Proverbs Chapter 15
Proverbs
Chapter 15
1. A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. What a mine of practical wisdom the Book of God is! Let us ponder this valuable rule for self-discipline, family peace, and church unity. Scripture often illustrates the different effects of the tongue. The gentle answer is water that quenches quarrels; a harsh word is oil that stirs up the fire. Man's natural inclination is to give in to irritation, to justify oneself, and to insist on having the last word. In an argument neither party is prepared to give an inch. Pride and passion on both sides strike together like two flints. We indulge in sarcasm as if we would rather lose a friend than miss scoring a point in the argument. All this the world excuses. But the Gospel sets before us our Savior's example and imbues us with his spirit; so we should be careful not to provoke a chafed or wounded spirit. If others begin an argument, let us not continue the strife. "Patience is the true peacemaker" (Bishop Sanderson). Gentle and healing words gain a double victory—over ourselves and our brother.
2. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. In the previous proverb we had the tongue of love. Here we have the tongue of wisdom. The tongue reveals the person. The wise is in control of his tongue. The fool is controlled by his tongue. You may possess a mass of knowledge. But because you do not know how to use it in the right way, it runs to waste. Wisdom is shown, not by the quantity of knowledge, but by applying it in the right way.
To judge the waters flowing from a fool's spring, listen to Baal's worshipers, Rabshakeh's proud boasting, and the complaints of God's people as they pour out their foolishness. Oh, for a large infusion of sound knowledge in the inner treasure-house, that the tongue may be disciplined and consecrated!
3. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. May this all-seeing God be adored! His inspection of the universe is so minute, exact, and untiring. The first indication of apostasy is a dread of his presence. The ungodly try to forget it and often succeed in banishing him from their thoughts. Yet in spite of all their efforts to hide, the Lord does see them.
His eyes ... are everywhere. Heaven, hell, and the secret places of the earth are all open to him. He sees evil, whether the king on his throne or in his palace, or the servant indulging his secret sin. Yes, it may be possible to shut out the sun from a house, but it is not possible to shut out God's eyes. Only a reckless person thinks he can hide from God. Thinking he can do this is the secret root of atheism.
The Lord's eyes also see the good. He sees them in outward destitution, in secret retirement, in deep affliction. He pierces the prison walls. He is with them in the furnace and in the storm. His eye guides them so they reach their home safely. "He fills hell with his severity, heaven with his glory, his people with his grace" (Charnock).
So how will I meet these eyes? Will I meet them as a rebel or as a child? Do they inspire me with terror or love? The overwhelming thought of this piercing eye is more than counterbalanced by the view of the great High Priest, who covers and cleanses all infirmities and defilements and pleads and maintains my acceptance, notwithstanding all discouragement (Hebrews 4:13-14).
4. The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit. Wisdom is portrayed as a tree of life (see also 3:18). It is like salt that is thrown into a spring and cleanses polluted water (2 Kings 2:21). So when there is grace in the heart, there will be healing in the tongue. Words will be full of grace, seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6).
Though the gracious tongue brings healing, the evil tongue wounds. The tongue of Job's friends broke the bruised reed that needed to be bound up. "Everlasting benediction be on that tongue that spoke as no other ever did or could speak pardon, peace, and comfort to lost mankind! This was a tree of life whose leaves were for the healing of the nations" (Bishop Home).
5. A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. Submission to parents is the law of nature and is recognized even by most uncivilized nations. Much more it is the law of God. The authority of parents is the authority of God. But pride must be broken down and the clothes of humility worn before the child will see that his parents know better than himself. Solomon's wisdom, though the special gift of God, was doubtless linked to his regard for his father's discipline. Will those who despise their earthly father's discipline listen to their heavenly Father? Therefore, this intractable spirit excludes people from the kingdom of God.
6. The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble. The comparison between the righteous and the wicked is always in favor of the righteous. Even when it comes to treasure, the world's idol, he comes out best. For although his house may have no money, it still has great treasure. "Drop millions of gold, boundless income, ample territories, crowns and scepters, and a poor contemptible worm lays his one God against all of them" (Bishop Hopkins). The wicked are too much concerned about their own worldly welfare and are unable to satisfy their souls. But is it not the crown of the Christian's crown and the glory of his glory that his portion is so full that he cannot desire more?
7. The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. The correct use of knowledge is, first, to gather it in a barn, and then to distribute it from the barn. In this way our Lord spread the heavenly knowledge of his Gospel. He commanded his apostles to scatter the seed through the vast field of the world. The persecution of the church was overruled for this great purpose. The Reformers widely spread their treasures both by preaching and writing, and rich indeed was the fruit. Do we remember that our gifts and talents are the riches of the church? Like our father Abraham we are blessed, not for our own sakes, but to be a blessing. Be alert to small opportunities. The careful cultivation of the smallest field ensures an abundant harvest.
The sin of the wicked is not always that they pour out foolishness (verse 2); sometimes it is that they say nothing. They neglect to spread knowledge. If they do not misuse their talent, they neglect to improve it. If not blots, they are empty vessels in the church. If they do not harm, they do nothing. Indeed, they can dispense nothing from their empty barns.
8. Let the reader ponder this solemn question: "What am I, what is my service, when I am on my knees before God? Am I an abomination or a delight?" Man judges by deeds; God judges by principles.
The sacrifice of the wicked is performed while the heart is asleep. This is acting out a lie. This is an insulting provocation. This is not only vain but abominable. It is a "work, that doth not flow from a lively faith, and therefore hath in it the nature of sin" (Article Three, from the Thirty-nine Articles).
It is not that prayer itself is a sin. "It is," as Archbishop Ussher expounds, "a good duty, but spoiled in the carriage [the manner of carrying it out]." We do not want to discourage the wicked from praying. We only say that it must be done in God's way or it will not be accepted.
9. It is not only the sacrifice but the way of the wicked that God detests. It is not only his religion but his everyday life that is an abomination. His whole life is lived in rebellion against God. Everything he does flows from a polluted spring. It is a terrible thought that the wicked man's every step is detestable in God's sight.
10. Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die. But is not stern discipline also shunned by the child of God? No. He knows his need of it; he kisses the rod, bows his will, and reaps a harvest of blessing. But he who leaves the path is only humbled by force, not in spirit. There is no surer step to ruin than to hate correction. Child of God, do you not still need correction so you can be more obedient? The Lord teaches you, when you have a thorn in your flesh, to pray for his grace to be in your heart (2 Corinthians 12:7). Seek your Father's favor more than your own ease. Desire sanctifying rather than the removal of his rod. Do not mock him with an empty show of repentance. Lord, let me know the smart of your rod rather than the eclipse of your love. Show me your love, and then do with me as you wish.
11. Death and Destruction lie open before the Lord—how much more the hearts of men! Once again we see an omniscient and omnipresent God. Death and Destruction, every recess of the vast Hades, the state of the dead and the place of the damned, lie open before the Lord. So how much more are the hearts of men open to him. Would men indulge in their vain thoughts, their trifles, their impurities if they really believed that the Lord searched their hearts? Your heart is open before God. He will never stoop to occupy a second place there. Your covering of deceit must be swept away.
The conscious sinner shrinks from this appalling sight. But the believer walks undismayed in the sight of this consuming fire. The sins that are known to the Father are covered from his justice.
12. A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise. The mocker has been flattering himself for so long that he cannot bear to be brought down to his correct level. So he thinks that a friend who tells him the truth is his enemy. He not only resents correction—he hates it.
13. A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. A man's countenance is the index of his spirit. In experiencing joy "the heart sits smiling in the face and looks cheerfully out of the windows of the eyes" (Trapp). This cheerfulness, however, is very different from the noisy mirth of the ungodly. The word cheerful was often used by the old writers. It was Foxe's favorite description of the holy joy of the martyrs.
Sad, indeed, is the contrasting heartache that crushes the spirit. Too often a mischievous gloom worms itself into the hearts of God's children. The melancholy victim drags on through a weary, heavy-laden existence. His hands slacken, and his energies for God's work are paralyzed. He sinks into apathy and laziness as if he has no life left in him.
Every effort should be made to sweep away this dark, hovering cloud. Let sense and feeling be kept within their bounds. Listen to the Savior's encouraging voice. "I wonder many times," says Rutherford, "that ever a child of God should have a sad heart, considering what his Lord is preparing for him." The gleam of the present sunshine is the earnest of what it will be when, as he again beautifully observes, "we shall be on the sunny side of the Brae." Meanwhile, the first step in religion is not only beginning to be serious but to be happy. To maintain our Christian balance, even godly sorrow must be disciplined, so that it does not beat down the heart that it was only meant to humble.
14. The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. Observe the man of natural understanding. Every apprehension quickens his thirst to seek knowledge. He is ready to learn from any quarter, even from a child. He is all eye, all ear, all heart for his object. Much more will spiritual understanding stimulate the desire. Repress the appetite to be wise above what is written. But make great efforts to be wise to the full extent of God's revelation in the Scriptures.
But while the discerning heart is never satisfied with its knowledge, the fool is completely satisfied with folly. His brutish taste feeds on folly as his meat and drink. Young people, be on your guard against this folly. Avoid trifling amusements, frivolous reading, profane merriment. In religion, beware of choosing empty speculations and arguments on indifferent matters rather than the rich pasture of the children of God. Let us all ponder the responsibility to go on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1; 5:14).
15. All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. Affliction, as the fruit and punishment of sin, is wretched. Hence all the days of the oppressed are wretched. Yet a solid principle of inner satisfaction will bring real comfort in most trying circumstances. Therefore, although the abounding consolation of Christian affliction does not blot out its penal character, the child of God is not so miserable as he seems to be. The darkest of all these days can never make God's consolations within him disappear. He can sing in a prison as much as in a palace. "Who is it," said the heavenly Martyn in a moment of weakness, "that makes my comforts to be a source of enjoyment? Cannot the same hand make cold, and hunger, and nakedness, and peril to be a train of ministering angels conducting me to glory?"
16-17. Here are the sources of the cheerful heart—the fear of the Lord and the love of man. And here also is the constant feast that so satisfies that the saint's little is better than everything the world has. "Riches and poverty are more in the heart than in the hand. He is wealthy who is contented. He is poor who wants more" (Bishop Hall). The universe will not fill a worldly person, while a little will suffice for a heavenly heart.
Few, alas, put this divine testimony into practice. Parents, do you seek the lasting happiness of your children? Then lead them to expect little from the world and everything from God.
18. A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. This proverb requires no explanation. But observe the principles of hatred and love. Some people make it their business to sit by the fire to feed and fan the flame in case it goes out. But when it is a harmful, consuming, and destructive element, it would be hard to fathom the motive of such people if we did not read that all that is evil comes from the heart (Mark 7:21-22).
What, then, should a Christian do? Instead of stirring up, he calms a quarrel. He should bring water, not fuel, to the fire (see verse 1). With a spirit that gives way he melts, subdues, and brings peace. Let me remember that I owe my very salvation to God's being slow to anger.
19. The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. Another picture of the sluggard is drawn here. He plants his own hedge of thorns and then complains that his way is blocked. He is always standing still. Every time he moves, it is like forcing his way through a hedge, because of which he cuts his flesh as he attempts to make forward progress. Indecision, delay, and sluggishness add to his difficulties and paralyze his exertion. So after a feeble struggle of conscience, but lacking the heart to do anything, he gives up trying.
This laziness brings ruin to our earthly life. But it brings even greater ruin in the Christian life. The sluggard in religion is never at ease. He knows that he needs to change. He makes an effort to pray or he takes up a book to read. But everything withers, for his heart is not in it. For him exertion is impossible. He sees no hope of victory; so he sinks into lethargy again.
Child of God, beware of such a sluggish spirit. Even morbid, scrupulous strife about your state may sometimes be slothful indulgence in direct opposition to the plainest declarations of God. Do not let unbelief rob your hand of God's promises or paralyze the hand that holds God's promises. If the way has been made clear to you, do not sit down and indulge your own comfort.
20. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Do not the brightest joys and the bitterest sorrows in this world of tears flow from parents' hearts? The Christian father cannot rest until his son is wise and brings him joy. What is needed here is not any development of talent or superior attainment, but true wisdom. This wisdom is humble and docile and respects parents. Such a son does indeed bring joy to his father as the father watches, with pleasure and gratitude, the daily growth of his choice vine.
But what if a foolish man despises his mother and her tender love and her faithfulness? God's law commands us to honor and reverence our parents. If we break this law, that will not be forgotten. But what grace and wisdom are needed if parents are to be a blessing to their children and their highest interests. A single eye is the primary concern.
21. Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course. This book of instruction probes our Christian profession. What do we think about folly? It is not only practiced by the ungodly man; it is his joy. He sins without being tempted. He cannot sleep without it. He hates the Gospel because it saves him from it.
This appetite for sin shows that man is devoid of wisdom. But a man of understanding gives himself to the Word of God. He delights in wisdom, just as the sinner delights in folly. Even his painful discoveries of indwelling corruption ground him deeper in solid religion than those who know only the surface. He is taught by God, and he keeps a straight course. Give me, oh, my God, understanding, that my joy may be in your wisdom, not in my own folly.
22. Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. The value of this proverb as a political truth is quite clear. A nation without counsel can never be established. A large number of counselors is an indispensable advantage to a ruler. In the church also, combined counsel has been a great help to our religious institutions.
In our individual perplexities we benefit from having many advisers. For how weak and ignorant we are! Were our judgment perfect, our first impressions would be infallibly right. But feeble and shaken as we are by the Fall, every dictate needs to be pondered. How much evil has been done by acting upon impulse in a hasty moment or by a few words or lines said or written without consideration. Our wisdom lies in self-distrust, or at least allowing for the possibility that we may often be wrong! So it is most expedient, especially in important matters, to seek experienced counsel. But even here the wisest counsel is fallible and often wrong. Most of all we should look to our heavenly Counselor. Blessed be God for this special privilege, for his counsel is always at hand.
23. A man finds joy in giving an apt reply—and how good is a timely word! This is a true proverb when the mouth is under divine discipline. A word for our great Master to our fellow sinner, he will condescend to bless. If we remember who made man's mouth (Exodus 4:11), pride will vanish. But the word that we speak must be a timely word, even though it comes from feeble lips. Thus Luther, following the example of the apostle Paul, gladly acknowledges his indebtedness: "The word of a brother, pronounced from Holy Scripture in a time of need, carries an inconceivable weight with it. The Holy Spirit accompanies it, and by it moves and animates the hearts of the people, as their circumstances require. Thus Timothy, and Titus, and Epaphroditus, and the brethren who met St. Paul from Rome cheered his spirit, however much they might be inferior to him in learning and skill in the Word of God. The greatest saints have their times of faintness, when others are stronger than they." But many a good word is lost by being given at an untimely moment. Obviously a moment of irritation is such a moment. We must wait for calmness and reason to return.
It is most important that our whole attitude bring conviction and that we yearn over the souls of those we have to reprove. The general rule is to give reproof in private (Matthew 18:15). Do not begin by taking the offensive, as this will immediately provoke resistance. Make sure your words apply to the person you are rebuking. A word spoken for everyone, like a coat made for everyone, fits no one. The wise heart knows the proper time and procedure for every matter (Ecclesiastes 8:5), and the word is then doubly effective.
24. The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave. Another beam of light and immortality shines here on the Old Testament dispensation. For if the life that leads upward is beyond animals, it must be the life eternal. Going down to the grave, which is contrasted with it, must stretch beyond the grave into eternity. But the path of life, the way in which alone life is found, the way to God, the way to glory, is but one. That way is Christ. If, therefore, I come to him, renouncing all other hope, throwing all my care on him, and every step of my way looking to him, am I not in this way?
The path of life leads upward. This path has a heavenly origin. It is the fruit of eternal councils. It displays the great wisdom of God. Fools never rise high enough to understand it, let alone to walk in its way. Their highest elevation is groveling. They cling to the dust of the earth, and they sink into hell beneath it. But the way of the wise ... leads upward. They are born from above and taught from above, and so they walk above, even while they live on earth. The wise in their most favored moments cannot fully appreciate their present privileges. How much less will they be able to understand the glorious unfolding when all clouds vanish.
We would think less about the roughness of the way if we thought more about the future rest. But unless we know heaven as our present state, how can we hope to enjoy it as our everlasting home? "Grant, we beseech thee, that, like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell" (Collect for Ascension day, Book of Common Prayer).
25. The Lord tears down the proud man's house but he keeps the widow's boundaries intact. God's work is to humble the proud and to exalt the humble. The proud oppressor attempts to usurp God of his rights. Therefore he is a traitor, and God tears down not only his person but his house.
But the widow, whom most people do not care about and who is trampled underfoot, has a Friend and Protector. God condescends to link himself with widows in this special way, concentrating all his care and tenderness on their bereaved state. Did he not provide for the sorrowing Naomi and ultimately establish her boundaries in Israel?
26. The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him. How little most people think they are responsible for their thoughts. They live as if they were on their own and so can indulge themselves without any restraints. But thoughts are the seminal principles of sin. Even the heathen accurately describe them as "the indigenous fountains of evil" (Plutarch). Plutarch also wrote, "If thou wouldest unlock the door of thine heart, thou wilt find a storehouse and treasury of evils diversified, and full of numberless passions." As a person thinks, so he is. Let the Christian give himself over to God, from whose sight nothing is hidden (Hebrews 4:13).
27. A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live. What an awful stamp God has placed on covetousness. It is not only a curse to the sinner, but it brings trouble to his family. It did so in the cases of Lot, Achan, Saul, Ahab, Gehazi, and Jehoiakim. Whenever people do not seek to be enriched by God's blessing, we are hardly surprised that it is withheld.
The man of God is contrasted with the greedy man. The man of God is not corrupted by bribes since he always refuses them, for he knows to do otherwise would not honor God. Abraham refused the gifts of the king of Sodom, and Peter refused the enticement of Simon. "Let their money perish with them," was the noble confession of the Marquis of Vico, nephew to Paul V, "that prefer all the world's wealth before one day's communion with Jesus Christ and his despised people."
28. The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil. Consideration is an important part of Christian character. It is nowhere more important than in the discipline of the tongue. We must think twice before we speak once. We must reflect and not speak in haste. Cultivate a pondering mind. If you are ever asked a question on an important subject, do not be quick with your reply, but seek it first from God. The only way to receive God's wisdom is through prayer.
The wicked have no such restraint. They do not care what they say. It does not bother them if what they say is badly timed, or if it is true, or if it wounds.
29. The Lord is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous. The contrast between the wicked and the righteous is sharply drawn here. The Lord's favor is far from the wicked, and he rejects their prayer. But the Lord is near the righteous, and he hears their prayer.
However, the enemy will raise doubts in our mind. Does God hear us? The righteous is well aware what a shelter prayer is from Satan's assault. He knows that Satan seeks to stop us from praying. A second doubt that arises is: Am I righteous? No, you are not. But your Advocate is (1 John 2:1). So put your prayer in his hands. You cannot doubt his access to God. While God's ear may be deaf to you, it is open to your Advocate. Stammer out the prayer to your Friend. "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." "It would tire the hands of an angel to write down the pardons that God bestows on one penitent sinner" (Dr. Bates).
30. A cheerful look brings joy to the heart [kjv: the light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart], and good news gives health to the bones. The eye is the medium of the most rational enjoyment. Most elevating is the sight of the wonders of creation (Psalm 19:1; 111:2).
But let us look at the joy of hearing. How the patriarch's heart did leap at the good report of his beloved Joseph (Genesis 45:27-28). The absent minister seems to live again in the good news about his thriving people (1 Thessalonians 3:8). "How delightful must it be to the humbled sinner to hear the good news of salvation and to have his eyes enlightened to behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (Scott).
31. By nature we are unteachable. But the Lord gives humility and self-knowledge. We become teachable, and light pours in. We learn the meaning of words that we had previously only known by name. The way we receive a rebuke tests our character. It reveals if we possess the graces of humility, sincerity, and self-knowledge.
32. Correction is indeed bitter to receive, but it is one of the most positive experiences in life. After a long time of reflection, we see the wisdom of honoring those who have dealt faithfully with our faults, even if it felt severe at the time. Correction is infinitely preferable to the poison of sweet flattery.
33. The fear of the Lord teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor. As the child of God realizes the presence of a holy God, he will be full of humility. Indeed, no Christian grace can exist without it. Every dispensation of God strikes at the root of self-exultation.
Our Father's discipline is so wise: Humility comes before honor. Indeed, without humility, honor would be our temptation rather than our glory. True humility, which realizes our vileness, throws us onto the full resources of the Gospel, so that the most humble is the most triumphant believer. "The lower then any descend in humiliation, the higher they shall ascend in exaltation. The lower this foundation of humility is laid, the higher shall the roof of honor be overlaid" (Cope). Our Lord followed this same path. He endured the cross before he was rewarded with his crown.