Proverbs 4:17 Commentary and Bible Study

All their food is to serve themselves, and to get pleasure, and to fulfil their lusts. And their wine is the sensuality of freedom from restraint. ‘But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.’ What a beautiful description this is. The pathway which the just take is rather like the rising dawn; that is the picture. The Hebrew it is just that, ‘the rising shining light’. It is those distinctive rays of dawn. There is nothing quite like them; they seem to be so full of promise. Here is a new day, and what has happened is that the traveller has set out on his journey at the crack of dawn, and just at the beginning of his journey, on a path that is free from the wicked, there is a light shining full of promise and hope, and it gets stronger and stronger, and its brightening light brings the world to life. What a beautiful parable and picture of the Christian life. We have come to Christ, we have trusted in him, we have found his salvation, there is a dawning light in our lives, and as day passes day and week passes week, that light grows stronger. A new day, with strong sunlight, flooding with warmth, and opening up the flowers and the plants, and ushering in a long day in which you can see clearly, and you can achieve much. This is the picture of the Christian life, the child of God is one who walks in light, he understands, he sees where he is going, he knows the purposes of life, and he feels all the warmth of God upon his soul, and he is a great influence on others for good.