Proverbs 6:17

A proud look,.... Or, "eyes elated" (d); scorning to look down upon others; or looking upon them with disdain; or reckoning them as unworthy to be looked upon, having an high opinion of their own worth and merit.

A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.

A proud look; pride of heart, which commonly discovers itself by a man’ s looks and gestures. See 131:1 . A lying tongue; he that accustometh himself to lying and deceit in his common conversation.

Proverbs 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,Ver. 17. A proud look.] Heb., Haughty eyes. Men’ s hearts usually and chiefly sit and show themselves in oculis, in loculis, in poculis, in their eyes, purses, and cups. The Latins speaking of an arrogant disdainful person say, that he doth supercilium attollere, look loftily. Odi fastum istius Ecclesiae, said Basil; I hate the proud stateliness of that Western Church: the Church of Rome he means, which even in those purer times began to look big, and despise all others in comparison of itself. This he somewhere calls οφρυςδυτικη, the Western eyebrow, which occasioned at length that lamentable separation of the Eastern or Greek Church from communion with the Latin: the other four patriarchs dividing themselves from the Bishop of Rome, and at their parting, using these or the like words, - "Thy greatness we know, thy covetousness we cannot satisfy; thine intolerable insolence we can no longer endure, live to thyself," &c. God himself "resists" a proud person in a special manner, and that "afar off"; he cannot abide the sight of him, looks aloof at him. For whereas all other vices fly from God, saith Boethius, pride lets fly at him. No wonder therefore though his soul abhor it, when it "buds especially," and "testifies to a man’ s face," breaking forth as the masterpock of the soul in big swelling words, bubbles of vanity, proud gait, ridiculous gestures, garish attire, lofty and haughty looks, that hate of heaven and gate to hell. David could not endure it in any of his. No more could Queen Elizabeth in the greatest favourite about her. Dissension once falling out between her and Essex about a fit man for government of Ireland, he forgetting himself, and neglecting his duty, uncivilly turneth his back, as it were in contempt, with a scornful look. She waxing impatient, gave him a cuff on the ear, bidding him begone with a vengeance, &c. For avoiding of all discontent and distempers this way occasioned, it were to be wished that men would first get humble hearts, - the apostle makes humble mindedness the first virtue, as here a proud look is made the first vice, the master root, - and then, that they would enter into a covenant, as Job did, with his own eyes at least; such a covenant as was once made at a meeting of the Borderers in the marches between England and Scotland: security was given and confirmed on both sides by oath, according to custom, and proclamation made, saith mine author, that no man should harm other by word, deed, or look. A lying tongue.] Heb., A tongue of lying - viz., that hath learnt the trade, and can do it artificially. "A friar, a liar," was the old proverb here, passing for current of that evil generation, those loud and lewd liars.

(17) A proud look.—Hateful to God, because rendering men unfit to receive grace. Till they acknowledge their weakness, they will not seek for His strength, and without it they can make no progress in holiness. (Comp. 1 Peter 5:5, and Christ’s commendation of the “poor in spirit,” Matthew 5:3.)

17. A proud look] Rather, haughty eyes, A.V. margin, R.V. text. Thus the enumeration in the Heb. of the parts of the body: ‘eyes,’ ‘tongue,’ ‘hands,’ ‘heart,’ ‘feet’ is preserved.

AGAINST THE OF SEVEN HATEFUL THINGS, Proverbs 6:16-19.Here the teacher seeks to guard his charge against personal vices, as he had before against associational ones.16-19. Six things… yea, seven, are specified.