--- title: "Proverbs 28 - Study King James Bible with preachers complete homiletical commentary" description: "Read Proverbs 28 with preachers complete homiletical commentary commentary. 1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28" --- [ Read](/kjv/proverbs/28)[ Commentary](/study/proverbs/28)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/proverbs/28) Audio 1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 For the transgression of a land many *are* the princes thereof: but by a man of understanding *and* knowledge the state *thereof* shall be prolonged.* 3 A poor man that oppresseth the poor *is like* a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.* 4 They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them. 5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all *things*. 6 Better *is* the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than *he that is* perverse *in his* ways, though he *be* rich. 7 Whoso keepeth the law *is* a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous *men* shameth his father.* 8 He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.* 9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer *shall be* abomination. 10 Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good *things* in possession. 11 The rich man *is* wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out.* 12 When righteous *men* do rejoice, *there is* great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.* 13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh *them* shall have mercy. 14 Happy *is* the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. 15 *As* a roaring lion, and a ranging bear; *so is* a wicked ruler over the poor people. 16 The prince that wanteth understanding *is* also a great oppressor: *but* he that hateth covetousness shall prolong *his* days. 17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of *any* person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. 18 Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but *he that is* perverse *in his* ways shall fall at once. 19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain *persons* shall have poverty enough. 20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.* 21 To have respect of persons *is* not good: for for a piece of bread *that* man will transgress. 22 He that hasteth to be rich *hath* an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.* 23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue. 24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, *It is* no transgression; the same *is* the companion of a destroyer.* 25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. 26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered. 27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse. 28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase. [Proverbs 27](/study/proverbs/27) [Proverbs 29](/study/proverbs/29) ## Commentary To verse 1 CRITICAL NOTES.— **[Proverbs 28:1](/kjv/proverbs/28/1)****. For the transgression,** etc. Or, “*In the rebellion*.” “For this use of the word transgression in the sense of *revolt*, compare the verb employed in this sense in [2 Kings 1:1](/kjv/2-kings/1/1); also [Exodus 23:21](/kjv/exodus/23/21), etc.” *(Zöckler)*. Zöckler translates the last clause, “*through wise, prudent men, he* (the prince) *continueth long*.” Delitzsch reads, “*Through a man of wisdom, of knowledge, authority continues*.” *MAIN HOMILETICS OF**[Proverbs 28:1](/kjv/proverbs/28/1)* COWARDICE AND COURAGE **I. This act of a wicked man reveals an unnatural condition**. The sparrow flees to her nest when the hawk is on the wing, and the stag flees before the hunter or the hounds that are on his track. But neither bird nor beast is ever found fleeing in terror when it is not pursued. But bad men flee when they are not chased, and when there is nothing following them more substantial than their own shadow. **II. The cause of this unnatural action**. There must be some influence at work somewhere which strikes this terror into the human spirit. There must be some hidden power which thus unnerves a man when he is out of the reach of any visible avenger, and causes him to tremble at the sound of his own footstep, or to see the reflection of the face of the man he has wronged in every human countenance that he meets. In the absence of all causes without we must look within, and there we find the pursuer. It is conscience that thus makes every wicked man a coward—that voice within him which thus bears witness to the existence of a Divine law which he has broken, and to a Divine Lawgiver to whom he must render an account whether he escape human justice or not. **III. The hopeless nature of the act**. The man who flees when none are pursuing reveals that he is engaged in an attempt to flee from himself, and this is an endeavour that will ever be fruitless. A man may quit the scene of his crime and go into a country where all around him is entirely different, but he will be painfully conscious that he is himself the same being—that although he has changed everything outside himself he has preserved his identity. He can free his soul from his body and so flee from the world, but he cannot free himself from the consciousness of guilt and so break the tie that binds him and his sin together. For this flight from self is but another name for flight from God—from Him to whom alone the Psalmist’s words apply:—“*Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold Thou art there; if I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall uphold me*.” ([Psalms 139:7](/kjv/psalms/139/7); [Psalms 139:10](/kjv/psalms/139/10).) **IV. The entirely contrary attitude of a righteous man reveals an entirely opposite relation to conscience and to God**. The natural position of any creature in relation to the Creator is the position which he held when he was originally created. Man was then on such good terms with himself and in such conscious favour with God that he had no sense of fear and no desire to flee from the Divine presence. It was not until the first sin had been committed that Adam and his wife hid themselves, and fled when no man pursued. But there are descendants of Adam who, although they cannot pretend to sinlessness, have no guilty fear of God, and consequently are not afraid of man. The original and natural relation between them and their Father in heaven has been re-established by their acceptance of His conditions of reconciliation, and being now on the side of righteousness they have no reason to flee even when many pursue them, much less when they are alone with themselves and God. They can sing with the Psalmist, “*The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?… Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident*.” ([Psalms 27:1](/kjv/psalms/27/1); [Psalms 27:3](/kjv/psalms/27/3).) *OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS* Moses “feared not the wrath of the king.” Caleb and Joshua stood firm against the current of rebellion. Elijah dared Ahab’s anger to his face. Nehemiah, in a time of peril, exclaimed—“Should such a man as I flee?” The three confessors stood undaunted before the furious autocrat of Babylon. The Apostles’ *boldness* astonished their enemies. Paul before the Roman governor, and even before Nero himself, witnessed a good confession. Athanasius before the Imperial Council of Heresy; Luther at the Diet of Worms, finely exemplified this lion-like boldness.—*Bridges*. The *wicked* is a very coward, and is afraid of everything; of God, because He is his enemy; of Satan, because he is his tormentor; of God’s creatures, because they, joining with their Maker, fight against him; of himself, because he bears about with him his own accuser and executioner. The godly man contrarily is afraid of nothing; not of God, because he knows Him his best friend, and will not hurt him; not of Satan, because he cannot hurt him; not of afflictions, because he knows they come from a loving God, and end in his good; not of the creatures, since “the very stones in the field are in league with Him;” not of himself, since his conscience is at peace.—*Bp. Hall*. Conscience within a man is one extremity of an electric wire, whose other extremity is fastened to the judgment-seat.… A man may be saved from death by seeing the reflection of his danger in a mirror, when the danger itself could not be directly seen. The executioner, with his weapon, is stealthily approaching through a corridor of the castle to the spot where the devoted invalid reclines. In his musings the captive has turned his vacant eye towards a mirror on the wall, and the faithful witness reveals the impending stroke in time to secure the escape of the victim. It is thus that the mirror in a man’s breast has become in a sense the man’s saviour, by revealing the wrath to come before its coming.—*Arnot*. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28","name":"Proverbs 28 - Study King James Bible with preachers complete homiletical commentary","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Proverbs 28 with preachers complete homiletical commentary commentary. 1 The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof: but by a man","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary","name":"preachers complete homiletical commentary"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs","name":"Proverbs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/preachers-complete-homiletical-commentary/proverbs/28","name":"28"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```