PROVERBS CHAPTER 28
Warning against Unscrupulous Dealing
THE CONSEQUENCES OF IMPIETY. — V. 1. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, their bad conscience making them timid; but the righteous, filled with the consciousness of their uprightness and therefore possessing a good conscience, are bold as a lion, their courage being upheld by their trust in God.
V. 2. For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof, that is, when the spirit of rebellion once takes hold of a country, there will be many men aspiring to be rulers, and many changes of policy in government are harmful; but by a man of understanding and knowledge, a ruler who makes use of the proper circumspection, foresight, and wisdom, the state thereof shall be prolonged, the rule of the one good prince will continue long.
V. 3. A poor man that oppresseth the poor, an upstart who has enriched himself at the expense of his subjects, is like a sweeping rain, a heavy, driving shower, which leaveth no food, the flood either drowning out or carrying away the growing crops.
V. 4. They that forsake the Law praise the wicked, who makes it a practice to ignore the Law in his own interest, his selfishness being supreme; but such as keep the Law contend with them, those who are on the side of law and order naturally are opposed to all lawbreaking.