Proverbs 14:13

Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful,.... As Belshazzar's was in the midst of his feast and jollity, when he saw the writing on the wall; so sin may stare a man in the face, and guilt load his

Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful - (cf.

The outward signs of joy are commonly mixed with or end in real and hearty sorrow. The design of the proverb is to declare the vanity of all worldly joys and comforts, and to teach men moderation in them, and to persuade us to seek for more solid and durable joys.

Proverbs 14:13 Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth [is] heaviness.Ver. 13. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful.] Nulla est sincera voluptas. Labor est etiam ipsa voluptas. Of carnal pleasures a man may break his neck before his fast. "All this avails me nothing," said Haman. Omnia fui, et nihil profuit, said that emperor. "Vanity of vanity, all is vanity," said Solomon; and not vanity only, but "vexation of spirit." Nothing in themselves, and yet full of power and activity to inflict vengeance and vexation upon the spirit of a man; so that even in laughter the heart is sorrowful. Some kind of frothy and flashy mirth wicked men may have; such as may wet the mouth, but not warm the heart; smooth the brow, but not fill the breast. It is but ‘ a cold armful,’ as Lycophron saith of an evil wife. As they repent in the face, so they rejoice in the face, not in the heart. Rident et ringuntur. They laugh and snare. There is a snare or a cord in the sin of the wicked - that is, to strangle their joy with; but the righteous sing and are merry; others may revel, they only must rejoice. And the end of that mirth is heaviness.] They dance to the timbrel and harp, but suddenly they turn into hell; and so their merry dance ends in a miserable downfall. "Woe be to you that laugh now." Those merry Greeks, that are so afraid of sadness that they banish all seriousness, shall one day wring for it. Adonijah’ s guests had soon enough of their good cheer and jollity; so had Belshazzar and his combibones optimi. Thou mad fool, what doest thou saith Solomon to the mirth monger, that holds it the only happiness to ‘ laugh and be fat’ ; knowest thou not yet there will be bitterness in the end? Principium dulce est, sed finis amoris amarus. The candle of the wicked shall be put out in a vexing snuff. Their mirth - as comets - blazeth much, but ends in a pestilent vapour; as lightning, it soon vanisheth, leaveth a greater darkness behind it, and is attended with the renting and roaring thunder of God’ s wrath. ψυχρονπαραγκαλισμα. - Lyc.

(13) Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful.—By this God would teach us that nothing can satisfy the soul of man but Himself, and so would urge us to seek Him, who is the only true object of our desires. (Comp. Psalms 36:8.)

Verse 13. Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful] Many a time is a smile forced upon the face, when the heart is in deep distress. And it is a hard task to put on the face of mirth, when a man has a heavy heart.

13. that mirth] Rather, mirth. The statement is general though not universal. “The bright talker, the merry jester, the singer of the gay song, goes home when the party separates, and on his threshold he meets the veiled sorrow of his life, and plunges into the chilly shadow in which his days are spent.” Horton.

Sorrow of some kind either mingles itself with outward joy, or follows hard upon it.

13. Sorrowful — That is, may be so. And the end of that mirth — The expression is the same as in the preceding verse, where it is rendered, the end thereof.