The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
The verse belongs to chapters 25 to 29, which are proverbs of Solomon copied out of Solomon's writings by men appointed by Hezekiah. It contrasts a satisfied person who finds even a honeycomb unwelcome with a hungry person who finds even bitter food sweet. Need changes the way something is valued, and a person's sense of what is good depends on whether appetite is full or in need.
The word soul here means the living, embodied person or creature in relation to physical appetite. The soul can hunger and eat and experience bodily appetite, so that hunger belongs to the soul as a bodily faculty. In this sense soul also means life, the life shared by humans and animals. Its reference to hunger belonging to the soul does not prove that the soul exists independently of the body.
Appetite and relish depend on need: when the body is already satisfied even choice food is distasteful, but hunger makes even bitter food seem sweet. Eating before hunger arises and overeating dull the appetite, while allowing hunger to arise restores enjoyment of food. The hungry soul welcomes what the satisfied soul rejects. The soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness finds joy and blessing in plain gospel truth, in humble Jesus, in sermons, in prayer meetings, and in God's providences.
As a natural appetite relishes even plain food while a perverted appetite remains unsatisfied by the finest spices, so a perverted spiritual taste craves eloquence, sarcasm, and wit but receives no spiritual nourishment and remains perishing. A satisfied person has little appetite even for what is good, while a hungry person values even what is bitter. The promise of pardon means little to someone who feels no need to be forgiven, so awareness of sin and the law's judgment must awaken the need before the message of redeeming love can be received.
The verse belongs to chapters 25 to 29, which are proverbs of Solomon copied out of Solomon's writings by men appointed by Hezekiah. It contrasts a satisfied person who finds even a honeycomb unwelcome with a hungry person who finds even bitter food sweet. Need changes the way something is valued, and a person's sense of what is good depends on whether appetite is full or in need.
The word soul here means the living, embodied person or creature in relation to physical appetite. The soul can hunger and eat and experience bodily appetite, so that hunger belongs to the soul as a bodily faculty. In this sense soul also means life, the life shared by humans and animals. Its reference to hunger belonging to the soul does not prove that the soul exists independently of the body.
Appetite and relish depend on need: when the body is already satisfied even choice food is distasteful, but hunger makes even bitter food seem sweet. Eating before hunger arises and overeating dull the appetite, while allowing hunger to arise restores enjoyment of food. The hungry soul welcomes what the satisfied soul rejects. The soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness finds joy and blessing in plain gospel truth, in humble Jesus, in sermons, in prayer meetings, and in God's providences.
As a natural appetite relishes even plain food while a perverted appetite remains unsatisfied by the finest spices, so a perverted spiritual taste craves eloquence, sarcasm, and wit but receives no spiritual nourishment and remains perishing. A satisfied person has little appetite even for what is good, while a hungry person values even what is bitter. The promise of pardon means little to someone who feels no need to be forgiven, so awareness of sin and the law's judgment must awaken the need before the message of redeeming love can be received.