Exposition page. The various buttons are pretty much self-explanitory. The “Chapter 13” button (in the center) links to a page which contains the entirety of Proverbs Chapter 13. Note that the “1” in the table below is the only verse number in black-bold font: this will be true for whichever expostion is currently selected. If the Next Verse button is pressed several times, the black-bold verse number will move from left to right across the top row (the window below is active, so this can be tried below). To jump directly to any text within a given chapter, simply tap on that particular verse number.
The window below contains a Footnote indicator in the first paragraph (see “†”). Tapping on any of these displays the footnote exactly as it appears in the book (except that the Scripture texts themselves have been added to the ones which contain cross-references). Many footnotes contain further explanitory remarks by Mr. Bridges and/or other commentators. Press the Back button of your browser to return to the exposition window. (The window below is active, so this can be tried below).
Some hints regarding losing your place upon returning:
1) When viewed on a PC, unvisited Scripture Reference links should be blue, whereas visited links should be purple. The last sentence that you read should be near the last purple link on the page (this of course assumes that you have been clicking on the links as you go – which practice we commend since this is a very valuable asset of Mr. Bridges' work). When viewed on a phone (using Edge or Chrome), visited Scripture references are red instead of purple, and visited footnote references have a red underline.
2) If you are on a PC or Laptop with a physical keyboard, using the ALT + Left-Arrow keys (rather than the Back button) will leave the mouse pointer at the exact location where you are to pick up reading. It can be well worth the effort to practice this a few times to get into the habit.
The “Chapter xx” buttons (centrally-located on each exposition page) jump to display the currently-selected chapter in its entirety (see window below). Many of the Proverbs are (seemingly) unconnected to each other, so an overall context is not a factor in understanding a particular verse. However, the first and third divisions of the Book include extended narratives – long sections of thematically connected verses – thus creating contexts (all of Chapter 5 for example is an extended narrative for sexual purity). These pages that display entire chapters can be used to view these larger contexts at a glance.
They can also be useful for those who like to devotionally read one chapter in Proverbs each day (there are thirty-one – so one for each day of the month). Mr. Bridges' expositions can be accessed from these pages by clicking on any given verse number, to help delve further into particular verses.
There are double-left (<<) and double-right (>>) arrows before and after each Chapter Number: these are for jumping backward and forward to adjacent whole chapters (see and try below).
Note: the King James version has been used on these pages to maintain consistency with the hardcover. There is a Compare Translation button on each expositional page to see how other tanslations have rendered the verses.
The default Subject Index page is “A” — click on any other letter to navigate to a different area. The current selection will have that letter in green-bold text. The Subject Index follows the pattern of the hardcopy, except that instead of listing the page numbers from the book, it lists the chapter/verses of the expositional sections (this because the page numbers no longer exist in this digital rendition). Clicking on any entry jumps you to the appropriate sentence where that particular subject is mentioned. Try it in the example below, using the BACK button to return (or use the ALT + Left-Arrow keys if you have a physical keyboard):
“Absalom referred to: 14:17.”
Note: many times the intended destination is not in Bridges' exposition, but in a particular footnote: if the immediate exposition does not mention that particular topic, click on the closest footnote indicator that you see.
(Note: if you used the ALT + Left-Arrow keys, the mouse pointer remained at the exact same spot upon returning to this window! a feature which can prove beneficial for not losing your place when reading long expositions with many footnotes).
Entries with parentheses around them are additional references that are not listed in the book. These came via the computer's ability to exaustively search text documents with key-words. For example:
In some instances Subject Index entries refer to an entire expositional section; in these cases clicking on the link displays the entire exposition. In other instances, entries refer to a paragraph, to a sentence or sentences, and/or to something contained within a footnote.
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