Proverbs 19:16 Commentary and Bible Study

Solomon’s deliberate use of the same word for keeping the commandment and keeping the soul is a powerful way of link the two together. That linking is the key feature of the proverb and shows a connection which unbelief cannot see. It is not part of the protection of the soul, as far as the worldling is concerned, to need to keep God’s commandments in order to bring good upon his own life, his own eternal soul. He regards himself as a free agent and the idea that his soul derives any benefit from submitting to the commandments of an invisible God is a nonsense to him. He refuses to believe in God, nor does he believe that God takes any account of his conduct, nor does he believe that God governs his life, nor does he believe that God has any way of rewarding or punishing individuals in life. The keeping of his soul is, he believes, dependent on many other things, and most of them have to do with his own ability to keep himself. But the man of faith recognises his own severe limitations and how much he relies on God for the many provisions of life. He consciously lives under the providential care of God and sees a loving heavenly Father over all the affairs of his life. This is his consolation, and it is also his caution. The believer engages with the commandments of God with all his heart, knowing that, although he cannot trace God’s workings, the Lord will bless him by all manner of means. The term ‘keep his own soul’ is defined by its opposite in the second half of the verse – ‘but he that despiseth his ways shall die.’ To keep the soul is to keep it from death and hell and eternal destruction. It is to watch out for the snares of the devil, and avoid the subtle temptation which leads to a downward departure from truth and light. It is to put on the armour of God so that we may take our stand against the devil and put God first in our hearts, for Christ has taught us that the way we express our love for God is by keeping his commandments. We reflect on them carefully, studying their implications in our lives, and applying them to thought, word, and deed.But he that despises God’s ways shall die. Death comes through an attitude, a thought, even before that thought is born as a word or an action. The heart is the place where sin is conceived and born, and the battle takes place first and foremost there. The unconverted man has some knowledge of the ways of God, whether or not he has been instructed in them, for he comes into the world with God’s law written on his heart, but he instinctively rejects it, and senses that to follow God’s ways will take him away from where he wants to be. He therefore trains his own mind to find fault with them and eventually hates them passionately. He is instead on the path to death, for though God gives him licence for a while, when his time is due, he will find he has engaged in a war with the infinite all-powerful God on high, which he cannot win.