Proverbs 3:27

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due,.... Honour, reverence, and tribute, to civil magistrates, Romans 13:7; just payment of debts to creditors, and alms to the poor, which, by what follows,

Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.

Withhold not good; do not deny it, but readily and cheerfully impart it, which is implied in the contrary, as above, , and oft in this book, as we shall see. Good; any thing which is good; either spiritually, as counsel, comfort, reproof, &c.; or civilly, the good things of the present life, as good is taken, , called this world’ s good, . From them to whom it is due, Heb. from the lords or owners of it; from those who have any kind of right to it; either, 1. By the law of justice and equity, prescribed both by the natural and written laws of God, and by the civil laws of men. So this place commands the payment of just debts, and the restitution of things either found or committed to our trust, or taken from others by fraud or violence. Or, 2. (which seems to be chiefly intended by comparing this with the next verse, though the former is not to be excluded,) By that great and sovereign law of love or charity, which God hath written in the hearts of men by nature, and frequently and severely enjoined in his word, whereby every man is obliged according to his ability and opportunity, to pity and relieve such as are in real want or misery; who in that case are here called the owners of our goods, not in respect of men, as if men in want might seize upon the riches of others, but in respect of God, who is the sovereign Lord and only true Proprietary of all men’ s estates, who giveth them when and to whom he pleaseth, and who doth not give away his right, nor make men absolute lords of them to dispose them as they will, but only allows them the use and comfort of them upon such conditions, and with such reservations and rent charges, as I may call them, as he hath appointed, whereof this is one, that men should readily and freely communicate them to other men who need and require their help. And such actions, though they be acts of charity and bounty to men, yet, as to God, they are acts of righteousness, as they are called, , and in many other places. To do it; either, 1. To withhold it. Or, 2. To do good. And this clause may be added, either, 1. As a limitation, to intimate that God expects from men according to what they have, and not according to what they have not, as is said, . Or, 2. As an argument to persuade them to partake the present season to perform this duty, when they are capable of so doing, because by the changes of this world, and the course of Divine providence, they may be disenabled from the performance of this great and necessary duty, and then they will be without excuse.

Proverbs 3:27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do [it].Ver. 27. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due.] Either by the law of equity, or of charity. For there is a debt of love that we must ever be owing and ever pay. And as we say of thanks, gratiae habendae et agendae, thanks must be given, and held as still due; so must this debt of love. Quicquid clerici habent, pauperum est, saith Jerome. It is true, in a sense, of others, as well as of ministers. The poor (God’ s poor) are the owners of that we have; we are but stewards and dispensers of God’ s bounty to his necessitous servants. Now if our receipts be found great, and our layings out small, God will cast such bills back in our faces, and turn us out of our stewardship. They are fools that fear to lose their wealth by giving, but fear not to lose themselves by keeping it. When it is in the power of thy hand.] When thou hast opportunity and ability; for we must not stretch beyond the staple; that were to mar all; neither, when "a price is put into our hands," may we play the fools and neglect it. But wheresoever God sets us up an altar, we must be ready with our sacrifice of alms, "for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." See my "Common Place of Alms."

(f) Sixth Discourse:—Exhortation to Charity, Peace, Contentment (Proverbs 3:27-35). (27) Them to whom it is due—i.e., the poor and needy. An exhortation to us to make to ourselves “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness” (uncertain riches, Luke 16:9), remembering that we are not absolute owners, but “stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10), so that when we “fail,” i.e., die, “they,” the friends we have made by our liberality, may welcome us to heaven.

Verse 27. Withhold not good from them to whom it is due] מבעליו mibbealaiv, from the lords of it. But who are they? The poor. And what art thou, O rich man? Why, thou art a steward, to whom God has given substance that thou mayest divide with the poor. They are the right owners of every farthing thou hast to spare from thy own support, and that of thy family; and God has given the surplus for their sakes. Dost thou, by hoarding up this treasure, deprive the right owners of their property? If this were a civil case, the law would take thee by the throat, and lay thee up in prison; but it is a case in which GOD alone judges. And what will he do to thee? Hear! "He shall have judgment without mercy, who hath showed no mercy;" James 2:13. Read, feel, tremble, and act justly.

27. them to whom it is due] Lit. the lords, or owners thereof, as A.V. marg. This may be either a precept of honesty, pay your just debts; or of benevolence, you are a steward and your wealth belongs not to you but to the poor and needy, for whose benefit you hold it. Comp. 1 Peter 4:10. So LXX. μὴἀπόσχῃεὖποιεῖνἐνδεῆ; and the Vulg. benefacere.

A marked change in style. The continuous exhortation is replaced by a series of maxims. From them to whom it is due - literally, as in the margin.

ADVICES TO THE OF CERTAIN DUTIES, AND OF CERTAIN EVILS, Proverbs 3:27-32. 27, 28. Withhold not good… to whom it is due — Literally, to the owners of it. Here we have a change of style.