Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Proverbs 31:6

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Proverbs 31:6. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish — We have already seen, that inebriating drinks were mercifully given to condemned criminals, to render them less sensible of the torture they endured in dying. This is what was offered to our Lord; but he refused it. Psalms 104:15.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

A mother’s advice to a king (31:1-9)

King Lemuel was probably a non-Israelite from a neighbouring nation, but his mother appears to have been a God-fearing woman who vowed her son to God (31:1-2). The main desire of some kings was to get themselves as much pleasure as possible, chiefly through women and wine. Lemuel is warned that such interests distract a king from his proper duties and result in lawlessness and injustice (3-5). Strong drink deadens pain and dulls the mind. Therefore, among the people who seek after it are those whose distress is so great that life seems to have no more hope for them. The king should not seek after it, for he must have a clear mind at all times, so that he can judge with justice and defend the downtrodden (6-9).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE WORDS OF LEMUEL

“What, my son? and what, O son of my womb? And what, O son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, Nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; Nor for princes to say, Where is strong drink? Lest they drink, and forget the law, And pervert the justice that is due to any that are afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, And wine unto the bitter in soul: Let him drink, and forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open thy mouth for the dumb, In the cause of all such that are left desolate. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, And minister justice to the poor and needy.”

“O son of my vows” This suggests that, He was given to his mother in response to her vows, as was Samuel (1 Samuel 1:11).

“Give not thy strength unto women” The parallel line suggests that failure to heed this warning is indeed the “way that destroys kings.”

“It is not for kings… it is not for kings to drink wine” This is not a double warning against “excessive drinking” of wine, but against “drinking wine.” Furthermore, the warning is just as valid for private citizens as it is for kings and for everyone else who is not “ready to perish.”

Drinking alcoholic beverages, “Opens all the sanctuaries of nature, exposes all its weakness and follies, multiplies sins and uncovers the nakedness of both soul and body. It takes a man’s soul into imprisonment more than any other vice, completely disarming a man of his reason and wisdom. More and more, those who thus indulge become less and less a man and more and more a fool!”The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 598.

“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish” The proper use of alcohol appears here. In the Bible, “Alcohol is considered to have its proper use, not as an intoxicating drink, but for medicinal and restorative purposes (1 Timothy 5:23).”Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1971), Vol. 5, p. 97.

Fritsch in the Interpreter’s Bible wrote, “These words deprecate overindulgence”;The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 4, p. 954. but Harris wrote more wisely, “This is not an allowance of moderate drinking, as Fritsch suggests. It recommends alcohol as a drug.”Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 582. “Upon the basis of this proverb, the noble women of Jerusalem gave a potion of strong drink to malefactors condemned to death, a potion which Jesus refused (Mark 15:23).”Delitzsch in C. F. Keil, Keil-Delitzsch’s Old Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company), Vol. 6b, p. 322.

These nine verses taken as a whole are primarily concerned, on the part of Lemuel’s mother, that her son should avoid the pitfalls of sex and liquor. After all, as Harris said, “Wine, women and song are the old debasing trio”;Wycliffe Old Testament Commentary, p. 582 and if one wishes to stay innocent in this regard, it is not nearly enough to “quit singing”!

There follows next in this final chapter an acrostic, “An alphabetical poem on the Virtuous Woman; and the alphabet here is regular, unlike the acrostics in Lamentations and Psalms 119, where minor reversals of certain letters and a few other irregularities are found. The most important thing to remember about these alphabetical portions of the Bible, is that according to recently discovered Ugarit writings using this format during the fifteenth century B.C., alphabetical writings are no longer any evidence whatever of a late date.”Ibid.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The true purpose of the power of wine over man’s mind and body, as a restorative and remedial agent. Compare the margin reference. The same thought showed itself in the Jewish practice of giving a cup of wine to mourners, and (as in the history of the crucifixion) to criminals at their execution.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Chapter 31

Now the thirty-first proverb are,

The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him ( Proverbs 31:1 ).

So these are really the words of King Lemuel's mother unto him. The advice of a godly mother to her prince son who one day is to reign over the people. There are those who think that Lemuel is indeed Solomon, and that these are the words of Bathsheba unto Solomon. Whether or not that is so is a matter of argument among the theologians, of which I have no desire to enter into. "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him."

What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows? Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroys kings. For it is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; or for princes strong drink ( Proverbs 31:2-4 ):

Now in the scriptures, in the New Testament we find that wine was forbidden for a man who was an overseer in the church. "If any man desires the office of the bishop or an overseer, he desires a good thing. But he's not to be given to wine, no striker. Taking care of his own family," and so foRuth ( 1 Timothy 3:1 , 1 Timothy 3:4 ). So wine was prohibited for any person who has a position of leadership in overseeing in the church. Here we are told that wine is not for kings. Anyone in the ruling capacity. Why? Because God doesn't want your mind to be colored by any kind of a false stimulant. He doesn't want anything to cloud your judgment. He wants your mind to be perfectly clear.

God doesn't really want to communicate with a foggy mind. It's hard to communicate with people who come to you and who are on drugs or who are, say, drunk. You know that they don't know what they're really saying. You know that they don't really mean. You don't really know who you're talking to. You're not dealing with the real person. And to try to counsel them is futility, because you're not really dealing with the true issues and with the real person until their mind is totally clear.

I love having a clear mind. I love having a mind that is not under the influence of any outside kind of a stimulant or force or whatever. I love being able to think clearly. I can't understand why a person would want to fog up their mind or alter their conscious state. I love so much the clear ability to reason, to think, to see things clearly. I don't want to fog up my mind and perhaps destroy my ability of judgment. So as the king, wine wasn't for the king because it has the possible altered conscious state. The same was for the bishop, the overseer in the church. The same was true for the priest in the Old Testament when he offered sacrifices before the Lord. He wasn't to drink wine lest he be serving God under some kind of a false fire, a false stimulant. Aaron's sons were destroyed because of the false fire that they offered unto God, strange fire that they offered. And God doesn't want strange fire.

So these things are spoken, the mother was speaking to Lemuel and said, "Hey, wine isn't for kings or strong drink for princes."

Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted ( Proverbs 31:5 ).

Lest through your drinking your state of consciousness is altered and you are not clear in the judgment that you make.

Give strong drink to him who is ready to die, and wine unto those who are of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more. But open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and the needy ( Proverbs 31:6-9 ).

So the exhortation of Lemuel's mother to him as he is to be a king over his judgment and in the responsibility that will be his in offering and in giving judgment.

Now who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies ( Proverbs 31:10 ).

So it is possible that at this point, if indeed this is Solomon, and Bathsheba's talking to him, it would with all of his wives, it would be interesting if he had found a virtuous woman among them. "Her price is far above rubies." Her description.

The heart of her husband does safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil ( Proverbs 31:11 ).

You just can trust your wife completely. It's so glorious to have a wife that you can have total trust in. You don't have to be suspicious. You don't have to be questioning. But you can just have that total confidence that they are true, that they are pure, that they are honest. Virtuous woman. Price is above far above rubies.

She will do him good and not evil all of his days. She seeks wool, and flax, works willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; in that she brings her food from afar ( Proverbs 31:12-14 ).

She shops the ads, gets the best buys from the various markets.

She rises up also while it is yet night, and gives meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens ( Proverbs 31:15 ).

Industrious.

She considers a field, and buys it: with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She girds her loins with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night ( Proverbs 31:16-18 ).

I mean, she is just a very industrious woman indeed.

She lays her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: all of her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land ( Proverbs 31:19-23 ).

Now the gates were an important place of a city, for the gates were the place of judgment. When persons had any kind of business to transact, legal business and all, they would always come into the gates of the city, and the men who sat in the gates of the city were the renowned men of the city and they would come to them for judgments. Her husband is known in the gates. He sits along the elders of the land.

She makes fine linen, and sells it; and delivers girdles to the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain: but a woman that reverences the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates ( Proverbs 31:24-31 ).

What a beautiful, beautiful tribute to the woman. To the truly beautiful woman. The one that God honors because she honors God. Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband praises her. Guys, aren't we lucky that all of us have found these beautiful women? How thankful we are to God for our wives. What a blessing they are to us. What a value. What a joy. What an asset. You couldn't buy her with rubies. Her value is far above them. What an asset they are to the husband, to the family and to God. Thank God for a virtuous wife. Over and over I thank God for Kay and what she means to me and what she means to our family. How privileged. And each one of you men, as you think of that wife that God has given to you, a precious jewel indeed.

We are told in the scriptures, cherish her, nourish her, love her, even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. Thank God. What a beautiful picture we have here.

But this verse, for you young ladies, "Favor is deceitful, beauty is vain." Some of you are bemoaning the fact, "Oh, I'm not beautiful." It seems like there are very, very, very few women who are satisfied with their looks. Most women think of themselves as rather ugly. Most women have a low self-esteem. Very, very few women. There are some but they are rare who really think that they are beautiful, and those that think they are beautiful are usually odious. They're hard to be around. They're intolerable. A woman who really thinks she's beautiful. You don't want her. You'll never be able to keep her up. But the true beauty.

So don't worry if God hasn't put the perfect face on you, because beauty is deceitful, favor is deceitful, beauty is vain. It's empty. And it's so true. You listen to some of these Hollywood beauties and what's more empty than the head of a Hollywood beauty queen? Some of those that primp and think they're so beautiful and are posing constantly. But you listen to their words and they just express the empty head. They never had to think. You see, everybody is always flattering them and all. And they've never had to really develop character. And they're about as shallow as you can be. You just listen to them talk and you find out how empty and shallow they are. They've never seen any need for developing character. Beauty is vain.

But a woman who really reverences the Lord, a woman who lives a godly life. A woman who loves the Lord. There's nothing more beautiful in all of the world than a woman who is righteous and loves God. Oh, how beautiful. That's true beauty. You see that woman who is relating to God, the beautiful life is the one that is in the right relationship with the Lord. "The woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised."

You guys that are looking for a gal, don't look for the pretty face. You're liable to find an empty head. Look for the one who knows how to pray. Look for the one who is interested in the things of the Lord. Look for that one who is seeking God and seeking her life to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. You'll have a wife that will be true and faithful and loving and glorious all of your life. You'll be happy. She is the one that you're really wanting. She shall be praised. But you know, God is so good that God makes them to look more beautiful to us than anybody else anyhow. That's just God's little plus benefit.

Father, we thank You for the wisdom, the instruction, the knowledge that You have given to us even in these little pithy sayings and in the proverbs. We thank You, Lord, that we can learn how to live through Thy Word. What to seek and what to shun. And help us, Lord, to seek Thee. Thy kingdom, Thy righteousness above everything else. Now Lord, hide away in our heart these truths. And may they become the guiding principles of our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

VII. COLLECTION 7: THE WISDOM OF LEMUEL CH. 31

Some commentators have regarded only the first nine verses of this chapter as Lemuel’s writing. One reason for this is that the Septuagint translators separated Proverbs 31:1-9 from Proverbs 31:10-31 by five chapters (chs. 25-29). However, the Hebrew text implies that Lemuel wrote the whole chapter since it connects these two sections.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

B. The wise king 31:2-9

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Her counsel was that it is not wise for a king to make himself dependent on women (Proverbs 31:3) or wine (Proverbs 31:4-7).

"David’s lust for Bathsheba made him callous toward justice and cost Uriah his life, and Solomon’s many sexual partners made him callous toward pure and undefiled religion and incapable of real love. In other words, obsession with women has the same effect as obsession with liquor (Proverbs 31:5)." [Note: Waltke, The Book . . . 31, p. 507.]

The advice in Proverbs 31:6-7 is probably sarcastic, to point out the uselessness of intoxicants. [Note: Ibid., pp. 508-9.] Positively, a king should uphold justice, especially for those whom other people might take advantage of (Proverbs 31:8-9).

"It is the responsibility of the king to champion the rights of the poor and the needy, those who are left desolate by the cruelties of life (see 2 Samuel 14:4-11; 1 Kings 3:16-28; Psalms 45:3-5; Psalms 72:4; Isaiah 9:6-7)." [Note: Ross, p. 1128.]

"I think Proverbs 31:6-7 are spoken in irony and not as a commandment, because nobody’s problems are solved by forgetting them, and who wants to spend his or her last minutes of life on earth drunk? [cf. Matthew 27:33-34]." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 149.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish,.... Thou, O Lemuel, and other kings and judges, rather than drink strong drink yourselves, least to excess; give it out of your great abundance and liberality to poor persons in starving circumstances, who must perish, unless relieved; it will do them good, moderately used; and should they drink too freely, which they ought not, yet it would not be attended with such bad consequences as if kings and princes should;

and wine to those that be of heavy heart; of melancholy dispositions, under gloomy apprehensions of things; pressed with the weight of their affliction and poverty: or, "bitter in soul" i; such as God has dealt bitterly with, as Naomi says was her case, and therefore called her own name Marah, which signifies bitter; of such a sorrowful spirit, and one thus bitter in soul, was Hannah; and so Job, and others; persons in great affliction and distress, to whom life itself is bitter; see Ruth 1:20; now wine to such is very exhilarating and cheering; see Judges 9:13.

i למרי נפש "his qui amaro sunt animo", V. L. Pagninus, Tigurine version: "amaris animo", Montanus, Junius Tremellius "amaris animus", Vatablus, Piscator.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.   2 What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?   3 Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.   4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:   5 Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.   6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.   7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.   8 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.   9 Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

      Most interpreters are of opinion that Lemuel is Solomon; the name signifies one that is for God, or devoted to God; and so it agrees well enough with that honourable name which, by divine appointment, was given to Solomon ( 2 Samuel 12:25), Jedediah--beloved of the Lord. Lemuel is supposed to be a pretty, fond, endearing name, by which his mother used to call him; and so much did he value himself upon the interest he had in his mother's affections that he was not ashamed to call himself by it. One would the rather incline to think it is Solomon that here tells us what his mother taught him because he tells us (Proverbs 4:4; Proverbs 4:4) what his father taught him. But some think (and the conjecture is not improbable) that Lemuel was a prince of some neighbouring country, whose mother was a daughter of Israel, perhaps of the house of David, and taught him these good lessons. Note, 1. It is the duty of mothers, as well as fathers, to teach their children what is good, that they may do it, and what is evil, that they may avoid it; when they are young and tender they are most under the mother's eye, and she has then an opportunity of moulding and fashioning their minds well, which she ought not to let slip. 2. Even kings must be catechised; the greatest of men is less than the least of the ordinances of God. 3. Those that have grown up to maturity should often call to mind, and make mention of, the good instructions they received when they were children, for their own admonition, the edification of others, and the honour of those who were the guides of their youth.

      Now, in this mother's (this queen mother's) catechism, observe,

      I. Her expostulation with the young prince, by which she lays hold of him, claims an interest in him, and awakens his attention to what she is about to say (Proverbs 31:2; Proverbs 31:2): "What! my son? What shall I say to thee?" She speaks as one considering what advice to give him, and choosing out words to reason with him; so full of concern is she for his welfare! Or, What is it that thou doest? It seems to be a chiding question. She observed, when he was young, that he was too much inclined to women and wine, and therefore she found it necessary to take him to task and deal roundly with him. "What! my son? Is this the course of life thou intendest to lead? Have I taught thee no better than thus? I must reprove thee, and reprove thee sharply, and thou must take it well, for," 1. "Thou art descended from me; thou art the son of my womb, and therefore what I say comes from the authority and affection of a parent and cannot be suspected to come from any ill-will. Thou art a piece of myself. I bore thee with sorrow, and I expect no other return for all the pains I have taken with thee, and undergone for thee, than this, Be wise and good, and then I am well paid." 2. "Thou art devoted to my God; thou art the son of my vows, the son I prayed to God to give me and promised to give back to God, and did so" (thus Samuel was the son of Hannah's vows); "Thou art the son I have often prayed to God to give his grace to (Psalms 72:1), and shall a child of so many prayers miscarry? And shall all my hopes concerning thee be disappointed?" Our children that by baptism are dedicated to God, for whom and in whose name we covenanted with God, may well be called the children of our vows; and, as this may be made a good plea with God in our prayers for them, so it may be made a good plea with them in the instructions we give them; we may tell them they are baptized, are the children of our vows, and it is at their peril if they break those bonds in sunder which in their infancy they were solemnly brought under.

      II. The caution she gives him against those two destroying sins of uncleanness and drunkenness, which, if he allowed himself in them, would certainly be his ruin. 1. Against uncleanness (Proverbs 31:3; Proverbs 31:3): Give not thy strength unto women, unto strange women. He must not be soft and effeminate, nor spend that time in a vain conversation with the ladies which should be spent in getting knowledge and despatching business, nor employ that wit (which is the strength of the soul) in courting and complimenting them which he should employ about the affairs of his government. "Especially shun all adultery, fornication, and lasciviousness, which waste the strength of the body, and bring into it dangerous diseases. Give not thy ways, thy affections, thy conversation, to that which destroys kings, which has destroyed many, which gave such a shock to the kingdom even of David himself, in the matter of Uriah. Let the sufferings of others be thy warnings." It lessens the honour of kings and makes them mean. Are those fit to govern others that are themselves slaves to their own lusts? It makes them unfit for business, and fills their court with the basest and worst of animals. Kings lie exposed to temptations of this kind, having wherewith both to please the humours and to bear the charges of the sin, and therefore they ought to double their guard; and, if they would preserve their people from the unclean spirit, they must themselves be patterns of purity. Meaner people may also apply it to themselves. Let none give their strength to that which destroys souls. 2. Against drunkenness, Proverbs 31:4; Proverbs 31:5. He must not drink wine or strong drink to excess; he must never sit to drink, as they used to do in the day of their king, when the princes made him sick with bottles of wine,Hosea 7:7. Whatever temptation he might be in from the excellency of the wine, or the charms of the company, he must deny himself, and be strictly sober, considering, (1.) The indecency of drunkenness in a king. However some may call it a fashionable accomplishment and entertainment, it is not for kings, O Lemuel! it is not for kings, to allow themselves that liberty; it is a disparagement to their dignity, and profanes their crown, by confusing the head that wears it; that which for the time unmans them does for the time unking them. Shall we say, They are gods? No, they are worse than the beasts that perish. All Christians are made to our God kings and priests, and must apply this to themselves. It is not for Christians, it is not for Christians, to drink to excess; they debase themselves if they do; it ill becomes the heirs of the kingdom and the spiritual priests, Leviticus 10:9. (2.) The ill consequences of it (Proverbs 31:5; Proverbs 31:5): Lest they drink away their understandings and memories, drink and forget the law by which they are to govern; and so, instead of doing good with their power, do hurt with it, and pervert or alter the judgment of all the sons of affliction, and, when they should right them, wrong them, and add to their affliction. It is a sad complaint which is made of the priests and prophets (Isaiah 28:7), that they have erred through wine, and through strong drink they are out of the way; and the effect is as bad in kings, who when they are drunk, or intoxicated with the love of wine, cannot but stumble in judgment. Judges must have clear heads, which those cannot have who so often make themselves giddy, and incapacitate themselves to judge of the most common things.

      III. The counsel she gives him to do good. 1. He must do good with his wealth. Great men must not think that they have their abundance only that out of it they may made provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts of it, and may the more freely indulge their own genius; no, but that with it they may relieve such as are in distress, Proverbs 31:6; Proverbs 31:7. "Thou hast wine or strong drink at command; instead of doing thyself hurt with it, do others good with it; let those have it that need it." Those that have wherewithal must not only give bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty, but they must give strong drink to him that is ready to perish through sickness or pain and wine to those that are melancholy and of heavy heart; for it was appointed to cheer and revive the spirits, and make glad the heart (as it does where there is need of it), not to burden and oppress the spirits, as it does where there is no need of it. We must deny ourselves in the gratifications of sense, that we may have to spare for the relief of the miseries of others, and be glad to see our superfluities and dainties better bestowed upon those whom they will be a real kindness to than upon ourselves whom they will be a real injury to. Let those that are ready to perish drink soberly, and it will be a means so to revive their drooping spirits that they will forget their poverty for the time and remember their misery no more, and so they will be the better able to bear it. The Jews say that upon this was grounded the practice of giving a stupifying drink to condemned prisoners when they were going to execution, as they did to our Saviour. But the scope of the place is to show that wine is a cordial, and therefore to be used for want and not for wantonness, by those only that need cordials, as Timothy, who is advised to drink a little wine, only for his stomach's sake and his often infirmities,1 Timothy 5:23. 2. He must do good with his power, his knowledge, and interest, must administer justice with care, courage, and compassion, Proverbs 31:8; Proverbs 31:9. (1.) He must himself take cognizance of the causes his subjects have depending in his courts, and inspect what his judges and officers do, that he may support those that do their duty, and lay those aside that neglect it or are partial. (2.) He must, in all matters that come before him, judge righteously, and, without fear of the face of man, boldly pass sentence according to equity: Open thy mouth, which denotes the liberty of speech that princes and judges ought to use in passing sentence. Some observe that only wise men open their mouths, for fools have their mouths always open, are full of words. (3.) He must especially look upon himself as obliged to be the patron of oppressed innocency. The inferior magistrates perhaps had not zeal and tenderness enough to plead the cause of the poor and needy; therefore the king himself must interpose, and appear as an advocate, [1.] For those that were unjustly charged with capital crimes, as Naboth was, that were appointed to destruction, to gratify the malice either of a particular person or of a party. It is a case which it well befits a king to appear in, for the preserving of innocent blood. [2.] For those that had actions unjustly brought against them, to defraud them of their right, because they were poor and needy, and unable to defend it, not having wherewithal to fee counsel; in such a case also kings must be advocates for the poor. Especially, [3.] For those that were dumb, and knew not how to speak for themselves, either through weakness or fear, or being over-talked by the prosecutor or over-awed by the court. It is generous to speak for those that cannot speak for themselves, that are absent, or have not words at command, or are timorous. Our law appoints the judge to be of counsel for the prisoner.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Gospel Cordial

A Sermon (No. 3236) published on Thursday, February 9th, 1911 delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington on Lord's Day Evening, September 20th, 1863.

“Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.” Proverbs 31:6 , Proverbs 31:7 .

These somewhat singular sentences were spoken by the mother of Lemuel to her son, who was probably Solomon. She had already said to him, “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” But such a king as Solomon was must have had an abundant store of wine of all kinds, so his mother urged him to give it to the sick and the sad and the poor who needed it more then he did. The Jews were in the habit of giving a cup of strong drink, usually with some potent drug in it, to stupefy those who were about to be executed. Perhaps that is the meaning of the words, “Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish.” We know too how persons who have been very weak and ill, on the very borders of the grave, have often been medicinally relieved by wine given to them which they could not possibly purchase for themselves. I believe this is the literal meaning of the text, and that if any man should be wicked enough to draw from it the inference that he would be able to forget his misery and poverty by drinking, he would soon find himself woefully mistaken; for if he had one misery before he would have ten miseries afterwards; and if he was previously poor he would be in still greater poverty afterwards. Those who fly to the bottle for consolation might as soon fly to hell to find a heaven; and instead of helping them to forget their poverty, drunkenness would only sink them still more deeply in the mire.

I am going to use my text spiritually for I believe it has a far deeper meaning than that which glistens upon its surface. There are many persons who are doubting and despairing, spiritually “ready to perish,” and there is in the Word of God a rich store of comforting truths which are far more cheering to the spirit than wine can ever be to the body; and we are to give this gospel cordial to those who are heavy of heart, that they may drink and forget their misery and remember their doubts and despair no more.

In attempting to obey the precept of the text, I am going to speak upon three topics; first, that there is a most comforting cordial in the gospel; secondly, that it is our duty and privilege to give this cordial to all who need it; and thirdly, that when it is given to such people it is their duty and privilege to drink it , and forget their spiritual poverty and misery.

I. So first, there is most comforting cordial in the Gospel . Dr. Watts truly sings

“Salvation! oh, the joyful sound!

‘Tis pleasure to our ears;

A sovereign balm for every wound,

A cordial for our fears.”

I will take first, the case of a true believer in Jesus who is sorely tried with cares and losses and crosses . I will suppose that you have come in here to-night dreading what may happen to you to-morrow. Perhaps your trouble my brother, is that your business is failing and that want is staring you in the face. Possibly you, my sister, are sorrowing over that dear child who lies in her little coffin in the quiet room upstairs at home. Or it may be that you, my friend, have a sick wife, and day by day you see fresh signs and tokens of the great loss that is surely awaiting you. I cannot mention all the causes of sad heart in the believing members of this great assembly, but my Master has sent me here with his own blessed cordial, which is more than sufficient to comfort every sorrowing saint here.

Remember beloved, that all that happens to you comes in the course of divine providence. Your loving heavenly Father has foreseen, foreknown, and I venture to say, foreordained it all. The medicine you have to drink is very bitter, but the unerring Physician measured all the ingredients drop by drop, and then mixed them in the very way in which they could best work for your highest good. Nothing in this world happens by chance. That great God - who sitteth upon the circle of the heavens, to whom all things that he hath made are but as the small dust of the balance, who maketh the clouds his chariot, and rideth upon the wings of the wind - that same God careth for you with such special care that he has even numbered the very hairs of your head and put your tears in his bottle. You may therefore rest assured that even those experiences which are causing you so much sorrow are all in accordance with his eternal counsel and decree. Doth not this divine cordial make you forget your poverty and remember your misery no more?

Remember too that everything that happens to believers is working for their present and lasting good. “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” If you could have chosen your own circumstances and condition in life, you could not have made so wise a choice as God has made for you. The gardener knows where his plants will flourish best. Some of them might wish to grow in the sunshine although like the fern family they are better in the shade. Some of them would prefer to be on yonder mossy bank, but the gardener puts them in sandy soil because he knows that it is better suited to the requirements of their nature. You may depend upon it that there never was any earthly father who was so attentive to the needs of his child as your heavenly Father is to yours. When you decide as to the occupation you think is best for your son to follow, you may select the very career that will prove to be his ruin; but when God plans your future he takes more care in arranging for you than you do in arranging for your boy. Seeing as he sees the end from the beginning, which you cannot see either for yourself or for your child, he chooses for you with infinite and unerring wisdom. Do not wish to have it otherwise dear brother or sister in Christ; be not only content with such things as you have, but say with David “The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.” So I say, drink this divine cordial and forget your poverty, and remember your misery no more.

Moreover beloved friend, dost thou not know that the Lord Jesus Christ is with thee in all thy poverty and misery? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego never realized the presence of the Son of God so blessedly until they were cast alive into Nebuchadnezzar’s burning fiery furnace; but his presence with them there was so manifest that even the heathen king exclaimed, “I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” There is many a child who has no special petting and fondling so long as it keeps well; but as soon as it is ill it seems as though all the mother’s love was concentrated upon that particular member of the family; and it is to you who specially need such a cheering message that the Lord says, “As one whom his mother comforteth so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted.” It was to his ancient people that he gave the gracious promise, and it was concerning them that it was said “In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.” It is thus that he still tenderly and lovingly deals with his tried and afflicted people, and this thought ought to be like a cordial to make them forget their poverty and misery.

I might keep on all night trying thus to comfort tried saints, but I must content myself by giving them just one more sip of this divine cordial, and that shall be this - remember how soon all these trials will be over. Be of good courage, weary pilgrim; the heavenly mansion where thou art to rest for ever is almost in sight; and thou mayest well sing

“My Father’s house on high,

Home of my soul! how near,

At times, to faith’s foreseeing eye,

Thy golden gates appear!”

How fast the years fly by, and our trials and troubles are flying just as fast. Beloved, Paul truly wrote concerning “our light affliction which is but for a moment;” for after all, our afflictions are only like a troubled dream, a little starting in the sleep of life, and then we wake to sleep no more for ever. This world is, to the believer, like a country inn by the wayside, where there are many constantly coming and going, and there are such disturbing noises that no one can rest. Well, never mind, thou art only tarrying there for one short night, and then thou shalt be up and away to thine eternal home, to go no more out for ever. Will not this divine cordial make thee forget thy poverty and remember thy misery no more?

Now I will take the case of a true believer in Jesus who is suffering from soul-desertion . You, my friend, are inclined to say with Heman the Ezrahite, “O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee!.... Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.... Lord, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?” You are even inclined to think that you now can understand that cry of Christ upon the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The Lord seems to turn a deaf ear to your supplications, prayer itself is a heavy burden to you, you have no comforting visions of the Saviour’s face, past seasons of holy enjoyment are only remembered by you with regret that you no longer have such happy experiences; even when you turn to the Word of God itself, your eye seems to fix only upon the threatenings, and never to notice the many “exceeding great and precious promises”; and your soul is “ready to perish” in despair. Well, my poor brother, if there ever was a time when you needed the spiced wine of God’s covenant faithfulness, and the luscious, nutritious nectar of Jesus Christ’s everlasting love, it is now. I wonder what Arminians do when they are seized with this kind of spiritual ague, and shake in terror from head to foot; I know that when I have these attacks - and I do have them very badly sometimes - I turn to those texts that say most about God’s free and sovereign grace, and I try to get the marrow and fatness out of them to feed my starving soul. Those who spiritually “do business in great waters” find that nothing will serve their turn but God’s eternal decrees, God’s unchanging purposes, God’s never-failing faithfulness, God’s distinguishing, discriminating grace; at least that is my own experience, and I urge you my despairing brother or sister, to take a deep draught of the same divine cordial that you may forget your spiritual poverty, and remember your misery no more. You are not likely to turn the high doctrines of the gospel to evil account, so come and feed upon them till your soul is satiated with these dainties of your Lord’s banqueting house. Accept his own gracious invitation, “Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”

Among the other comforting things that I should say to those suffering from soul-desertion would be this - Remember brother, if you ever were a child of God you are a child of God now. You pass through many changes, but you have a Saviour who is ever the same; “Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, and today, and forever.” You have your ups and downs, you change with every phase of the moon; but with the great “Father of lights” there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” We rightly sing

“Unchangeable his will

Whatever be my frame;

His loving heart is still

Eternally the same:

My soul through many changes goes,

His love no variation knows.”

He never began a work of grace in anyone and then left it unfinished. He never adopted a child into his family and then cast him out to perish. The Lord Jesus Christ never first married any soul and then divorced her, for he hateth putting away. He will never part with any member of his mystical body; if he could do such an outrageous thing he would himself be incomplete. So, my despairing brother, I say to you that if you have ever had the light and the love of God in your soul, not only are you still a saved man, but the time will yet come when you will know that it is so. Like Jonah you will yet come up out of the depths, and with him you will ascribe all the glory of your salvation unto the Lord.

I want also to try to comfort some true believers in Jesus who are afraid they are not really the Lord’s . I am glad that John Bunyan mentioned some of their names in his immortal allegory, for we still have among us swarms of people who answer to his description of Mr. Fearing, Mr. Feeble-mind, Mr. Despondency and his daughter Miss Much-afraid, Mr. Ready-to-halt, a Mr. Little-faith, though we have only here and there a Mr. Great-heart, or a Mr. Stand-fast, or a Mr. Valiant-for-Truth. Well dear friends, if you are here to-night let me remind you that although you are the little ones in God’s family, you are not little in God’s sight. He loves you just as much as he loves the greatest saint who ever lived. When the Lord gave the commandment to Moses concerning the ransom for every soul numbered among the children of Israel, it was expressly stated “The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.” It is the same in the atonement wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, it cost him just as much and no more, to ransom the least of his people or the greatest, and he loves them equally. He may use some of them as his instruments more than he uses others, but he has the same regard for all of them. If he ever makes any difference in his treatment of them, it is the weak ones who have the preference; he carries the lambs in his bosom, but he allows the strong sheep to follow in his track.

So be of good comfort, you feeble folk who belong to Christ, and remember also that little saints are just as safe as big saints. If we are with Christ in the vessel of his Church we are just as safe as all the rest of those on board; and we may rest assured that we shall never perish, for if we could Christ would perish too, and that can never be. The greatest saint who ever served his Lord with apostolic zeal or even Christlike self-sacrifice, has to rely for his salvation upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, and the feeblest saint has to do just the same, and the one is no more saved and safe than is the other. So Mr. Fearing and Miss Much-afraid, drink that diving cordial and be no longer either doubtful or sad.

I think my text has also a special message to the sinner who is heavy of heart and desponding in spirit . To such an one I would present the gospel cordial thus. My friend, remember that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” That word “sinners” includes you; and if you ask me “What must I do to be saved?” I answer as Paul did when that question was put to him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” So, as you are commanded to believe on Christ, to rely upon him, to trust to him to save you, it cannot be presumptuous on your part to do so. Jesus Christ is “mighty to save;” he is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him. If there is a sinner here who is so bad that I could not describe his case to you, he is not too bad for Christ to save; then why dost thou despair, O thou who art “ready to perish,” seeing that God has given up his well-beloved Son to die for just such sinners as thou art? Thy sins are great, I know, and they cry aloud for punishment; but the moment that thou dost repent of them, and trust in the blood of Jesus to cleanse thee from them, thou shalt be made perfectly whole. Thy sins shall be so completely put away that God says that if they are searched for, they shall not be found; yea, they shall not be. They shall be as absolutely annihilated as if thou hath never committed them. What more comforting cordial than that canst thou possibly have set before thee? Then drink of it, and forget thy poverty, and remember thy misery no more.

II. I can only speak very briefly upon the second point, which is that it is our duty and privilege to give this cordial to all who need it .

Brothers and sisters in Christ, I want you all to obey the injunction of the text by giving this gospel cordial to those who are heavy of heart and “ready to perish.” Some of you can do this by talking to them of your own experience . When you meet with doubting and desponding souls, tell them how the Lord delivered you from old Giant Despair’s grim dungeon in Doubting Castle; remind them of that key called Promise which can unlock the doors of the prison where they lie bound in fetters of iron. We are told that Origen, so long as his strength permitted, used to go to the prisons where the Christians were confined during the Decian persecution, and afterwards went with them to the stake, comforting them from the Scriptures which he had found to be such a support to his own soul; imitate him so far as you can even though Christians are not now persecuted unto death.

Many of you can give away this gospel cordial by visiting the sick and the poor . In so vast a church as this, it is impossible for the pastor or elders to visit all the members, much less can they visit all who compose our great congregation; so I would urge you to do the visiting yourselves as far as you are able. Especially would I invite you who are the most deeply experienced in the things of God to find out the sin and the sorrowing in your own neighbourhoods, and to comfort them with the comfort wherewith you yourselves have been comforted of God.

Then, many more of you than are at present doing it, can give away this gospel cordial by preaching wherever and whenever you have the opportunity . In such a city as London, where every street corner can furnish a pulpit, and every street can supply a congregation, there is no excuse for the man with only one talent if he does not use it for Christ. The good news you have to tell, my brother, is so sweet that it should be told over and over and over again till every gale shall spread the tidings to

“All people that on earth do dwell.”

I pray the Lord also to raise up many brothers and sisters from our midst to go to “the regions beyond” as missionaries of the cross, and to move you who cannot yourselves preach, to give of your substance either for the training of our brethren in the College or for the support of those who are called of God to preach and teach the Word in distant lands where Jesus is not known. “In that way, you too will be helping to give the gospel cordial to those who are heavy of heart and ready to perish.”

III. Now lastly and but briefly, when this Gospel cordial is given to such people it is their duty and privilege to drink it and forget their spiritual poverty, and remember their misery no more.

We can bring a horse to the water but we cannot make him drink it; and we can carry this gospel cordial to the sinner, but only the Holy Spirit can sweetly constrain him to take a full, deep draught of it. I have been trying to give this cordial again to-night to those who need it, as indeed I have been doing ever since the Lord first opened my mouth to speak for him; but what about your part of the business, my dear hearers? It is my duty and privilege to preach the gospel, but it is just as much your duty and privilege to believe it when it is preached. “Faith cometh by hearing;” but, alas! there are many who hear the Word who are like those of whom the apostle wrote, that “the Word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” To have the healing medicine in thy hand and yet not to drink it is to commit spiritual suicide; I beseech thee, sinner, not to add that crowning crime to all thine other iniquities; but I pray thee this very hour to accept the proferred boon. The water of life is set before thee; drink and live. The bread of life is placed within thy reach, why should thine immortal soul be starved and perish?

Dost thou fear that thou art too black a sinner to be saved? Remember Agur’s words concerning one of the “four things which are little upon the earth,” but which “are exceeding wise.” He said, “The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” It may be, that Agur had seen a big black spider in Solomon’s palace, and that as he mused upon it, he said to himself, “That ugly creature is very wise, for there was a great storm coming on, and her usual home would have been unsafe; so looking about for a place of shelter she espied an open window in the king’s palace, and in she went. She had no right there, no one had invited her, but there she was.” Now, poor sinner, that spider was not as full of venom as thou art full of sin; there is a greater storm coming on than that spider dreaded, and the door of God’s mercy is as surely open as was that window in Solomon’s palace; and thou art invited to enter as that spider never was invited. O sinner, be at least as wise as a spider, and come in to God’s royal palace of salvation; for once thou art inside, thou shalt never be cast out!

Art thou still afraid to come to Jesus? Then let me remind thee of that poor woman who came and touched the hem of his garment, and was instantly cured of her long-standing malady. You remember that she was ceremonially unclean, she had no business to be in a crowd; yet she was so eager to be healed that she worked her way through the throng until she was near enough to Jesus to touch the border of his seamless robe, for she said, “If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.” She did so, and Christ at once honored her faith and gave her the gracious assurance that she might “go in peace,” and keep the cure that she had, as it were, obtained by stealth. O sinner, wilt thou not be as wise as that poor woman was? Thou needest not attempt to steal the blessing for thou art invited to come and take it openly. Jesus still says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Rest is what you need - rest of mind, rest of heart, rest of conscience; that rest can only come to you by faith, “for we which have believed do enter into rest.” O ye poverty-stricken and miserable sinners, believe in Jesus; take his yoke upon you and learn of him, for so shall you find rest unto your souls; and then shall you also realize that “there remaineth” another rest, a fuller and yet more blessed one, even that eternal “keeping of Sabbath” which is the blissful portion of all “the people of God.” There is the divine cordial which we are commanded to place within your reach; drink it and forget your poverty and remember your misery no more. God bless you, for Jesus’ sake! Amen.