Proverbs 22:2 The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all. The idea of ultimate impartiality is what is chiefly suggested by the latter part of this verse, "the Lord is the Maker of them all." He is so by creation. They alike owe to Him their being, and owe to Him every moment the maintenance of that being — the rich man and the honourable, as well as the poorest and meanest on earth. Where is the monarch on the throne that, more than the lowest of his subjects, can draw a breath independently of God? He is so by providential allotment. The same Lord makes them what they are, and could at His pleasure reverse their conditions, making the rich the poor and the poor the rich. The Lord being the Maker of them all implies also the equal distance of them all, as alike His creatures, from their common Creator and Governor. The distance is the same. In both it is infinite. When God is the object of common comparison, the distance between the highest and the lowest of mankind measures not a hair's breadth; it is annihilated. All the distinctions of which men make so much sink into nothing before His infinite majesty. (R. Wardlaw, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.WEB: The rich and the poor have this in common: Yahweh is the maker of them all. |