Proverbs 24:17-18

17, 18. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth The difficulty of this proverb is in the apparent lowness, not to say unworthiness, of the motive presented for abstaining from exultation over the calamity of an enemy, lest the Lord cease to punish him. But it is to be remembered, that it was Christ who first emphatically taught us to love and forgive our enemies, and that the proverb is not anti but ante- Christian. Even good men formerly thought it not wrong to hate their enemies, (Matthew 5:43,) and to wish and seek to do them harm. When, therefore, such a wicked enemy fell into any calamity, it was natural for even good men to rejoice over it. But as the feeling was liable to be more of a personal and selfish one than simply one of satisfaction in retributive justice for its own sake, the proverb was designed to modify and abate the feelings natural in the circumstances.