It's painful to be like a mule!
Psalm 32:9
"Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule,
which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle,
lest they come near unto thee."
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In these words there is a plain intimation,
that men, God's children INCLUDED, are
commonly, and for the most part, like these creatures - stupid, stubborn, and
mischievous; and therefore severe methods are used by the LORD for sore
chastenings, to humble and instruct them; the mule, more especially, is
remarkable for its stupidity; and though the horse is docile, yet he is
sometimes stubborn and refractory.
The purpose of this exhortation is to direct
men how to behave under the instructions given; not as brutes which have no
rational faculties, but as men; that they should not show themselves
thoughtless, stupid, and unteachable, as these animals, or worse than they; nor
stubborn and obstinate, refractory and untractable, resolving not to be taught,
stopping the ear, and pulling away the shoulder; nor ill natured and
mischievous; not only hating instruction, casting away the law of the Lord.
"... they come near unto thee."
-
kicking and spurning at, and persecuting such who undertake to instruct
them; as these creatures sometimes attempt to throw their riders, and, when
down, kick at them.
~~ Dr John Gill
