Proverbs 27:21 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Proverbs 27:21

Comments

We could say that the proverb is about how a wise man ought to react to the praise he receives, for certainly not all to react in this way. A wise man knows his own heart and its tendency to think more highly of itself than it ought. When silver ore is dug out of the ground, or gold is panned from the stream, both contain impurities that need to be removed. Various techniques are used, but what is desired in each case is the pure element and much must be thrown away as worthless. The attitude of the prospector is that the raw material is not the finished product and needs, if you like, discernment to remove what is worthless. This is a most interesting illustration of the attitude of a wise man to the praise which he receives from others. What is required is strict honesty which shows no favouritism towards self. Just because the object of praise is oneself, it should not be given easier access to the house. A vigilant guard is set at the door which scrutinises every visitor. Some may wish to get in who have a devious purpose. Praise is sweet but may have to be rejected for several reasons. It may be praise given charitably but in ignorance of the facts. We cannot accept it because it does not belong to us, or because that is giving us too much credit where credit belongs in part to others. On the other hand we may not accept it because we can see the harmful effect it will have on us. There is perhaps already pride in this area of our lives, and praise will simply fan the flames even more, so that we are compelled to turn it away. Then again, it could be that praise is a trap to extort something from us. It is not given sincerely but the flatterer uses it to gain entrance to our hearts. Suspicion is definitely not the solution in every case and can turn into a poison within us, but we need sufficient discernment to see past the mask of smiles of the flatterer. Whatever praise is received into the heart must be pure silver or pure gold and have passed the test of fire.

Application

The tendency to let even valid praise harm us is offset by reminding ourselves of all the sin still within us, and that all we have has been given top us. We are not told to turn away all praise and certainly God will say to each one of his elect, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant … enter into the joy of thy Lord’. Though we will scarcely know how to accept this praise, we will give thanks back to God for what he has made us by his grace.

Some use flattery as their tools of trade. The advertising industry and the political arena both flatter habitually and are extremely successful by doing so. Man is highly susceptible to this form of deception. The world of course is aware of this, but it still manages to be taken in by those who are continually telling us that we are basically good people, who can solve our own problems, who do not need God’s standards over us because we are quite capable of setting our own moral standards and living up to them and creating a moral society.

Questions

This proverb has received a number of translations, some of which add words in an attempt to arrive at an acceptable sense, but end up changing the meaning of the verse entirely. The KJV sticks closely to the original with little embellishment, but is presumably thought by other translators to produce a translation which is unintelligible and therefore needs amending. In the second part of the verse the NKJ has, ‘And a man is valued by what others say about him.’ A literal rendering would be, ‘A crucible for silver and a smelting pot for gold and a man to the mouth of his praise.’ The verse is obviously a comparison, so the KJV adds the words ‘As … so …’. Whereas other translations understand the man to be enhanced by his praise, the KJV rendering makes him a discerning critic of his own praise. This is the most natural sense of the words and gives a very important lesson.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Proverbs 27:21 Commentary and Bible Study