All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but Jehovah weigheth the spirits.
Proverbs sets two verdicts side by side: the one we pass on ourselves, and the one God passes on the heart behind our actions. Commentators read this as a warning about self-judgment, and as a pointer to the only scales that weigh correctly.
God's name appears again and again in this chapter. One writer counts them, and reads "weighs" as covering more than actions:
The name Jehovah (LORD) appears eleven times in this chapter of Proverbs. … Man loves to justify himself, his ways are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weighs the spirits; He is the judge of ways and motives.
So the first half of the verse records an opinion, not a fact — and one that is often wrong:
A man may believe that his ways and actions are pure. But that is only his own opinion, and it is often far from the truth, for the Lord weighs the spirits (v. 2). We may find some people "lighter than vanity." Their spirit takes no time to consider the real worth of their ways.
God does not weigh the outward record only. He weighs what a person is inside, and Scripture returns to this again and again:
In God's sight, everyone is what his spirit is. This does not leave out visible acts. God's word will not let us pass over this truth or push it into the background. "God is the God of the spirits of all flesh." "He forms the spirit of man within him." "All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit." "The righteous God tests the minds and hearts" — that is, the thoughts, the will, the affections and the emotions. When life on earth ends, the spirit returns to God who gave it.
A man does not reach that verdict in silence. He argues for it. And the way out is not better information but a change of mind:
In many things a man's conscience will trouble him. Even so, he is skilled enough to silence that irritation by subtle reasoning, and to make evil look good. How much wiser he would be to use the Lord's scales, and thereby to be brought to repentance. For "the Lord weighs the hearts."
We borrow our sense of what is clean from sources we hardly ever question — decency, reputation, the opinions of people around us. One writer calls these false measures, and says we carry them more than we know:
We are not always skilled at using the balances, the weights and measures of the sanctuary… The moral sense, the natural conscience, self-righteousness, the laws of society and the judgments of men all supply us with false weights and measures. We carry them about with us more than we are aware of. But they are an abomination. Deut. 25:16. In our thinking, the way of the prostitute and the tax collector looks worse than the easy, respectable life of the world. If we had the balances of the sanctuary, we would weigh things differently. "For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Paul could say he was aware of nothing against himself, and still would not treat that as a verdict:
Moreover Paul had a good conscience. One translation of verse 4 opens, "For I am conscious of nothing in myself; but I am not justified by this." How good it would be if we could each say that! Then we would each be so true to what we have learned of the mind of God that we are aware of nothing amiss. Yet even a Paul had to admit that this did not justify him. The Lord judges him, not by what he knew, but by what He knows. So it is with all of us. Our own awareness sets one standard; the Lord's full knowledge sets another. The difference between them is vast.
If we cannot trust our own eyes, the answer is not paralysis but reliance on the One who holds the scales:
Referring everything to Him delivers us from the bias that regards all the ways of a man as clean in his own eyes. Jehovah weighs the spirit; who but He? Dependence on Him and confidence in Him are indispensable to judge, as for all else.
- Two scales. Your own eyes give one reading, God's balance gives another; only the second is a verdict.
- Weighed within. His scales take the spirit — motives, will, affections — not the visible record alone.
- Rigged weights. Reputation, decency and public opinion are the false measures we carry without noticing.
- Clean conscience, open case. Paul knew nothing against himself and still would not call himself justified by it.
- Trust the weigher. Depending on the One who holds the balance is what frees us from the bias in our own eyes.
Commit thy works unto Jehovah, and thy thoughts shall be established.
Proverbs 16 opens with a run of sayings about who really runs a life: man makes the plans, but the LORD gives the answer and directs the steps. Verse 3 sits in the middle of that as an invitation: hand the work over, and something inside you gets steadied — what the ESV calls "your plans" and the older wording used by the writers here calls "your thoughts."
This verse does not stand alone. It answers the two sayings before it, where a man's own estimate of himself proves unreliable.
"The plans of the heart belong to man" — a man's heart works out what he wants — "but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD" (v. 1). The eventual outcome depends on what the Lord decrees by His Word. A man may believe his ways and actions are pure. But that is only his own opinion, and it is often far from the truth, for the Lord weighs the spirits (v. 2)... So how wise it is to commit our works to the Lord before we act (v. 3), so that He may establish our thoughts.
"Commit" is a stronger word than it sounds. Its literal sense is rolling something off yourself and onto someone else.
The Lord has the final word. Man plans in his heart, but the answer of the tongue comes from the LORD. It is the same idea as the English proverb, "Man proposes, God disposes." Man loves to justify himself. His ways are clean in his own eyes. But the LORD weighs the spirits. He is the judge of ways and motives. We are to commit our works to the LORD — literally, roll them onto Him. Then establishment and blessing follow.
Notice the exchange is uneven. What you hand over is outward and practical; what He settles is inward.
What a comfort that He Himself tells us to commit our works to Him — literally, to roll them onto Him! And then not merely our works but our thoughts will be established. We trust Him with what is outward, and in His goodness He steadies our "thoughts," which waver and fade so easily. How slow even His own people are to learn how much loving interest He takes in those who trust Him!
Another writer uses the same picture of rolling, and draws out what it does to the person who acts on it.
"Commit your way to the Lord" — or, as the margin note puts it, "Roll your way upon the Lord." How often our circumstances are so confusing and hard that our way seems blocked and impossible. Sometimes people misjudge us, oppress us, even persecute us. What can we do? We can roll the responsibility of our way upon the Lord, and rely on Him. There is immense relief in this. He takes the load off our weak shoulders and puts it on His strong ones.
Committing is not a technique you can use cold. It comes third in a list of instructions, and the same writer insists on that order.
It is not the first item of instruction, nor the second, but the third. It takes for granted that we are trusting in the Lord, and finding our delight in Him. Then, and only then, are we ready to roll our way onto Him, and to know the happy result: "He will bring it to pass."
Handing your works to the Lord does not turn you into someone who never thinks ahead.
Of course we should not act without thinking about where we are going. But a believer must take the Lord into his plans. He should hold those plans loosely enough for the Lord to change them if He wants to, and trust fully that the Lord will guide him well.
One writer described what this looked like in his own crowded days of work and responsibility.
I am at work from seven in the morning till eleven at night. Then I often have many things weighing on me, all within my responsibility. But I commit them to Him. He is mightier than anything this poor world can demand, and to Him a burden is no burden at all. He guides everything, just as I might steer a carriage I am sitting in. He arranges everything according to the counsel of His will.
- Weigh — you judge your own ways as clean; the Lord weighs the spirits. So ask Him before you act, not after.
- Roll — "commit" means to roll the load off yourself and onto Him. The relief is real: the weight moves from weak shoulders to strong ones.
- Trust first — rolling your way over is not step one. It assumes you are already trusting Him and delighting in Him.
- Receive — you hand Him your works; He hands back steady thoughts. He settles the inner life that wavers so easily.
- Walk — keep planning, but keep the plans loose enough for Him to change, confident that He directs the steps.