Tag: Devotion

“Most of man’s sins are in his words” (Manton). How much grief and guilt we would be saved if we were more frugal in their use. We need to heed Solomon’s advice (Eccl. 3:7). The next three proverbs are on the use or misuse of the tongue.

Sent by his master to purchase the best dish the market could supply, the servant provided tongues, which were served up with different sauces for every course. When ordered later to provide the worst things he could find, he again appeared with a supply of tongues. The moral is obvious! John Calvin said, “The vice of the tongue spreads and prevails over every part of life. It is as active and potent for evil in old age as ever it was in the days of our youth.” Vs. 18-21 reveal the blessed virtue of right speaking and the baneful vice of improper speaking.

1. The Wise – the Fool: Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction (v.14). It is not that the fool cannot learn, but he fools away his chance and blames everybody but himself. The wise seek to turn everything to good account. Losses, mistakes, disappointments can teach valuable lessons. Such wisdom, however, has a price. We must lay-up, literally hide, this wisdom as treasure ready for use. Jesus said, A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. It has made him wise unto salvation. The fool, on the other hand, lays out his folly every time he opens his mouth (Matt. 12:35)! He is near destruction; his ruin is imminent! Unless he is changed by God’s grace he will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction (Rom. 9:22). “One contrite heart will hold more than the world’s balances are able to weigh” (Arnot).

Vast differences exist among men as regards the quality and quantity of knowledge each possesses. This is generally the result of differences in mental ability, and educational opportunities. Yet, as we have already found, having knowledge and being wise are not the same thing. Today a number of prominent political leaders are being exposed for their lack of wisdom while in office, in spite of their great knowledge.

1. Saints – A well-Spring of Life! What Grace that makes the mouth of the righteous a well of life, resulting in wells of living water (Jn. 4:14) to flow from this once polluted source! What a vivid contrast this presents! The world is a barren wilderness. There is no help there, but Heaven’s supply makes saints a spring, overflowing from the Heart of God. The well gets its water from heaven through secret veins till it flows out, making all around it green. So must saints seek their supply from the Lord. What an encouragement for the saint, who can affirm, all my springs are in thee, and then goes on to experience the overflow (Jn. 7:38-39)! Only thus can saints spread the refreshing, life-giving waters to all wherever they go. They are like streams or oases in the desert, giving comforting shade, and life-giving refreshment to the weary traveller. Oh, that all who name the name of Christ would be such streams, that the world might see that life-giving flow, and come and taste and see that the Lord is good. Who can estimate how much you owe to God’s marvellous grace, which has made your mouth a well of life?

The wise person takes advice, for wisdom is found in the heart of the teachable (Ps. 119:33-35).

All of us wish to have a good name. Even the wicked do not want their names to rot after death. This desire cannot make bad men good, but it may have curbed, to some degree, their most wicked tendencies. Few will envy the Memorial of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Again and again the Holy Spirit records only that he made Israel to sin, a sin which plagued Israel long after his death (1 Kg. 15:29-30). Blessing and cursing both live on! Some are remembered for good, and some for evil, and the sooner forgotten the better. God has a special memory-bank for His saints and He honours those who honour Him.

1. The Summer is the Right-Now Time of Life. A wise son is contrasted with one bringing shame. A wise son is identified by a. His Particularity: He is meticulous about the smallest things, the details of the crop, the weather, the seasons. He takes care of little coins as of larger, of moments as of hours, of every engagement, the trifling with the most important. Mr. Gladstone, once Prime Minister of England, when speaking to the young, said, “Thrift of time will repay you in after-life with a usury of profit beyond your most sanguine [hopeful] dreams.” b. His Opportunity: He seizes or makes the most of it. He gathers in summer. He does the work at hand; never leaves till tomorrow what is today’s duty. A sense of timing is important to him. He tries to master his circumstances rather than be their victim. When God opens a gate he goes through it at once. c. His Prosperity: His hand makes rich. The law of industry is generally a benevolent law. Sloth is the mother of poverty. We hear today about working smarter not harder. There’s nothing wrong with that, provided it does not mean shady or dishonest work. God expects His children to use brains as well as brawn. Why should the children of darkness be smarter than the children of light? d. His Spirituality: It is equally true of holiness. Put your whole soul and mind into that business (2 Cor. 6:2). It will repay richly, for your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Strive for the Master’s Well done!

These two proverbs are closely linked. They complement the promise in v.3, and v.4 finds support in v.5. Some may piously announce they have no interest in getting rich, but vs.5 reveals that if poverty is not a disgrace, idleness is! There is also the good name of your Lord and your family to consider as well. D.L. Moody once said there should not be one drop of lazy blood in the body of truly saved person, and surely he was on Scriptural grounds in saying that. The Bible clearly teaches that we cannot work for our salvation (Eph. 2:8-9), but it just as clearly asserts that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12; Jas. 2:20). You will find this word diligent used five times in Proverbs. Its root meaning refers to a sharp-cutting, threshing instrument (Isa. 41:15). Thus it came to describe “the sharp-pointed and determined activity of the truly dedicated, decisive person.” By using these contrasts Solomon shows once again that hard work distinguishes between the moocher’s hand and the Master’s.

Righteousness (v.2) and righteous (v.3) contrast with wickedness and their substance. Righteousness is what profits. It delivers from famine and death.