Proverbs 17:26 Commentary and Bible Study

There is a connection with the previous proverb as indicated by the word ‘also’, or ‘moreover’. Certainly, both are instances of things that should not be, that are inappropriate and which cause anguish to any right-minded person who hears about them. To punish the just is to strike a blow at the government of God who rules according to perfect righteousness at all times. To strike princes is to rise even higher and aim for the complete domination of evil which the ungodly aim at. The law should always encourage the doing of good and by its sentences it should reward the good and punish the wicked – rulers should not be a terror to good works, but to the evil (Rom. 13:3). Therefore whoever punishes the good is trying to deliberately overturn God’s government and introduce a perverse standard of his own. When the just find themselves punished for doing what the word of God and their consciences has urged them to do, they lose all confidence in human government. At the same time they see those rewarded and applauded who ought to be condemned by justice. Their enemies who are driven by rebellious and sinful motives are confirmed in their evil ways, and are quick to claim that their new-fangled standard of justice is the truth. They taunt the people of God for their adherence to a standard that belongs to the past, to bygone ages, and to whatever other opprobrium they can heap on it. They trust in the corrupt fashions that have brought such new evil standards to the fore, and they step forward with a confidence which can only be resisted by faith, for all that is visible argues in their favour. But they can never shake off completely the awareness that they will be called to account and that God who gives them a long lead will one day rein them in and bring truth to light again. They little consider that God has outmanoeuvred them by allowing them to expose the real intents of their hearts, so that when he punishes them, they cannot deny what is really within them.In the meantime the righteous must not be shifted from God’s righteous standards. The only way they can do this is to see corrupt human government for what it is and know that it will in turn be judged by God. Government in principle is good, but particular governments go far from what they ought to be. Of course this is Satan’s policy, for he knows that the mass of the people will be bent to his will if they see human authority going in a particular direction. The mind of the unbeliever is too weak for the most part to resist such pressure, and it is remarkable how quickly a new standard can come in and be accepted when it is clearly communicated from the top.