Proverbs 25–29

All of these proverbs were spoken by Solomon, except those in the last two chapters. We may regard these wise principles and sayings as part of the three thousand spoken by the famous king of Israel (1 Kings 4:32). They are the fruit of the wisdom he asked from the Lord at the start of his reign (1 Kings 3:12). His name appears at the start of each of the three divisions of the book (see chapters 1, 10, 25), and God selected and arranged them here by His inspiration. The compiler was probably one of the prophets living in the days of Hezekiah, if indeed the king himself did not do it. We know at least that his servants copied out a number of these proverbs (Proverbs 25:1).

The book of Proverbs collects only around a thousand of Solomon's proverbs. Divine inspiration and preservation kept them. King Hezekiah's men collected some of Solomon's proverbs only 200 years later (compare Proverbs 25:1)... Solomon reigned around 970 to 931 BC. Hezekiah reigned around 716 to 687 BC, and in his time many ancient things came to honour. This fixes the beginning and the end of the book's origin.

This title is interesting. It proves that a revival of literary activity went along with the revival of religion and national prosperity that marked Hezekiah's reign. The men of Hezekiah were no doubt a body of scribes engaged under the direction of the king in literary work.

This godly king must have cared greatly about collecting and preserving certain parts of the Word of God. According to this statement in Proverbs, he must have told certain scribes to add more of Solomon's proverbs to the earlier collection. Until then those proverbs had not been collected.

This section (chapter 25:1-7) is openly a supplement of "proverbs of Solomon" not found in the earlier collection. What is there in this to object to? Those we have already had remain in their excellence. If more is added of no less divine excellence, why be ungrateful to God? Is our eye evil because He is good? Let us not be faithless, but believing.

These proverbs were not new in Hezekiah's time. They had been there since the beginning of the glorious kingdom of Israel. But they have particular meaning for the difficult times of Hezekiah... God's revelation was completed with the coming of Christianity into the world... But it has been neglected and ignored, and we are badly broken and in reproach. Yet that same Word has already made provision for recovery, where hearts are concerned about recovery... So let us have the energy of faith. Our work is not to invent new methods or plans for such a day, but to "copy out" what is already written, and set ourselves to obey it.

The Word of God says the same thing about Josiah as about Hezekiah (2 Kings 22:2). This confirms that these two kings returned to what was there at the beginning. No revival today can be called a true revival which does not have this character.

The Old Testament has told us that "it is the glory of God to conceal things" (Prov. 25:2). So busy, curious men keep searching and keep coming up baffled. Our New Testament passage tells us something more. It is also the glory of God to reveal Himself in the greatness of His mercy to rebellious sinners. That second glory is greater than the first. If anyone asks, what is glory? We may answer: it is excellence on display.

It gives a very distinct character to this book, and to Ecclesiastes, that in this book the name is always "Jehovah". Only once is "Elohim" used: Proverbs 25:2.

A great mystery, truly, for it concerned Christ, and with Him the Church as His body. It was hidden in God through the ages and generations. In that time God dealt first with people one by one, then with His ancient nation, while man was tested in every way: could he be brought to God by himself, or represent God as he should?... This is a most wonderful proof that it is His glory to conceal things. But the principle reaches much further. He would have us learn to depend on what He alone can give in His ways with us.

When difficult times come, we must look beneath the surface of things. We will not find answers to our problems without real searching of soul. God means faith to be tested and grown. So in His infinite wisdom He sets out the truth in His Word in a way that natural cleverness alone will never see... But it is work of kingly dignity to search out the truth of God and find out His mind — above all when truth has been trampled in the streets and treated as worthless.

We are even told that "it is the glory of God to conceal things" (Prov. 25:2) — He hides truth where a diligent person can find it as a reward. All this calls for personal work that you cannot hand over to someone else, though we are all to help one another in it. God does not accept a class of ordinary members who are spoon-fed once or twice a week and take what they are given with little question.

God keeps many things hidden about Himself, the great universe, creation, and His ways in ruling the world. But kings should look closely into the matters brought before them and search them out when they give judgment. One day the great King who is coming, the King of Kings, will search out all things and bring the hidden things to light. He knows every secret of God, and the hearts of men too.

reason: excerpt was opaque ("the above touching facts"); ESV wording; drop shouting caps

While it is the glory of God to conceal a thing, the glory of kings is to search out a matter. God keeps many things hidden about Himself, the great universe, creation and His ways in providence. But kings should look carefully into the matters brought before them and search them out when they give judgment.

With kings it is the other side: sifting out good or evil on behalf of their subjects, to reward it or punish it. God has appointed them. They are likewise the source of honour on earth, and they do not carry the sword for nothing, but to punish those who do evil. So there is a need to search a matter out.

No ruler shows better than Solomon that the heart of kings is unsearchable. Look at his decision in the dispute between the two mothers, over whose was the dead child and whose the living one. Was there a single person who saw into his heart when he called for a sword and said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other? The false mother was as willing as the true was not, but who could have anticipated it but the king? What sounded cruel, turned out wise and kind.

Because of his position and duty, a king's heart might naturally seem more guarded and unbending than any other man's. But who resists Him who rules in secret as He wills, even in the worst of circumstances?... Little as he thinks it, he serves Him. He is like brooks of water serving the man who controls every stream for his gardens, his vineyards, or his fields. It is turned as He pleases.

Kings and their advisers should remember one thing. The secrets of the council chamber are all known to God, however closely they keep them from the people.

Things higher than natural wisdom become the normal food and delight of him who is led by the Spirit of God. And "the deep things of God," which the natural man cannot understand, are no problem where the Spirit of God is the Interpreter (1 Cor. 2:8-10)... The spiritual man is a strange enigma to the world. His wisdom and understanding are plain to see, but his attitude puzzles and baffles those who do not have the Spirit.

Surely this sign is worthy of God, who is "the ALL WISE." It stands in "the depth" of sorrow and woe, and yet in "the height" of the glory of "THE CHRIST, THE LORD."... Search the Scriptures. "It is they that bear witness about Me," said the Son of God! Finding Him, we shall fill our treasures with the finest gold and enrich our store with all manner of precious things.

She opens her heart to Solomon; the secrets of her heart come into the open (1 Cor. 14:25); but they find a perfect response from the one from whom nothing is hidden... The king has the secret of all things. He does not keep it to himself. He shows that His secret is with those who fear Him (Ps. 25:14).

All the more important, if there is precious metal, that the base alloy be taken away. Then only comes forth a thing of beauty and for use.

God is the refiner of His people, just as precious metals have to be separated from the dross that clings to them. So God tests the believer's heart, and his faith, which leads to endurance.

People say that a refiner of metals watches by the crucible until his own face is reflected in the molten mass. In the same way, the Lord Jesus sits as the refiner and purifier of His silver until His own image is mirrored in it. That is the aim and object of all His dealings with His people. The comparison is certainly true. God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son... so we may be sure that He will never rest until His purpose is fulfilled.

So the wicked should not enjoy favours at court. Righteously rejecting evil people establishes a throne in people's consciences.

God said to backsliding Israel, "I will smelt away your dross … and I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning" (Isa. 1:25-26).

A true searching of the Word of God by the Spirit does two things. It gives positive knowledge of what is good and pure, and it separates out everything that is false and dross. This is negative work, but it is necessary... This evil doctrine must be refused. It is dross, and the silver must be freed from it. Teachers who keep spreading such falsehood must not be tolerated. "The Finer" is God Himself. He looks for vessels that suit His own character, and only separation from evil will form such a vessel — "a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:21).

All the more important, if there is precious metal, that the base alloy be taken away. Only then does something of beauty and usefulness come out.

So it is that the wicked should not enjoy the favours of the court. Righteous rejection of evil people establishes a throne in the consciences of men.

We can learn Solomon's views from his Book of Proverbs: "A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes" (Prov. 20:8). "Take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness" (Prov. 25:5). After Solomon carried out judgment on Joab and others, the Holy Spirit says: "So the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon" (1 Kings 2:46).

Take again the words: "Take away the wicked from the presence of the king" (Proverbs 25:5). Perhaps the most solemn example of this is Judas going out into the dark of that night, a night that was morally dark for him. There is also the case of those who brought the sinful woman for Him to condemn. The answer of His lips so exposed them that they were shamed out of His presence and all slipped away.

He will come to establish His throne of righteousness and to rule as the true Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness and of Peace. When He does, the wicked and the evildoers will be taken away in judgment. Only then can there be a righteous government.

Neither David nor his son was perfect. When David wrote Psalm 101, the Spirit of inspiration carried him far beyond himself to describe the King who is yet to come... Right through His rule He will meet every act of defiance against the will of God with righteous judgment... Nothing on earth in that age will offend the eye of God.

Is it fitting that a wicked man should have any fellowship or influence in the king's presence? And how much less in the presence of Him whom we know is King of kings! If someone falsifies the King's word, his punishment should be a solemn one, no matter how pleasant a personality he may have. So the people of God must give no fellowship to a teacher who is false at the root... "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers" (2 Cor. 6:14) is a warning the Word of God repeats again and again. It is urgently needed if truth is to stay pure. In days like ours, this also becomes a most serious test of how devoted the people of God are.

But there is another moral element of great importance here and everywhere else — not self-seeking, but a truly humble mind. As our Lord said, if it were only about a place at a feast, go and take the last one, so that when the host comes he may say, Friend, go up higher. So here: "Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great." What a rebuke to vanity, to be pushed lower — and in the prince's presence too! Let us not forget Him. He lived what He said, and said it to build us up: "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Evil has no place in His presence. Take that truth to heart, and "the presence of the King" becomes wonderfully precious. How subduing to the soul, how awesome and holy! And what a privilege to be allowed — in fact welcomed — into that presence. But if so, then all selfish seeking of position and honour there is unbecoming. Only One is to be exalted there, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Center and Object of all adoration and praise.

Jesus watched the dinner guests taking the best places for themselves. He advised them not to take such a place. The host may have meant it for a more honoured person, and the social climber could end up humiliated. If this is true in the natural realm, how much more so among the saints of God! Aspiring to a high place is both unseemly and exposes a person to the shame of humiliation.

"When you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher.'" He had done so Himself. He took the form of a servant and was found in human form. He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." … The first Adam tried to exalt himself. Instead he fell through Satan's deceit. The Second Man humbled Himself and is set above all rule and authority and power.

If I am conscious of being a sinner, and therefore deserving no place, I will take none, but wait until God gives me one. I will have real honour when God gives me a place. … When the eye is on God like this, self is forgotten. If not, I am thinking about the slights I receive, and neither faith nor grace is in exercise. … When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. When a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and distance from God, because self is the object.

Where godliness, lowliness and true spiritual growth are found, the Lord orders things so that such people take the lead in the assembly. They lead in matters of order and government, and of course in the exercise of various gifts. This is normal, proper growth. Such men will not seek in any way to take the lead. But because of their lowly devotion and knowledge of the Word of God, the Lord Himself will place it on their shoulders in the end.

But there is another moral element of great importance there and everywhere else — not self-seeking, but a truly humble mind. As our Lord said, if it were only about a place at a feast, go and take the last. Then when the host comes he may say, Friend, go up higher. So here: "Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great." What a rebuke to vanity, to be pushed lower, and in the prince's presence too!

If I know I am a sinner, and therefore deserve no place, I shall take none. I will wait until God gives me one. I shall have honour indeed when God gives me a place. The point is, what does He bestow upon me? … When God gives me a place, it is one of power and nearness to Himself. But when a man takes a place for himself, it is one of weakness and alienation from God, because self is the object.

He took the form of a servant, was found in human form, humbled Himself, and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." … The first Adam sought to exalt himself, but only fell through the deceit of Satan. The Second Man humbled Himself and is set above all rule, and authority, and power.

How wonderfully precious "the presence of the King" becomes when we take to heart the truth that evil has no place in His presence. How subduing to the soul, how awesome and holy; and how marvellous the privilege of being allowed — in fact welcomed — in that presence. But if so, then certainly all selfish seeking of position and honour there is unbecoming. Only One is to be exalted there, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Centre and Object of all adoration and praise.

Yet where godliness, lowliness and true spiritual growth are found, the Lord will so order things that such people take the lead in the assembly. They lead in matters of order and government, and of course in the exercise of various gifts. This is normal, proper growth. Such men will not seek in any way to assume the lead. But because of their lowly devotion and knowledge of the Word of God, the Lord Himself will eventually place this on their shoulders. How good to remember that in all assembly activity, and in the exercise of every spiritual gift, we are "in the presence of the Prince whom our eyes have seen." What sanctifying power this understanding would have over our whole service for Him!

Oh, to be nothing! This is true liberty — true happiness — true moral elevation. What intense power of attraction there is in someone who makes nothing of himself! On the other hand, how repulsive is a pushing, elbowing, self-exalting spirit! How completely unworthy of one who bears the name of Him who made Himself of no reputation! It is a settled truth that ambition cannot possibly live in the presence of One who emptied Himself. An ambitious Christian is a glaring contradiction.

The rebuke is not only for the self-conceit that pushes forward among the great, in case a greater humiliation falls on you. You must also avoid a contentious spirit.

Haste exposes you to all sorts of mistakes. This is most true when it takes the form of strife with another. He can soon prove you wrong where you least suspected it. The over-confident critic is put to shame, and looks in vain for somewhere to retreat and hide.

Someone who can present his own case in a plausible, persuasive way may look right. But we had better be careful about accepting this testimony. His neighbour may question him in such a way that a very different result comes to light. Every person tends to put himself in the most favourable light.

Let us not forget, dear Christian readers, that one of the marks of faith is to hurry. Abraham hurried when it was a matter of the Lord's service (Gen. 18:6-8). Zacchaeus did so when the Saviour invited him to receive Him into his house (Luke 19:6). Mary did so when the Lord called her to come to Him (John 11:29). If it is about Him and His Person, can we ever hurry enough? But on the other hand, should we not keep ourselves from the haste that so often marks the flesh and the old man? "Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood" (Prov. 1:16; 6:18), "to strive" (Prov. 25:8), "to be rich" (Prov. 28:20, 22). When it concerns ourselves, let us not act like the world.

The messenger is not called on to enforce his message. Striving is unbecoming; mere argument will not produce results for God. The truth itself, which we are trying to defend, will suffer from our contentious attitude. Our neighbour will blame our doctrine for our "hasty striving." We will be put to shame, and left embarrassed about how to get out of such a mess. Peter is a striking example. He took a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant. It may have looked like bravery, but it led only to Peter's humiliation.

How often it happens that people go to law to be put right of their wrongs, and, in the end, find themselves wronged of their rights!

Why not suffer injustice, if necessary? "Why not rather suffer wrong?" (1 Cor. 6:7). Why not wait for the Lord to overrule in things that may come up between brothers?

You may discuss with a neighbour what concerns you deeply. But beware of betraying anything you have learned that would injure him.

Haste opens the door to all sorts of mistakes. This is most true when it turns into a quarrel with another person. He can soon prove you wrong where you least suspected it. Then the over-confident accuser is put to shame, and looks in vain for somewhere to retreat and hide.

How carefully we must guard the doors of our lips! Disagreement, discord and bad feeling have come between neighbours. Will spreading it elsewhere settle it? Let us have grace and honest courage of heart to face our neighbour in a spirit of meekness and true concern, so that we reach a proper understanding. Think of the countless cases of offence that were never settled, but only made worse, by selfish, thoughtless gossip — when one word of simple apology could have ended them forever!

Perhaps we know someone who is not on friendly terms with the person who has hurt us. We have little doubt that he will listen eagerly to the story of our wrongs. The danger is that our selfishness sends us to him — though if we cared about his soul, he would be the last person in the church we should ever tell... It is much to be feared that we are not altogether sorry to punish the one who wronged us by lowering him in other people's eyes.

You may discuss with a neighbour what concerns you deeply. But be careful never to give away something you have somehow learned, and so harm him.

This is a very delicate area. It needs real energy of communion with God to have the wisdom to act rightly. In certain cases there may be facts that others should know, and where to draw the line calls for serious exercise of heart. But I must be careful not to put my neighbour in a wrong or bad light. And before I speak, I must always judge in myself any feeling of personal grievance.

Otherwise telling it will disgrace the one who spreads it, and the harm will last a long time.

Even if a gossip's words were completely true — which they seldom are — they do harm in every way, and they come under the condemnation of evil speaking. They have no moral purpose and no loving manner. At best this is gossip. Mostly it is simply the pleasure of talking about things that right feeling would rather keep hidden. The result is wounds that go very deep, in the places where they are least curable.

Whoever covers an offense seeks love. This does not mean covering your own wrongdoing, which we ought to confess honestly to the Lord. It means we should not expose someone else's wrongdoing unless the matter affects others. There are also smaller matters that we may hear but ought not to repeat, because such carelessness can separate friends.

You may discuss with a neighbour what concerns you deeply, but you must beware of betraying what you have somehow learned to his injury.

Otherwise its disclosure will disgrace the one who spreads it, so that the ill effect will long remain.

How guarded the doors of our lips must be! Disagreement, discord and ill-feeling have come between neighbours. Will spreading it elsewhere settle it? Let us have grace and honest courage of heart. Let us face our neighbour in a spirit of meekness and true concern, so that we reach a proper understanding. How painful are the countless cases of offence that were never settled! Selfish, thoughtless gossip only made them worse, when a word of simple apology might have ended it forever.

Perhaps we know a fellow believer who is not on the friendliest terms with the one who has injured us. We have little doubt that he will lend a ready ear to the tale of our wrongs. The danger is that, in our selfishness, we go to him. Yet if we thought of his soul's welfare, he would be the last person we should ever tell... We may well fear that we are not altogether sorry to punish our brother by lowering him in the eyes of others.

This is exactly how the soul reacts to the words of talebearers. They are like deep, internal wounds — the Hebrew word means "to burn in." Such things have so deep an effect that they may never be forgotten, while other forms of wrong are soon dismissed from the mind. Talebearing may easily lead to a permanent break between saints of God.

Even if the words were strictly true, which they rarely are, they do harm in every way. They fall under the censure of evil speaking. They wholly lack a moral object or a loving way. At best it is gossip. Mostly it is the mere indulgence of talking about things that right feeling would rather keep quiet.

This area is very delicate. It needs real energy of communion with God to have the wisdom to act rightly. In certain cases there may be facts that others should know, and where to draw the line calls for serious exercise. But I must be careful not to put my neighbour in a wrong or bad light. And before I speak, I must always judge in myself any feeling of personal grievance.

Accept nothing said in this way, and rebuke the talebearer. That will soon check such people and put them to shame. To repeat slanderous tales is to share the guilt and the mischief.

On the other hand, the proverb compares a word spoken to the point, or in season, to apples of gold in baskets of silver. It is the fruit of divine righteousness served up with fitting grace.

In Proverbs 25:11 "apples of gold in pictures of silver" probably describes some piece of jewellery, judging from the words that follow right after; others prefer to translate it "carved images."

On the other hand, a word spoken to the point, or in season, is compared here to apples of gold in baskets of silver — fruit of divine righteousness served with fitting grace.

In marked contrast to a "multitude of words," this is but "a word," yet spoken in the proper time and place to meet a particular need.

Speaking the right word at the right time is like rare art: "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver" (Prov. 25:11). The tongues of sinful men, on the other hand, can be sharp instruments causing havoc: "They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the poison of snakes is under their lips" (Ps. 140:3). Even believers need this warning: the tongue, used the wrong way, can do great damage, like a small fire setting a great forest ablaze (Jas. 3:2-12).

Apples are well known for giving health, and gold is a lovely symbol of the glory of God shown in the Person of Christ, just as light from the sun reveals the glory of the sun itself. Isn't it precious that this picture appears the moment the subject of ministry comes up? And the gold sits in a setting of silver, a picture of the work of the Lord Jesus in redemption.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver," and "A word spoken in due season, how good it is." All the words of the Lord were like this. Each one came at its own time and in its own circumstance, and none was more fitly spoken than this word. In the written record of His words too, every one is placed by God.

Such a rebuke would be well deserved, but the One Who was speaking knew how "to speak a word in season to the one who is weary." Compassion came first; correction may follow.

Despite all this, this poor child was in the right place, at the right time, with the right aim, and in the right spirit to do the right thing. All the happy results that followed turned on her little word, so fitly spoken: "I wish my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria, for he would heal him of his leprosy." She seeks nothing for herself. She does not say, "I wish my master were relieved of his misery," but that he "were with the prophet." That is the first thing; bodily healing would follow.

True, all are not evangelists in the sense of being public preachers, but all may evangelize by saying a word for the heart or conscience as the Lord gives opportunity. All that such a work needs is love for souls — a love which acts in harmony with the heart of Christ. Millions of souls will be in heaven at last, and will swell the song of the redeemed, who were brought to know the Lord by a word fitly spoken, by personal conversation and prayer.

It is not so with such a blessed display of what is precious; for a wise reprover on an attentive ear is a prized object and an ornament of great value.

The "earring of gold" speaks of an influence that stirs the soul with motives of concern for the glory of God. It stirs these instead of self-interest, self-justification or self-pleasing. How precious is that ministry which directs souls altogether to the Lord and His own glory! As well as an earring of gold, it is "an ornament of fine gold," not only influencing the ear, but an adornment of the person.

True ministry must reprove evil, whether privately or publicly. But this does not mean mere censure or impatience. This urgently needs lowly wisdom. The ministry must be given in the spirit of serving the need of souls, for the Lord's sake. This will have a real and precious effect upon every "obedient ear".

The oil makes the nail drive without splitting the board. The word never enters the heart more kindly than when it falls most gently: "Ride out victoriously... for the cause of truth and meekness" (Ps. 45:4). Be as rough to your people's sins as you can, so long as you are gentle to their souls. Do you take the rod of reproof into your hand? Let them see that love, not wrath, gives the blow. The word preached comes best from a warm heart.

Correction and reproof are for those who have an ear to hear. They keep them from living in a way that contradicts what they profess. That is why we are told here to "reprove a wise man, and he will love you." A wise man may not always follow the path of wisdom; he may need reproof. A fool is one who never hears, though he is always ready to find fault. A wise man listens and weighs; when he recognises what is of God, he will love you.

The readiness to take reproof to heart is a rare and precious trait in anyone. Poverty and shame must belong to the one who has no ear for the instruction which enriches all, and which all need. But what honour falls to the wise and lowly mind that welcomes and weighs reproof! Grace alone can make it real.

When Peter was moved by the spirit of the world, the Lord exposed him on the spot, without sparing him: "Get behind me, Satan." But when John the Baptist sent Him a message that was a reproach to Him, the Lord did rebuke him, yet with marked consideration. He sent back a message that none but John himself could measure. No one else could feel its point and sting: "Blessed is the one who is not offended by me." Even John's disciples, who carried the messages between them, could not have understood this. They were not aware how their master had been feeling, and Jesus would not expose their master to them. He would expose John to himself, but not to them. The disciples going to Emmaus He rebuked in a very unusual way. He spoke a sharp word to them: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe." Yet while He rebuked them, He warmed and blessed them. He spoke sharply to their ear, but He kindled their hearts.

I am speaking here of the Lord's dealing with His own. With opponents, or with the world, His rebuke was not really for correction, but in judgment. All His rebukes or reproofs were "earrings of gold" and "ornaments of fine gold" in themselves, and we may hope they commonly hung upon "obedient ears."

Most take this to mean snow stored from the winter before. It gave cooling refreshment in the heat of harvest. So here is a messenger whose faithful message does not warm, comfort or soothe. It stirs and refreshes. Faithful ministry must avoid mere "good words and fair speeches" (Rom. 16:18). It should stir hearts and consciences to true labour in God's great harvest field. Warming, comforting ministry is also badly needed at times, especially in trial, distress and sorrow. But in the heat of work, how we need that cooling, reviving ministry of the Spirit of God through the lips of a faithful messenger.

A faithful messenger in a world of unfaithfulness is a great comfort to those who send him. The proverb compares him here to the cold of snow in the time of harvest. He does indeed refresh the soul of his masters.

Notice that the verse says nothing about refreshing his hearers. It says instead: "he refreshes the soul of his masters." Can we not easily apply this to the delight of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in all ministry that faithfully represents the Word of God?

A great honour rests on him, certainly, but he is not the important one — the message he carries is. Since he is sent, his first thought must be the One who sends him… His first thought must be his Master, and his last thought too. He must return from his mission to Him and give account of how he carried it out and what came of it… He must also keep his Master in mind during the mission, for it will be a complete failure if he loses contact with Him. And the Lord never takes His eye off His servants. Here is a marvellous thing: "A faithful… messenger refreshes the soul of his Master"… The thought of the faithful messenger brings the Lord Himself to mind. He is called "the faithful Witness," and how perfectly refreshed His Father's heart was as He looked on Him.

The preacher is a messenger sent out with a report. He is not to seek popularity with the people he is sent to, but to be faithful to the One who sends him. "A FAITHFUL MESSENGER refreshes the soul of his Master" (Prov. 25:13). He is an ambassador of peace from Christ to man. He must know God's terms if he is to present them and explain them according to the mind of his Sovereign-Master. "A FAITHFUL AMBASSADOR is health" (Prov. 13:17). He is himself a witness to the delivering power of the message he carries. So he can seek out with confidence those who need the deliverance he has known. "A TRUE WITNESS delivers souls" (Prov. 14:25).

I think there has been only one Messenger who was entirely faithful: "the messenger of the covenant," sent by His Father. But we read of many others in the Scriptures who have been sent: Joseph, Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Philip, Timothy, and many others. These all were, in a measure, faithful messengers; they all went, when and where their Master sent them. But Jonah was also sent, and he did not go. To his shame and sorrow he disobeyed. He was not a faithful messenger. And now, to come nearer home — have you, my reader, a Master? Has He ever said to you, "Go!"?

But this question of ministry and gift is not without its dangers. Imitations of what is good will certainly soon raise their heads, and the saints of God must be on their guard. Promising outward signs may be there — the clouds and wind — but no rain, no vital ministry of the Spirit of God to actually meet the need of souls. One may appear earnest and serious as the clouds, and his words may be as strong and forceful as the wind. Yet he may have no true gift from the Spirit of God at all, so that he provides nothing for the thirst of souls.

We must not ignore Paul's warnings to Timothy: "avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness." "Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels" (2 Tim. 2:16, 23).

Whereas he who boasts of a false gift, or falsely giving, convicts himself as a sham, like clouds and wind without rain.

Again, a faithful messenger in a world of unfaithfulness is a great comfort to those who send him, here compared to the cold of snow in the time of harvest. He does indeed refresh the soul of his masters.

These words seem to be an echo of the boastful speech of Laodicea: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing" (Rev. 3:17). They will surely meet a like judgment from the Lord of the churches in the day of Christ. Meanwhile, they recall the maxims of the wise man: "Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love." "Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give" (Prov. 20:6; Prov. 25:14).

Jude has strong words for these intruders. He searches creation for fitting pictures of their wretched character, likening them to clouds, trees, waves and stars. As clouds they bring promise of God's blessing but there is not a drop! … We expect rain from clouds, and so we might expect good instruction from these teachers, but we find none. The supposed advanced teaching with its new light has really nothing to offer the Christian at all.

Then further, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips" (Prov. 27:2). We are not to blow our own trumpets. An egotistical man is nearly always an empty man. True greatness and conceit do not run together.

Honey is pleasant and good in its place sometimes. I was thinking of Jonathan. The Lord does refresh us with outward mercies, kind things, the friendship of other believers, but with caution as to how we use them. "If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it" — and too much even here does have that effect.

Sweetness is not all; one may have too much of it. A little honey is excellent; but if you have found it, eat enough and no more, or you will prove it a bad feast, and sickness follows, disagreeable to others no less than to yourself. But honey, or natural sweetness, must not enter an offering to the Lord. In divine things, seasoning with salt is essential, not sweetening to suit the natural palate.

We must realise that all human ministry has its limitations. We cannot live entirely from what others gather, and however deeply we may enjoy the ministry of a man of God, we must be careful not to saturate ourselves with his thoughts. We must rather get to the Word of God ourselves. Scripture itself will never sicken us, though man's thoughts about it may do so. The Word is "sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10): it stands far above all ministry... If we dare to give ministry the place that the Word itself should have we shall soon begin to vomit it.

The present is a time when many are running here and there to increase knowledge of all kinds. And this must be a caution to our souls, for the believer always has to watch against the spirit of the times. In these present times of light and knowledge — even knowledge of God — we still have to remember that it is not food merely, but digestion, that nourishes. The clean animal, under the law, chewed the cud.

There is much in nature that the free-born soul can enjoy without spiritual damage... scenery, the beauties of nature, needed bodily rest, and much else, can be a true refreshment to the Lord's tired people. "If you have found honey, eat only enough for you." This is the divine rule. The world, among the "all things," is ours. But we are to use it and not to abuse it, or to be brought under its power... Needed relaxation may degenerate into slackness; cheerful conversation into unholy silliness which blights true spiritual growth.

Neighbourly kindness suits us, and promotes good will. But here again danger lurks, if one overdoes it. It is apt to degenerate into a thoughtless or a meddling habit; and instead of love, hatred follows.

Verses 15–20 remind us how much a patient spirit and a gentle tongue gain, even with men of high authority… "Have you found honey? Eat only as much as you need, or you will have too much and vomit it."

Kindness to a neighbour suits us, and it builds good will. But here too a danger hides, if we overdo it. Such kindness easily slips into a thoughtless or meddling habit, and instead of love, hatred follows. We must not hand anyone an excuse, above all those who are looking for one.

We were not made to enjoy each other's talk all the time, or each other's company all the time… It is never like that when we seek the Lord's company. But we need sober wisdom, so that we know how to serve our neighbour well and then go on our way. However gifted I may be at teaching him, I must remember that he does not need my presence. He needs the Lord's presence. How good it is to give him just enough help to send his soul back into the Lord's presence, where he learns deeply and rightly, in a way he could never learn from me.

Even with the very best intentions, and the best thing to say, I can go wrong by spending too much time in my neighbour's house. How much more harm will I do when my intentions are poor and my talk is empty! "Consider the warning to young widows" in 1 Timothy 5:13.

A gossiper repeats stories and idle chatter that damage other people. A meddler interferes in other people's business and gives opinions on matters that are not his concern. Neither one is thinking of helping the needy or of putting a wrong right… Gossipers and meddlers, whether what they repeat is false or true, are both "saying what they should not."

But false witness against a neighbour is quite another thing, and extremely serious. The one who bears it is here said to be harmful in a great many different ways. He is a club to crush, a sword to pierce when the target is close at hand, and an arrow to wound from a distance.

A mallet or war-club for breaking in pieces or attacking.

The law of Sinai forbade the Israelite in plain words to bear false witness against his neighbour (Ex. 20:16). Scripture also said that a false witness should not go unpunished (Prov. 19:5, 9), but should perish (Prov. 21:28). He was a menace to the nation, and the proverb pictures him as "a maul and a sword and a sharp arrow" (Prov. 25:18). It does so because lying testimony bore its victim down by sheer force. It cut deep into the vital organs. It wounded even from a distance.

It is most hateful to God and most injurious to man. No one can say where the evil may spread, or how it may end here, but we do know how the Lord judges it forever.

The arrow also flies in secret, and the upright man is above all its target. The voice of slander takes its inspiration from the first tempter. It loves insinuation and suggestion. An open assault would be repelled, and a specific charge might prove the integrity it attacks. "Has God said?" might be the voice of innocence itself.

Someone hears a report. It seems true, so he passes it on. Yet if he had taken any trouble to check it, he might have found it false. Christians above all should be careful here. They should refuse every report that damages another person unless testimony no one can question stands behind it. So the responsibility falls on the hearer as well as on the one who repeats reports. If we remembered this, many a slander would stop at the start, many a tale-bearer would be uncovered, and many a broken fellowship avoided.

The commonness of such evil does not lessen its seriousness... How extremely careful we ought to be! We must care for the real unity of the Spirit of God. We must also know the facts fully before we speak, above all when our words will put someone in a bad light.

The Spirit of Christ foreshadowed this sin in the prophets: "False witnesses have risen up against me, and they breathe out cruelty"; "they charge me with things I do not know" (Ps. 27:12; Ps. 35:11). And so it happened. In the fullness of time the Anointed One presented Himself to the chosen people. It was not the mob but the religious leaders of the Jews who sought false witness against Jesus to put Him to death. In this very point they broke the law they were appointed to administer.

Confidence in an unfaithful man is a fault, and it is worst in time of trouble. That is when you are counting on the support you had expected in vain. It fails your spirit as a broken tooth does the mouth, or a foot out of joint the body.

Trials and troubles of many kinds will test us, and we need faithfulness urgently then. Paul had very real reason to tell Timothy, "What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2)... Suppose someone has confidence in us. Then, under the acid test, we withdraw, give up, become lax or weakened, and fall back on human reasoning instead of wholesome faith. He will find that confidence to be "a broken tooth." Its nerve is exposed, and it stands for a distressing hindrance to feeding on the truth of God. He will find it "a foot out of joint" too — a painful inability to walk with God. Let us be most careful. If we are going to have confidence in any man, we must be sure he is a faithful man, one who stays steadfast in the path of obedience to the Word of God.

It is good to dwell on the joy and the blessing, for these are great — "A faithful man will abound with blessings" (Prov. 28:20) — but warnings are needed too: "Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall"; "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint."... The man who carries the Master's message and yet contradicts it by his life is a false witness.

Moses hesitated to go into Egypt when God told him to. But the moment he heard that Aaron would go with him, he was ready. And yet this very man caused Moses the deepest sorrow he ever tasted. This was the man who made the golden calf! How full of warning all this is! What a sad mistake it is to lean on human strength! And yet how ready we all are to do it in one way or another! We lean on our fellow-mortal instead of leaning on the living God, and in the end we find we have been trusting a broken reed.

How ready we are on every occasion to look to our fellow-men for sympathy, help and counsel instead of looking directly and only to God!... Our God, in real faithfulness to us, will make our fellow-man fail us, so that we may learn the folly of leaning on human strength.

We learn that no one stood by the Apostle in his defence before the emperor. Indeed, all deserted him. But in grace he asked that it might not be held against them. If others fail, we must seek grace to go on in faithfulness to the Lord. Like Paul, we can count on the unfailing support of the Lord in every circumstance in which we are found for Him.

This is the natron we know today, not what we now call nitre, which is saltpetre. Pour vinegar on natron, or alkali, and it fizzes and evaporates. Singing cheerful songs to a heavy heart is just as unsuitable. It is a mineral alkali, and mixed with oil it makes soap.

Boastful modern philosophy has often laughed at Solomon's ignorance of chemistry when he spoke of the action of vinegar upon nitre in Proverbs 25. For nitre does not effervesce when acid is poured on it. But the fault does not lie with the origin but in the medium of transmission. The respected Westminster theologians, although great linguists, knew nothing of chemistry and were misled by the form of words. The Hebrew word used by Solomon was nether, corresponding to nitron in the Greek, which really describes sodium carbonate (our familiar "washing soda"), the source of all effervescence on a modern commercial scale.

Then, again, what is it to remove a wrap in cold weather? Does it not make the chill worse? So vinegar acts on nitre, not to soothe but to irritate. Both are like the one who "sings songs to a heavy heart." Prayer suits the afflicted, and so does sympathy; but songs are for the merry, not the sad. Mirth and its outflow must jar, as being wholly out of place.

Sadly, one mark of the last days is a shallow, frivolous spirit. It tries to brush aside genuine soul-searching with pretended happiness or excitement. Singing songs to a heavy heart will not meet the need of that heart. It might rather expose him to the cold winds of unbelief, like the taking away of a garment. Suppose he comes to think that Christianity is only a sentimental, emotional appeal to the physical senses. Then he will conclude that it holds no answer to the real need of his soul. He is left exposed in the cold… Vinegar on soda would effervesce, giving an appearance of activity, but empty as foam.

Human efforts to comfort, on their own, apart from God and the truth, fall short, because they are more or less ignorant. And the bitterer the trial, the more obvious that failure becomes. Job's history shows this. His three friends were clearly sincere in their care for the sufferer. They were eager to serve him in the hour of his sorrow. But the cause of Job's affliction completely baffled them… They might have helped in an ordinary case. But here was an outstandingly righteous man, stripped of every earthly possession in a way no one had ever seen, and they had nothing to say.

So our visiting should be practical. Suppose we call on a widow and her children who are well off. A few well-chosen words spoken in true sympathy might bring real comfort. But suppose we visit a poor widow and destitute children: a few pious words with no material help might only harden a widow in her grief.

A person may be so bowed down with sorrow that they cannot sing at all. But you could not make such a person the rule for everyone else, or stop others singing out of sympathy with him. We believe nothing can be more magnificent, more morally grand, than a hymn of praise, a song of triumph, sung in the very dust of death. To hear a gathering of believers singing at the grave of a brother or sister is a real triumph over the enemy. But if anyone is so crushed by the sorrow that they cannot sing, we are sure the loving, tender heart of Jesus feels that sorrow and puts their tears into His bottle. The One who wept and groaned at the grave of Lazarus would not rebuke the tears and groans of a crushed and desolate heart.

This first saying must have startled an ordinary Israelite. It rises above nature and law, which deal with evil feelings and evil ways as they deserve. Here it is "the kindness of God," and His call to act on a goodness seen in Him, which can only flow from Him. We see it done literally, and on a large scale, when God's power drew a Syrian army, sent to arrest Elisha, blinded into the capital city of Israel. The king asked the prophet, Shall I strike them? Shall I strike them? But God's spokesman said, No; "set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." No wonder the Syrian raiders came into the land of Israel no more... It was God in Christ, it is God in the Christian.

Instead of taking revenge himself, he bends before the storm and looks to God. He seeks to do real good to his enemy in his need and distress... He not only holds back from vengeance, he shows love. He returns good for evil, kindness for injury, blessing for cursing. The words feed him and give him drink stand for every duty of kindness.

To heap coals of fire on an enemy's head is to care for him, feed him well, and treat him kindly. This is the most effective way to subdue him, to melt him down. Who ever conquered an enemy's heart by revenge? How many have been conquered by love? ... "Surround the stubborn metal below and above. Do not only put it over the fire; heap coals of fire on top of it. Few hearts are so hard as not to melt under the energy of patient, self-denying, burning love."

Heaping coals of fire on an enemy's head by kindness becomes a test to him, as fire tests metal. The kindness shown him will either bring him to sorrow for his wrong and to friendship, or harden him even more.

Verse 20 in Romans 12 quotes Proverbs 25, but leaves out the words, "the Lord shall reward you." This is interesting. It shows one of the early hints of grace scattered here and there in the Old Testament... We are to leave an enemy in the Lord's hands. Our own hearts, instead of calling down judgment, are to go out in tender compassion towards him... We show him every kindness we can. In this we represent the heart of God towards us when we were still enemies. So, with God's blessing, we will make him feel the effect of coals of fire on his head. The coals still mean judgment — but self-judgment produced in his heart, not judgment poured on him.

Did the Lord Jesus Himself not do this very thing when He multiplied the loaves and fishes? He provided for all the tired and hungry crowd, many of whom proved to be His enemies, and He knew it... whether in material things or spiritual, we who have the bread that men need should always be ready to give it freely.

Do not hold the common thought that all these commands cannot be kept — that they are only an ideal, something to admire but never actually practise. This is unbelief.

To heap coals of fire on an enemy's head is to care for him, feast him, and treat him kindly, as the most effective means of subduing him, of melting him down. Who ever conquered an enemy's heart by revenge? How many have been conquered by love? What was it that dissolved the hardness of our unyielding hearts? A Saviour's love. "Try it," says Charles Bridges. "Surround the stubborn metal below and above. Do not only put it over the fire; heap coals of fire on it. Few hearts are so hard as not to melt under the energy of patient, self-denying, burning love."

Heaping coals of fire on an enemy's head by kindness (Prov. 25:21-22; Rom. 12:20) becomes a test to him, as fire tests metal. The kindness shown him will either bring about contrition and friendship, or harden him yet more.

This saying would normally have startled an Israelite. It rises above nature and above law, which deals with evil feelings and evil ways as they deserve. Here it is "the kindness of God," and His call to act on a goodness which is seen in Him and can only flow from Him. We see it acted out in real life, and on a large scale. God's power drew a Syrian army, sent to arrest the prophet Elisha, blindfolded into the capital city of Israel. The king asked the prophet, Shall I strike them? Shall I strike them? But God's spokesman said, No: "set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." No wonder that the raiding bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel… It was God in Christ, it is God in the Christian.

Note first that Romans 12:20 quotes Proverbs 25, but leaves out the words, "the Lord shall reward you." That is interesting. It shows one of the early hints of grace scattered here and there in the Old Testament. When the Psalmist cries, "Let burning coals fall upon them," the context makes clear that he wants judgment on his enemies… But under the reign of grace all is changed… We show him every possible kindness. In this we represent the heart of God towards us when we were still enemies (see Romans 5:8). And so, with the blessing of God, we make him feel the effect of coals of fire on his head. The coals keep the meaning of judgment — but self-judgment produced in his heart, not judgment falling on his head.

The Lord does not take that place now. He is saving sinners, and displaying full grace in other ways… Suppose someone sets himself against a believer with evil intent. It would be foreign to Christianity, and against all that Christianity breathes, for that believer to wish him dead or hurt. Christianity shows that the victory grace gives us is to show love and kindness to one's enemy. It may be heaping coals of fire on his head; but such is the Lord's way — overcoming evil with good.

Such treatment should burn into the conscience of an enemy, like coals of fire on his head, whether he is converted by it or not. But the Lord will reward that reality of faith.

We close our reflections by begging all our readers not to hold the common thought that these precepts cannot be practised. They are not mere ideals, to be admired but never carried out. This is unbelief… Let us rather use the words of the apostle: "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Verse 23 has drawn very different senses out of translators, as we can see in the text and the margin of the Authorized Version. Even here the opposite sense in the last clause seems better — that as the north wind brings forth rain, so an angry face provokes a secret or backbiting tongue. If this is right, it is a call to gentleness even in the look, and a warning about what follows when we fail in that respect.

While the west wind in Palestine brings rain from the sea, the cold clear north wind will drive it back. Rain is needed at times, and it pictures the ministry of the Word of God by the Spirit. But on the other hand, one may use his gift of speech in a very wrong way, as we have also seen. This becomes like a pelting, vicious cloudburst... we must not listen to a backbiter. He is worthy only of the cold anger of the north wind. If we treat him in this decided way, it may stun him, but it will drive away his evil speaking. The first sign of discord and disunity is in our words.

The backbiter does the work of Satan. The Lord hates the slandering tongue as He hates the flattering tongue. The believer can show an angry face without sinning, and so cut short the harmful work of the backbiter (Ephesians 4:26).

There is such a thing as being rightly angry. But such anger is indignation against evil, not against the evil-doer. Behind such anger there is grief because of the evil. So we read that the Lord looked on the wicked leaders of the synagogue with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts (Mark 3:5). The anger of the flesh always has self in view. It is not grief because of evil, but resentment against someone who has caused offence.

The command against a false report has a wider meaning. It includes receiving a false report as well as raising one. Many who would never raise one fall into the trap of receiving it. A person hears a report, it seems true, and he passes it on. If anyone had taken the trouble to check it, he might have found it false. Christians above all should be careful here. They should refuse every report that damages another, unless solid evidence backs it up. The responsibility therefore rests on the hearer as well as on the repeater of reports. If we remembered this, we would stop many a slander at the start, uncover many a tale-bearer, and avoid many a break in fellowship.

...he had a text made to hang opposite his place at the dinner table. It read: "The brother for whom Christ died." (See 1 Corinthians 8:11). Suppose we remembered these few words, and kept in mind how Christ loves him. How slow we would then be to listen to evil reports about a brother, or to think them over, or to repeat them. Another Scripture we might remember is Proverbs 25:23... That, I have no doubt, is the Lord's way to treat most of the evil reports about the saints of God.

The next verse expresses how miserable it is to share a house with a quarrelsome woman. That misery made a corner of the housetop a welcome escape from all that noise.

A quarrelsome woman is bound to be a trial to every member of the household, but most of all to her husband. The house may be roomy, but only clashes follow her. If visitors call, that only adds to his pain. There is no better place for him than a corner on the housetop. There he can find quiet, and, for his devotion to God, access to the Most High.

The word koinos is also used in the Greek Old Testament for "common," but more in the sense of fellowship. It is also used to mean a "wide or open" house, as if accessible to all, Proverbs 21:9; Proverbs 25:24.

This may appear startling just in this place, but it fits the subject of the chapter completely. Backbiting, if it is not judged, may become a habit. It is a genuine long-term disease that leaves the guilty person unmanageable and quarrelsome. How much better to live in quiet in a small, despised place than in large and impressive circumstances with such a woman.

It is as though a beautiful mansion, once prepared for one family only, has fallen into disrepair and ruin. It has become a lodging house not only for the family but for strangers as well. A contentious woman takes up a large amount of space in it. She may want everyone eating at the same table, agreeing to disagree, putting on a show of unity while only discord and loud words are heard.

But every professing Christian is in this "great house," and cannot leave it. What then is a concerned child of God to do? He is to purge himself from fellowship with this mixture. It is better to have a clean place "in the corner of the housetop." That means not living with the ungodly, but staying in quiet separation from them, while still making full room for fellowship "with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart."

It may be that Solomon learned the truth of this proverb by experience, for he had too many wives — but we do not read of him living in the corner of a housetop! Of course, he was wealthy enough to give his wives their own houses, so that he might see them only when he pleased.

On the other hand, good news from a far country is no less refreshing than cold waters to a thirsty soul. One looks for pleasant sounds at home, instead of noisy strife or murmurs. But if one receives good news from a far land, it is all the sweeter.

In the parable of the Pounds in Luke 19 the Lord likens heaven to "a far country." Why is this? In the opening chapters of Genesis heaven seems very near, and God a neighbour close at hand. We read there of a garden planted by the Creator, full of everything that was pleasant to see and good for food. There the Lord God used to come and talk with the first man and his wife. But all this was quickly changed. There came the day when Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Sin was the cause of this. Later God said to Israel, "your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God" (Isa. 59:2). Once sin entered, God's pleasure in man ceased, and from that moment heaven has seemed "a far country."

Who would have expected it? What child of Adam would ever have dreamed of hearing anything from God that could be called good news? Not Adam himself, with his sin staring him in the face, and a guilty conscience forcing its deadly sting into the centre of his trembling soul, and the sound of his Maker's footsteps in his ear as He walked in the garden in the cool of the day; not one of that rebel sinner's race, whose guilty life calls loudly for the judgment of the righteous Ruler of the universe... for the wisdom, the grace and the resources of God are past finding out.

In Acts 1 we see Him going up again to where He was before. He carried the wounds which men had inflicted on His sacred Person right up to the throne of God — sight of all sights for the angelic host! What response did God give to this? For ten days there was a lull. Then heaven opened once more, and the Holy Spirit came forth. What for? To destroy the guilty sons of men? No, but to preach the gospel... Before He went on high, the Saviour said that repentance and forgiveness of sins were to be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47). So His very murderers were to have the first chance of blessing. Surely the message of forgiveness of sins for everybody is "good news from a far country." We deserved wrath, and look, we are offered pardon and peace!

Why are men not keen for such blessings? Our text tells us. They are not "thirsty." Cold waters are only welcome to thirsty souls. Thirsty ones are most tenderly invited. Revelation 22:17 says, "let the one who is thirsty come." In John 7:37 we hear the Saviour's call, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink." But men are not thirsty. They have no sense of need, and so they are not interested. Yet when "good news" of another kind comes along men are interested enough. Suppose someone in our town inherited a fortune... how keen he would be. Down would go his tools for ever, and he would set off to take possession of his own.

He is an ambassador of peace from God to the world. He must know God's conditions and terms of peace if he is to present them to men, and explain them according to the mind of his Sovereign Lord. He is a bringer of good news to men from the Lord in heaven... And if he is "a faithful ambassador he is health" (Prov. 13:17). He is himself a witness to the delivering, healing power of the message he carries... his Master, his Master's message, and his Master's interests absorb him.

The sad state of ruin and shame in the church has called us to a path of real separation, with trial and reproach, and no hope of recovering the true witness of the church. How much more precious, then, becomes the "good news from a far country." If everything on earth has failed, how much more does the soul thirst for heaven! Is this verse not a very clear reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus?

maqor means "source, perpetual spring." It is translated "spring" in Proverbs 25:26... It is also used for the "fountain of life," applied to the LORD for Israel (Psalm 36:9); the "fountain of tears" (Jeremiah 9:1); and the "fountain of living waters" (Jeremiah 2:13; Revelation 21:6).

But there is a report, or a fact, that is bound to give pain and to make people stumble: a righteous man totters before the wicked. From him you hoped for a spring rising up, and maybe a clear river flowing out. How sad to find only a muddied spring and a polluted well!

Here it is the mouth of a righteous man, and it is called a fountain of life. This is God's mind about such a person in this desert world... So he becomes an active source of blessing to others... By grace the righteous man's mouth is a fountain of life. He is a witness of God in Christ, and because he believes, he speaks.

When a believer receives the gospel, he finds "in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life" (John 4:14). That water must then flow out in blessing to others — the ministry of the Spirit of God. Will we let this spring get clogged or polluted by unfaithfulness to our blessed Master?

Jacob's shameful bowing down before Esau, cringing before him like a servant, misrepresented the God he served (Genesis 33:3). God had already said, "the older shall serve the younger." But a bad conscience produced this weakness. Faith would have given him a calm dignity, so that he could stand face to face with his brother and bear a true witness for God. The spring did not bring out what it should have... To bow to the spiritual authority of an unbeliever will stop the lips from ministering the pure water of the Word of God... Showing courteous respect to others is good, but giving way to evil is bad.

They should have remembered that the spirit gains nothing from the flesh. The world never helps God's people except at the price of their dishonour. And a righteous man who gives way before the wicked is like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain... It was also a wrong done to the world itself. What power is there in a testimony that contradicts itself, preaching the cross and yet fighting in the flesh?

To eat too freely of what is sweet to the taste is not good. We may have proved that to our cost, through lack of subjection to the Word. But there is the opposite danger: an excessive search after weighty things. Such a search becomes a weight instead of a pleasure or a profit. The Hebrew word translated glory, as is well known, also means weight.

Honey was so plentiful in Palestine that people often called the country a land "flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8, 17). It is a symbol of what is sweet in nature, to be taken with discretion, in case it causes vomiting (Proverbs 25:16, 27). God strictly forbade adding honey to the offerings made to Him by fire (Leviticus 2:11). What belongs to nature, even if it is sweetness, can have no place in what is offered to God.

The Lord's ways and words were always gracious. But in John 2:4 we read of Him saying to His mother, "Woman, what have I to do with you?" Such words may have been a normal way of speaking in that day. To our ears they sound harsh. I am sure that our Lord did not speak harshly to His mother. On the other hand, there was no trace of natural sweetness or flattery. There was no honey. But in John 19 the Lord is on the cross, and His mother and the disciple John are looking on. His words were, "Woman, behold your son," and to John, "Behold your mother."

We have seen that honey is a picture, not of the Word of God itself, but of the ministry of the Word of God by His saints. This must have a limit, though it is good. If it leads us to prefer one person above another, this is only glorying in men… Often it is our own pride that puts a gifted man on a pedestal. If we then feed his pride as well, this is not true glory. May the Lord keep us from letting any gift of ministry become an occasion for boasting.

He had come to seek the glory of God instead of seeking His own by speaking as from Himself. Suppose it was unrighteous for Him to seek His own glory, even though all glory was His by right. How much more unrighteous is it for any of us who serve Him to seek our own glory, when by right we have no glory at all.

Wheat harvest came at Pentecost, about the beginning of our June. Rain at that time was most unusual — extraordinary, really (Prov. 26:1).

As snow in summer and rain at harvest time are quite impossible in Palestine, so is honour for a fool.

The basic character of a fool in the Bible's sense is that he leaves God out of his calculations. He is simply a rationalist. He says in his heart, "There is no God." He builds greater and greater barns to store his earthly goods, and forgets eternity (Psalm 14:1). A man like this receiving honours is grossly out of his place; for he is worthy only of dishonour and contempt. Only faith can maintain what is truly fitting to any position. Snow in summer and rain in harvest are both unfitting, and they get in the way of proper work, however right they may be at the right time. So honour is right for some men, but not for a fool. Folly is the exact opposite of faith. Pharaoh held the highest place of honour in Egypt, yet he openly defied God: "Who is the LORD?" "I do not know the LORD" (Ex. 5:2).

The Hebrew uses three different words for fool. The first is "avil," which means weakness. The second, "kesil," occurs nearly fifty times and means fat or dense. The third is "nabal." It comes from the verb to fade or to wither, and it means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness.

There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, says the royal preacher (Eccles. 10:6-7), as an error that proceeds from a ruler; folly is set in great dignities, but the rich sit in a low place. I have seen slaves upon horses, and princes walking as slaves upon the earth. But both sights are unseemly, as strange as snow in summer or rain in harvest.

The ruler's proud spirit naturally provokes people. But wisdom keeps what is fitting: the subject stays in his place, and if an answer is called for, he gives a soft one. Simply being in the right never puts a wrong right; the grace that gives up self and serves does. And what the great king saw is not an uncommon sight in any age. It is trying even to the wise and meek — the error comes from the ruler, who lifts up the unworthy and puts down the worthy. But wisdom can bow and wait without arguing, since arguing would not cure the evil but only add another.

If God takes up people who have no claim and no fitness for the high place and relationship He gives them, is He indifferent about how they behave in it? Certainly not. Suppose a king handed out his honours freely to unworthy men. It would bring him, the source of honour, into contempt. The throne itself would lose its credit, and the nobility would become a laughing stock. We can be sure that God is not less careful than the king about the conduct of those He lifts up. Their lives and ways must match their relationship to God.

"The fool" fills a large place in the first part of this chapter, and it is not a place anyone would envy. He is there so that those who are not foolish may take warning, steer clear of thoughtlessness, and know how to act toward such a person.

Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. The Hebrew uses three different words for it. One is "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade, or to wither. It means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness… As snow in summer and rain at harvest time are quite impossible in Palestine, so is honor for a fool. A fool may utter a curse, as they often do, and wish something evil, but being causeless, it will not be fulfilled.

Next, the picture comes from the restless movement of the sparrow, and from the flights of the swallow that look aimless. It shows how empty the folly is that indulges in an undeserved curse.

deror. This is interpreted 'roving about,' which agrees well with the habits of the swallow or swift. They come and go, and are not domesticated. Prov. 26:2. In Psalm 84:3 the same bird pictures the wanderer finding rest and protection in God's house.

A curse does not come without some cause. Moreover it is most characteristic of a fool to be a wanderer, and as restless as the swallow, always on the wing. The bird may have been made for this, but not so man, and he will reap the harmful effects. The believer, on the other hand, is like the sparrow that has found a house — no more wandering. He is like the swallow that has found a nest in the courts of God — no more restlessness (Psalm 84:3). So let the believer act in character, and not like the fool. He should not wander from God's place for him, or allow a restless, discontented spirit. These are real enemies of the truth, and will bring bad results.

All of David's integrity might rise up against such an accusation — and yet indeed he was a man of blood! Shimei did not know it, but God knew it. This wicked man was a divine instrument to remind David of his fault: "So let him curse, for Jehovah has said to him, Curse David!" (v. 10). David accepts the curse. His broken heart looks for no defence, no excuse, and no payment of any kind for his past righteousness. For him this is God's judgment and his only recourse is grace.

The great principle of the Balaam story is that God was the unasked Guardian and Blesser of His people. First God forbade Israel to touch Moab. Next Balak says, "He whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." Yet he was seeking to bring the curse on Israel when God had said, "Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you." So he was just bringing it on himself.

Without sin no curse could have existed; the curse causeless cannot come. But it clings, like its own shadow, to wrongdoing… God must punish sins in judgment and also cancel them by sacrifice, and He must set righteousness in their place, before the blessing can replace the curse. The cross accomplished both, when God "made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin."

Again, the horse and the donkey, which need the whip and the bridle, are taken to show that a rod is no less necessary to chastise fools if nothing less can restrain them.

Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. Three different words are used in the Hebrew for fool. The first is "avil," which means weakness. The second word, "kesil," occurs nearly fifty times and means fat or dense. The third is the Hebrew "nabal." It comes from the verb to fade or to wither. It means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. Much of what this book says about the fool fits the natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness. … The fool needs correction, the stripes for his back.

The horse and the donkey are both unclean animals. Each pictures the unbeliever in a different way. The horse of Palestine is unwilling to work. The donkey is usually wild and refuses to be controlled. Soft, soothing measures are hopeless in such cases. About rebellious, empty talkers the apostle says they "must be silenced" (Titus 1:10-11). The rod of authority is the only language they understand. In certain cases Paul had to use this authority, however much it pained him. He handed Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan, so that they would learn not to blaspheme (1 Timothy 1:20).

It is a sure and solemn thing that folly is no disaster from outside. It is bound in the heart. And it is there not only in the conflicts of busy life, but from our earliest days, since all of us have now departed from God by nature. "Folly is bound in the heart of a child"; no one is exempt, even from the most tender age. Even the greatest love or care does not restrain folly enough. There is the rod of correction to drive it far away, by the LORD's prescription and with His blessing. It is the folly of a father or mother to think their way is better than God's.

God constantly makes the earthly object of trust become the rod for the back of fools.

The Lord guides us — or rather controls us — in another way. He uses the circumstances He arranges, so that we may not go wrong, even though we are people who have no understanding. And we ought to be thankful that He does so. But it is only as the horse or mule. If your will is subject to Mine, He says, "I will counsel you with my eye upon you." But if you are not subject, I must keep you in with "bit and bridle." That is plainly a very different thing.

Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. The Hebrew uses three different words for fool. The first is "avil," which means weakness. The second word, "kesil," occurs nearly fifty times and means fat or dense. The third is the Hebrew "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade or to wither; it means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. The natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness — matches much of what this book says about the fool.

A fool will argue for the sake of ridicule, with no real reasonableness. It is a mistake, then, to lower oneself to the same unwholesome level of argument. Heated words are likely to betray a believer into using the same unsound argument and ridicule. So we make ourselves like the one we so resent! A fool's objections ought to make us most careful to weigh our answers well.

To man's mind it is a contradiction. No wonder, for he shuns a divine Master — One who owns a man that may be called to act rightly, but who gives a standard like Himself, and who deals with the senseless in what looks like inconsistency. In one case He leaves folly unnoticed, as it deserves. In another He exposes it. So He may convince even a fool of his folly, or warn someone else who is too easily taken in — and that is common enough in this world.

We should avoid mere argument on the same level. Yet it may be very necessary to answer a fool in a way that shows his argument up as folly, without resorting to argument… The wisdom of the Lord Jesus in answering quarrelsome men shows this well. Rather than merely answering their cunning questions, He answered the men. Consider Luke 10:25-37 and Matthew 22:15-22. There could then be no argument: they were silenced.

Foolish questions are usually a sign of a heart unwilling to be subject to the Word of God. Such questions need no answer. Avoid them, or they will only lead to strife… If someone really wants to know the answer to a question, let us give him proper help. But if he asks with the clear intention of disputing against the truth, he deserves no answer.

David was rashly taking himself out of the place of dependence — the only happy, the only holy place. Nor was it on behalf of the congregation of the Lord. No, it was to avenge himself on one who had treated him badly. Sad mistake! It was a happy thing for him that there was an Abigail in Nabal's house. God was about to use her to keep him from answering a fool according to his folly. This was just what the enemy desired.

It may be well enough sometimes to answer a fool according to his folly. But it is usually best not to chase these dupes of Satan into the swamps of darkness and error, where their rebellion against the true light has led them. Our business is to keep the fortress of our own souls well guarded.

Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. Three different words are used in the Hebrew for fool. The first is "avil" which signifies weakness. The second word "kesil" occurs nearly fifty times, means fat or dense. The third word is the Hebrew "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade, or to wither; it means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. The natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness — matches much of what this book says about the fool.

"Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself." The connection here with the previous verse is obvious. A fool will argue for the sake of ridicule, with no real reasonableness. It is a mistake therefore to lower oneself to the same unwholesome level of argument. Heated words are likely to betray a believer into the use of the same unsound argument and ridicule. Thus we make ourselves like the one whom we so resent!

There is a delicate balance to keep here. What follows looks on the surface like a contradiction, though of course it is nothing of the kind: "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes." We must avoid mere argument on the fool's own level. Yet it may be very necessary to answer a fool in a way that exposes his argument as folly, without arguing at all. Titus 1:9 implies this: sound teaching should both encourage and refute those who contradict.

Verses 4 and 5 are full of instruction, except to those who do not know to look for a guidance above appearances — a guidance that goes by the realities seen by eyes that see where man cannot. To man's mind it is a contradiction. No wonder, for he refuses a divine Master, who accepts a man that may be called to act rightly but gives a standard like Himself, and who deals with the senseless in what looks like inconsistency. In one case he leaves folly without notice, as it deserves. In another he exposes it, hoping to convince even a fool of his folly, or to warn someone else who is too easily taken in — a thing not uncommon in this world.

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding marked every step, every word and every action of the Lord Jesus. But there were times when these features were obvious to all. The spies of the chief priests and scribes tried to trap Him with the question, "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" (Luke 20:22)... The Spirit of understanding is seen in His discerning the thoughts and motives of His questioners, and the Spirit of wisdom in His replies that silenced them.

The wise are lowly and dependent on the only wise God. The foolish man is wise in his own eyes; he who only adds conceit to folly is the most hopeless of men.

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him" (Prov. 26:12); of all fools the conceited fool is the worst. Pride makes a man incapable of receiving counsel.

In the Bible's sense, the basic character of a fool is that he leaves God out of his plans. He is simply a rationalist. He says in his heart, "There is no God." He builds bigger and bigger barns to store his goods on earth, and forgets eternity. Folly is the precise opposite of faith.

To send a message through a foolish person makes error so certain that it is nothing short of cutting off your own feet — the feet that would have done better to take the trouble themselves. And you are fortunate if it does not also mean drinking damage. It risks harm as well as total failure.

To employ a fool to convey a serious message would be itself folly even in the world's view. Should men then ordain an unbeliever to preach the message of God to a sinful world? Such men are not born again. They have no love for the Lord Jesus and no regard for the truth of the Word of God. You can only expect them to misrepresent the message they pretend to carry. In this way the senders of such a man cut off their own feet. They make themselves unfit to walk properly. Their link with the fool is the drinking of a deadly portion that damages their own testimony for God.

So too, the man who hires the fool or the untried casual worker is like an archer who wounds everyone instead of hitting the target. He is a source of hurt and danger to all.

Again, a faithful messenger in a world of unfaithfulness is a great comfort to those who send him. Here he is like the cold of snow at harvest time. He truly refreshes the soul of his masters.

What a contrast this is to Paul's words to Timothy: "what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also." This is no human ordination. It is godly discernment of men's characters and earnest passing on of the precious truth of God. It connects the messenger directly with God as the Sender, rather than with men. Let us have no association with a fool who claims to be carrying a message from God.

A parable is a wise saying, but it demands wisdom in its application. In the mouth of a fool, it is as incongruous as a cripple's legs which hang about or do not match.

Again, a sharp, wise saying — a proverb in the mouth of a senseless man — is like a thorn that goes into a drunkard's hand. Instead of instructing others, it torments himself to no profit.

We do well to understand who it is that God calls a fool. Psalm 14:1 tells us, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Scripture also calls a fool the man who questions the truth of resurrection (1 Cor. 15:35-36). More than this, God called the rich man a fool — the man who piled up so much wealth that he thought he could live in luxury for many years (Luke 12:16-21). In each case, the one who leaves God out of his life deserves that ugly title, "fool"! Such a man will always despise true wisdom, so it is hopeless to expect any proper response from him.

A parable should re-present exactly what it is meant to teach. But clever twisting can use a parable to lead to a completely false conclusion. A fool will use comparisons that are not equal, not parallel at all. His whole argument is then lame, because it is not balanced. Joab hired the wise woman of Tekoa, and she used clever, worldly wisdom to put a case before David. Her case was in some measure like that of his son Absalom, but not parallel at all: in fact completely at odds on basic points. David allowed himself to be deceived by it. This was plain dishonesty, the kind of thing an unbeliever will fall back on to get his own way, the resource of one who in God's eyes is a fool. David ought to have seen easily that these legs were not equal (2 Sam. 14). No believer should be taken in by such things.

Truly the legs of the lame are not equal. What a pitiful sight — people receiving the word of God when it suits them, and refusing it when it does not suit them.

To resist evil and bring in good shows the possession of divine power; it is not one-sided. Where there is only conviction or persuasion, and not divine power, there will always be marked imperfection. "The legs of the lame are not equal." There may be a great effort to resist the enemy, but no matching effort to recover the truth. On the other hand, there may be an open desire to recover the truth alongside a tampering with what is hostile to it. There may be a cry to put down vice without any regard for the testimony of God. Or there may be a going along with what is really opposed to Christ while professing His name. Hezekiah is not of this order; he is not lame.

It is not that you have to go around announcing that you are heavenly. Those who do so usually illustrate the proverb, "The legs of the lame are not equal" (Prov. 26:7). The person who is enjoying what is heavenly always feels most deeply in his soul how little he shows this truth in his life. The nearer we are to the Lord, the less we are in our own eyes. But the further away from the Lord we are, the bigger we become in our own eyes.

It is good that we understand who it is whom God calls a fool. Psalm 14:1 tells us, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" Scripture also calls a fool the man who questions the truth of resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:35-36). More than this, God called a fool the rich man who piled up so much wealth that he thought he could live in luxury for many years (Luke 12:16-21). In each case, the one who leaves God out of his life deserves that unpleasant title, "fool"! Such a man will always despise true wisdom, so that it is hopeless to expect any proper response from him.

One who has no sense is unfit for trust and incapable. So he is unworthy of honour too. He is as out of place as a bag of gems in a heap of stones. The Authorised Version reads instead: a stone bound up in a sling, a danger to those nearby.

Proverbs 26:8 uses another word for sling, margemah. But a better translation may be "he who puts a precious stone in a heap of stones," as the margin shows.

This reminds us of present-day corruptions of Christianity. But note this: the verse does not reprove the fool. It reproves the one who gives honour to the fool. So if we give honour, dignity, or any place of spiritual standing to someone who dishonours our Lord, we are in effect like precious jewels in a stone heap. It is a thoroughly unfitting match. Shall we set a common, ugly stone in a lovely setting, giving it a place among precious jewels?

Suppose the King handed out his honours freely to unworthy men. That would bring him, as "the fountain of honour," into contempt. The throne itself would lose respect, and the nobility would become a laughing stock.

It is a very serious thing to attach undue importance or give an undue place to men, however much the Lord may use them in His work. We have seen the work spoiled and workmen morally ruined by this very thing. It is a fatal mistake. This mistake takes men out of the place in which God has put them. People praise them, treat them as celebrities, and stare at them as something remarkable. They write and publish their lives before they die. This lifts them into a completely false position, like a person walking on stilts. Then some terrible fall comes, to bring them to their senses and call them back to their true place.

Again, a pointedly wise saying, a proverb in the mouth of the senseless, is like a thorn going up into a drunkard's hand. Instead of instructing others, it torments himself to no profit.

Of all the lusts of the flesh, none from first to last exposes a person so much to shame and grief as intoxication. Others may be fatally ruinous to us or to our partners. But this one is more stupefying and more senseless. It leads to both folly and violence… Drinking without restraint always seeks more and stronger stimulants, until the thirst for them becomes overpowering.

A parable can be dangerous when used by a fool. We have already seen feet cut off and lame legs (verses 6, 7), and now the hand damaged. It is clearly the fool's own hand. He is a kind of drunkard, drunk with pride in the clever use of his tongue. The thorn badly damages his own hand, that is, his work. And "thorn" is the very word Scripture uses for sin. He is sinning against his own soul by such misuse of a parable. He is the same type of person as "those who oppose themselves," spoken of in 2 Timothy 2:25… We shall have a more balanced, godly attitude in meeting them if we remember they are harming themselves even more than others.

This is a great evil, and the children of God should know about it. Take any saying of this kind. If it is not understood, it is not only worthless. It is deeply deceiving and dangerous. It is like a faulty bow, or a badly tempered sword, useless to the man who trusts it on the day of battle. They have a stale and worn-out set of phrases at their fingertips, but their minds are empty of ideas. We cannot do without words, but we want the things the words stand for. The danger is to those who will not take the trouble to search the Scriptures in the fear of God, so that their faith rests in His power and not in the wisdom of men.

How careful we should be about quotations from Scripture! And how little careful we often are. Scripture twisted even a little out of line puts the authority of God behind a lie. And our very faith in it may then betray us to the enemy.

If Satan quotes Scripture wickedly or falsely, the Lord does not leave Scripture for argument. He answers in a way that is completely and at once convincing — "It is written again."

Eleven times we meet the word fool in this chapter. The Hebrew uses three different words for fool. The first is "avil," which signifies weakness. The second word, "kesil," occurs nearly fifty times, and means fat or dense. The third word is "nabal," which comes from the verb to fade or to wither. It means a vulgar, bad man who has given himself over to wickedness. The natural man — his condition, his darkened mind, his sinfulness — matches much of what this book says about the fool.

This verse is rendered by others, "A master roughly works everyone; he both hires the fool and hires passers-by." Nor are these the only varieties.

A master workman forms everything rightly himself. But he who hires a fool hires a transgressor. That is, a master does everything right; a fool spoils everything.

Whoever hires the fool, or the untried casual worker, is like an archer who wounds everyone instead of hitting the mark. He is a source of hurt and danger to all.

He is sinning against his own soul by such abuse of a parable… It is well to keep this in mind when considering such men, whose words no doubt seek to damage others. We shall have a more balanced, godly attitude in meeting them if we remember they are harming themselves even more than others.

"The great God that formed all things both rewards (or hires) the fool, and rewards (or hires) transgressors." The name God does not appear in the Hebrew here, but it seems implied in the words "the great one who formed all." However great the damage caused by a fool may be, there is One infinitely greater than he. He has formed all things, and He still holds everything in the control of His own hand. He is a Master who hired even the fool, or the "passer-by," as another translation renders "transgressors." True, He will reward each one in perfect righteousness. But the true word here seems to be "hires," and it points to the sovereign power of God, who makes even the wrath of man praise Him and holds back the rest of that wrath. He has a wise reason for allowing the fool to work out his evil plans, and He uses every chance "passer-by" in a way that exactly matches His great wisdom. So the believer is to see God's hand in the most dreadful cases of trial, persecution and opposition — and in every small detail of his path, whether deeply distressing or only irritating. Does this not encourage calm confidence in the face of all hostility against the path of faith?

God ordained him as His executioner. As someone has well said, "No one was ever better fitted for the work he was appointed to than Jehu." And he had his reward. It was for this world alone, and the fourth generation of his children saw its end.

He will go on from one folly to another, repeating and increasing his departure from the one way of God's wisdom.

Why does the dog return to his vomit? Because he is a dog. And why does the sow go back to rolling in the mud? Because she is a sow, and nothing else. You may wash a sow as much as you like, but you cannot make a sheep of her. The point of the picture is that the sow has an unclean nature, and loves the mud.

Whatever you do to such animals, their nature remains the same, and will show itself. So the fool may reform to some extent and even appear to be a converted man. But since his nature has not changed, he will return to his folly. This is what happened with Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8), who had no "part nor lot" with the people of God.

This is an entirely selfish experience... In this sorrow the devil seems very near. He mocks the soul in its distress and increases its fears. Again and again the man vows that, if he can escape the consequences, he will avoid that trap in future. The devil can mock with confidence. He knows that as long as the soul is self-centred, it will go back to the sin that holds it, as the dog returns to its vomit.

The characteristic of dogs is that they go back to what they had rejected before (Prov. 26:11 and 2 Peter 2:22) — in one word, apostasy.

We hear of the dog returning in Prov. 26:11, where it applies to the fool going back to his folly. Here it is said even more strongly of the man who once knew clearly the good news of Christ and the truth of God in a general way. The better the knowledge, the worse it is if corruption follows.

There is no hope of better things unless the fool repents and learns wisdom from above. Left to himself, he goes back to his folly just as a dog returns to its vomit.

The wise are lowly and dependent on the only wise God. The foolish man is wise in his own eyes; he who only adds conceit to folly is the most hopeless of men.

Whenever I see a man confident in himself (and of course we are all open to it, at least in some things), I have no confidence in him.

Of all fools, the conceited fool is the worst. Pride makes a man incapable of receiving counsel.

Verses 12 to 16 show a different kind of hostility to the truth: the proud, self-opinionated lazy man. A fool may be actively opposed to God. But this man takes a haughty, contemptuous attitude. He thinks himself wiser than everybody else, so he is indifferent to what is good and precious. He can tell anyone how everything should be done, but does nothing himself. A man of this kind is less likely to be converted than is a fool.

So it is with the man who, satisfied with himself, thinks he is secure because he relies on Christian ceremonies. Yet his heart may never have truly known one syllable of saving grace. He may never have felt his need of the precious blood of the Lamb of God, as a sinner who condemns himself and stands convicted by the truth.

Not that the Pharisee represents a man who denies God, or who is not a religious man. He is religious, but such religion is the most damning thing about him. The evil is not just his sins, but his religion. Nothing blinds him and other people more. Nothing dishonours God more. On the other hand, the poor tax collector has neither clear light nor peace. But at least he reaches the beginning of all true light: he has learned enough of God to condemn himself.

The humble mind learns according to the power of God's truth. The self-satisfied man handles it like a weapon that wounds himself, and may wound others... So the humble soul prospers. He has God's own word, he feeds in these green pastures, and as this truth becomes part of him, he may become a blessing to others. The self-confident mind has never come to God in His word at all. If he had, he would have stopped being self-confident.

Only he who owns his nothingness, who takes his place in weakness at His feet, and is like a baby, can receive these things. Never does the Lord entrust His secrets and His counsels to the wise and prudent.

But slothfulness is an evil to be dreaded, even if a man is far from a fool. And it is no uncommon thing for someone who is otherwise wise to imagine a danger where there is none. It is because he is a sluggard, and because he is dodging a duty that has to be done; he sees imminent danger, and cries, A lion in the road! A lion in the streets!

The sluggard can always spot difficulties standing in the way of doing good; but he does not see the tragic harm his laziness brings to his own soul. He has no faith to give him courage to overcome difficulties, whether real or imagined. If Satan (the lion) is in our way, the believer may count on the power of God to overcome this. But the slothful man gives up before he ever tries.

Again, the sluggard who likes to lie in bed says in his foolish imagination, A lion is outside. I shall be killed in the streets! He is blind to the worst enemy that besets his room and holds his soul in chains.

It is not the place of faith, nor its path, to deny that God's people meet difficulties. That would be the height of folly, since the difficulties are real. To deny them would be only recklessness, fanaticism, or fleshly enthusiasm. It is always good for people to know what they are doing, and not to rush blindly into a path they are not prepared for. An unbelieving sluggard may say, "There is a lion in the road!" A blind enthusiast may say, "There is no such thing." The true man of faith will say, "Though there were a thousand lions in the road, God can soon dispose of them."

A difficulty may be real. But if you are on the path of God's will, it becomes an obstacle only through unbelief of heart. For faith counts on God and does what He wills, and difficulties are nothing before Him. Unbelief can always find excuses, and excuses that look well founded too. They have only this one great defect: they leave God out.

Satan flourishes where the path of obedience is left. There is no lion in the path of obedience. It is the slothful man who says, There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets! No one was ever killed in the street. He may have been attacked while he was on the path of disobedience. But as Bunyan pictures it in his story, the lions are chained so that they cannot reach the path of obedience. In God's path Satan can never attack. The path of obedience is the path of safety. Leave that path, and the lion is there.

Perhaps one of the earliest outward marks of inward decline in a Christian is the readiness to excuse oneself from devotedness and diligence in the Lord's service. He talks of difficulties nobody had heard of before, and he fears dangers too. So his plain neglect is both explained and excused… The human mind can easily imagine or invent obstacles to unselfish, God-honouring service. Give in to that, instead of holding to the truth at all costs, and a place of ease is soon found.

You cannot go out in the power of that love and see "a lion in the road" — no, for you see Christ beyond.

The only hinges that have come down to us from ancient times are pivots sticking out above and below the door. The door turned on these. In old houses that still stand, with stone doors, the hinges are stone projections at the top and bottom of the doors.

"As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed." If this deserves strong blame in ordinary life, how much more in the things of God! The door swings, but only in the same place. So the sluggard never gets free from selfish, self-centred habit. He never acts in faith for God. The believer too must take care not to hide his light under a bed.

And what could be more graphic of the sluggard on his bed of ease than the door turning on its hinges! The believer has his new nature from Him, apart from whom no sparrow falls, and who counts the very hairs of his own head. The sluggard gives in to the do-nothing spirit of self-pleasing in its lowest form.

Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, seems to have been a lazy man. At any rate he was resting in the middle of the day. And when he was lying on his bed at noon, two men rushed on him and assassinated him. If he had been up doing some useful work as a king's son, he might have lived longer. Sloth is a great enemy. The sluggard lies at his ease, turning first one way and then another like a door on its hinges. Where is the light? There is none shining. The lamp is cold and dead. The bed has put it out.

Perhaps one of the earliest outward marks of inward decline in a Christian is this. He is quick to excuse himself from devotion and diligence in the Lord's service. He speaks of difficulties nobody heard of before. He fears dangers too… A drowsy state has taken hold of them. Their spiritual movements are little more than mechanical, "as a door turns on its hinges." They grow as lazy about the welfare of their souls as a sleeping man.

Here is the truth. We stop enjoying the love of God to us in Christ. Christ Himself is no longer the Object and Hope of our hearts. Meditation on the word of God becomes tiresome, and private prayer fades… Then we begin to be slothful Christians. How serious is this state! For "slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger." Notice that it is a deep sleep — so deep that ordinary means fail completely to wake them.

Take this as a basic principle of your inner life. The Scriptures urge you toward practical virtues, and you gain them only at the cost of constant self-denial and labour. It is the diligent soul that is "made fat," as an older translation puts it. To make progress in the divine life, you must be ready to give up a good deal of ease, pleasure and worldly advantage.

Purpose, prayer, and progress go together; but let the believer only become purposeless and prayerless, then paralysis will soon creep over the spiritual system.

Another vivid likeness is of the sluggard when he rises to take his meals. In his listlessness he buries his hand, not in his bosom but in a dish; and he is weary of even lifting it to his mouth. From such a person, who could look for gratitude to God or kindness to a suffering fellow man?

It is clear this is not meant merely literally, but who can doubt its spiritual meaning? Food is available for him: he knows it, and reaches out his hand, but only to trifle with it. He does not even have the energy to eat it. How well this describes the way many treat the food of the Word of God! They complacently think they know all about it, and have no concern about digesting it!

The faith that fears Jehovah is earnest. The sluggard, by contrast, is so absorbed in himself that he will not so much as raise his hand from the dish to his mouth. So he lives, dies, and perishes.

Perhaps one of the earliest outward marks of inward decline in a Christian is the readiness to excuse yourself from devotion and diligence in the Lord's service. People speak of difficulties they never mentioned before, and of dangers they fear, so their plain neglect is both explained and excused… We can lose the authority of the Word on our conscience — the Word that says it has been granted to us, for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake. Then we easily think of our present advantage and personal ease in this passing scene. We drift away from wisdom's ways of pleasantness and peace, and become weak and helpless in divine things… Such people have not only left their first love. They turn away from those who stand for God's truth at all costs. A drowsy state has taken hold of them, so that their spiritual movements are little more than mechanical.

I went to the house of young Mr. Slothful. His Bible was completely hidden by many other books, with thick dust over its back and sides. His regular habits of daily prayer were quite broken down… Young Mr. Slothful had been indulging in a little more sleep in the mornings, a little slackening off with the usual duties, a little more self-ease in everything. And now spiritual poverty has come upon him like a robber… First he simply left off the regular habit for once. Then he did the same thing again, and again, and each gap between the times was shorter, until now the well-ordered Christian life has become a disorderly wilderness of evil weeds.

The Israelite in the desert had to rise early to get the manna while it was still morning, or go hungry. Christians must show the same diligence in feeding their souls. They are not allowed to eat the bread of idleness and prosper in their souls at the same time.

"Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him." A fool may openly fight against God. But the sluggard takes a proud, scornful attitude. He counts himself wiser than everybody else, and so he cares nothing for what is good and precious. He can tell you how everything ought to be done, but he does nothing himself. A man like this is less likely to be converted than a fool is.

The sluggard, like the fool, is certainly wise in his own eyes. He even counts himself wiser than seven men who answer with discretion. He is so satisfied with himself that he avoids any effort to learn. Learning is all very well for other men, but he does not need it! He is a genius, and can afford his never-failing nap. So self-conceit flatters those who dislike work. They want a position that belongs only to those who do not dodge hard work — and hard work is a healthy discipline for man as he is. But their conceit usually ends in their own ruin, and in trouble for those close to them.

Seven men may be careful, sensible and honourable, and may give a united judgment on a matter. But the sluggard rejects their judgment with contempt. His only basis is his own self-centred opinion. He thinks wisdom belongs to him alone. May we who are Christians be careful that we do not in any measure resemble such egotists.

How easily we can see a fat, lazy, comfortable religion here. It turns God's grace into loose living. There is no effort of soul, no earnest feeding on the Word of God — only self-satisfied boasting: "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing." … The boaster is not a worker: how much better to work, and not boast!

There is nothing a man dislikes more than thinking badly of himself, unless it is believing good of God. Truly the way of a fool is right in his own eyes. The wise man distrusts himself and listens to counsel. He does not cheat God and his conscience by asking advice from the weak and easy-going. He asks the godly.

The humble are glad when someone helps them in their difficulties. They do not run down those who see more clearly than they do… The proud spirit of independence may aim high, but there are still leaders and guides among God's people. No one can ignore or slight them without loss to himself. The Holy Spirit does not lead to self-conceit, but to genuine humility and a warm value for fellowship.

It is the diligent soul that is "richly supplied." You must be ready to give up a good deal of ease, pleasure and worldly advantage to make progress in the divine life. The spiritual sluggard avoids all this for the sake of his own comfort. But his laziness has a result: the works of the flesh choke the fruit of the Spirit in him.

But to trouble ourselves with other people's quarrels, where no duty of ours lies, is like taking a dog by the ears. It either threatens to bite the moment we let go, or keeps us holding on forever to avoid the bite. And who is to blame?

This is not simply the case of someone who leaves God out of his thinking (the fool), nor of the proud, lazy onlooker (the sluggard). It is the case of pride that thinks itself able to settle other people's quarrels. This is dangerous. If someone steps into family matters — between a husband and wife, for instance — he may find them both turning on him as vicious enemies. Nations do this today. Once they have taken the dog by the ears, they are afraid to let go. The longer you hold a dog's ears, the more violent the reaction is likely to be when you finally do let go… Even a believer may try something like this, and come to regret it.

Laziness is not the only fault to avoid. There is a kind of activity to dread that does even more harm, and it is vividly set out in verses 17-22. We have to beware of meddling, or of any sympathy with such ways.

Some minds fall into the trap of meddling with evil. They dabble in it, wanting to mend it, and all the while the evil is drawing out their energies. The simple Christian rule is to be simple about evil and wise about good. Meddling with evil gives us an appetite for strife without our realizing it.

Josiah should have known this proverb well, copied out as it was by the men of Hezekiah. His attack was not made in faith — or why "disguise" himself? There is no record of any prayer before the battle, as there was with so many of his godly ancestors. This rash act of Josiah is hard to explain. He may have suspected that Necho had some hidden plan against his kingdom. But the king of Egypt firmly denied any such intention, so Josiah's unprovoked attack on him was completely unjustified.

The Lord has called us to be occupied with His things, not to meddle with the affairs and strife of this world. If the Lord allows the enemy to come against us, our defence is not in any imagined strength of our own. Josiah should have learned the lesson of Hezekiah. Hezekiah did not meddle with strife, but when he was attacked he took the whole matter to the Lord. So it became a conflict between the Assyrian and the Lord, ending in the complete defeat of that proud and arrogant enemy.

It is very telling how we move from brotherly love to the plain instructions of verses 11 and 12. Love among believers has been known to sink into unloving interference with fellow believers. Here we have the healthy corrective: "Seek earnestly to be quiet, and mind your own affairs and work with your own hands," as one translation renders it.

Sluggishness is not the only fault to be avoided. There may be activity to dread of a still more damaging sort, and it is vividly set out in verses 17-22. We have to beware of being meddlesome, or of sympathising with such ways.

Such uncalled-for activity grows the more someone gives in to it. It is likely to end in playing the madman, throwing burning material and things that wound and even kill. All the while he deceives his neighbour with the pretence that he meant nothing more than a joke.

Here is the man who trifles with truth as though it were a toy to use as he pleases. He will even deceive another and then excuse himself on the grounds that it was a joke. The condemnation of such conduct here is strong. He is compared to a madman who throws firebrands and arrows about at random, likely to cause death. Suppose someone dares to use the Word of God in this light, frivolous way, making fun of its infinitely serious truths. What deadly influence that may have on others! Let us hold the truth in the pure, serious, noble dignity that belongs to it.

Babbling or rash speaking is well compared to the stabs of a sword. It inflicts wounds and pain. It comes from a light spirit if not from malice, and it aims at no good. The tongue of the wise carries conviction to every upright heart. It may wound when duty rightly calls for it, but even then it is a kindness. Such wounds heal, because they test and remove what only harms.

His deceitful trick when Ahimelech spoke to him was a blot on his own character as a man of God. Indirectly it caused the destruction of that whole small town. Whether Ahimelech was truly deceived by the reply or not does not affect David's guilt. In his dread of the king's revenge, the fugitive may have thought it a small matter to pretend he was on Saul's business. But God is not mocked. What a man sows, that will he reap. We are to remember what a huge fire a little spark will cause.

When Lot warned his sons-in-law of the coming doom of Sodom, they thought it was just a deceptive joke. If someone gets a reputation for never being serious, then when he is in earnest he will have no effect.

Note, it does not say that they mocked him, but that they thought he was mocking or making sport of them — that he was really joking. He had come into Sodom and invested everything he had in it. So they could not believe he was serious when he suddenly announced that the whole place would be destroyed in a moment. His previous course of life completely contradicted his present testimony.

Let us beware of using the flesh against one another. Beware of stirring up and inflaming what feeds on corruption. Suppose you tell a whispered word that you know will stir up resentment and make enmity. It seems to me that you are getting ready to put a torch to a jackal and turn it loose.

This uncalled-for activity grows the more a man gives in to it. It is likely to end with him playing the madman, throwing firebrands and things that wound and even kill, while he deceives his neighbour by pretending he meant no more than a joke.

Here is the man who trifles with truth as though it were a toy to use as he pleases. He will even deceive someone else and then excuse himself on the ground that it was a joke. How strong is the condemnation of such conduct here! He is likened to a madman throwing firebrands and arrows about at random, likely to cause death.

If one acquires a reputation for frivolity, then when he is in earnest he will have no effect.

Wrongdoing cannot stay hidden for long. David was to find that the evil seed he had planted in Nob would bear its evil fruit, and very quickly. Doeg, the chief of the royal herdsmen, had no love for him and saw him there. He carried the news of Ahimelech's kindness to his master. The king was furious. He gave the cruel order to kill everyone in Nob — men, women and children.

Let us beware of fighting with jackals; let us beware of trying to use the flesh against one another. Beware of stirring up and inflaming what feeds on corruption. Suppose you pass on a whispered word that you know will stir up resentment and make enmity. It seems to me that you are getting ready to put the torch to a jackal and turn it loose.

Nor let us allow our talk to descend to the level of foolishness or jesting. A Christian is neither a fool nor a jester, so let us not appear as either in our conversation. Thanksgiving is what suits the lips of those who are forgiven and have become children of God.

But there is a very sly form of evil, and perhaps a more harmful one still, where the damage is done in secret, by influencing others for evil. What is worse than the whisperer, or talebearer, whom this proverb compares to the wood that feeds the fire?

He is the one who speaks to others behind a person's back about that person's failures, or imagined failures, and so seeks to undermine confidence.

The next three verses speak of the talebearer. Here evil takes a further step. The talebearer does more real damage than the joker, because he gives his evil work the appearance of zeal for righteousness. "For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." Discord among the people of God stops as soon as no one adds fuel to the fire. "It is an honour for a man to cease from strife." But to spread the details of trouble or wrongdoing — or imagined wrongdoing — is grievous guilt. It multiplies the fury of the flames.

What mischief the rash, foolish and wicked use of the tongue has caused among Christian people! When we read that the tongue "defiles the whole body," the context shows that James meant the human body. Yet it would be just as true of the church, which is the body of Christ, and of which we are all members. The tongue has brought more defilement into the church of God than anything else.

But what if another believer comes to us with an evil report about a brother or sister? Ask that person to stop speaking this way. How much evil speaking would die in its tracks if we did this. Of course, the person may want to unburden himself or herself. But we should allow that only if we are truly ready and willing to help them resolve the difficulty with the brother or sister in question. Remember: even where real sins have been committed, there is no blessing in sharing the details with others when there is no need. Keep the circle of information as small as possible — to those who can deal with it righteously. Our Lord's instructions in Matthew 18:15-17 make this very clear. Peter writes, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8; see also Proverbs 11:13 and 20:19).

How guarded must be the doors of our lips! Disagreement, discord and ill-feeling have come between neighbours. Will spreading it elsewhere settle it? Let us have grace and honest courage of heart to face our neighbour with meekness and true concern, so that we reach a proper understanding. How painful are the countless offences that selfish, thoughtless gossip has never settled but only made worse, when a word of simple apology might have ended them forever!

On the other hand, coals to hot embers, and wood to fire, is a contentious man to inflame strife. How often have we known it to our pain! Happy is the one who hates it enough to avoid its beginning by living in love.

The talebearer will do more real damage than the trifler, simply because he gives his evil work the appearance of zeal for righteousness. "For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." Discord between the people of God can certainly be stopped simply by adding no fuel to the fire. "It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife." But to spread abroad by talebearing the details of trouble or wrongdoing (or imagined wrongdoing) is grievous guilt, and multiplies the fury of the flames.

The talebearer and the contentious man are the same here. Their spirit is identical — the opposite of the peacemaker. If the fire is doing damage, they are all ready to add further coals or wood. "If anyone is inclined to be contentious, we have no such practice, nor do the churches of God" (1 Cor. 11:16). If I dare to speak of another's wrongs, it ought always to be out of a genuine desire to see him restored. And only when there is real need.

And who has not seen what a blaze a little spark may become, if godliness and grace do not rule? It is like letting out water when someone starts a quarrel. At first only drops trickle. Then the opening widens into a flow that sweeps everything before it. "Therefore quit before the quarrel breaks out."

What mischief has been caused among Christian people by the rash and foolish and wicked use of the tongue. When we read, "The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body," the context shows that James was speaking of the human body. Yet it would be just as true if we read it of the church, which is the body of Christ and of which we are all members. More defilement has been brought into the church of God by it than by anything else.

Contentions put a stop to the growth of grace. The soul can no more prosper when it is on a flame with strife and contention than the body can thrive in a fever. We are prone to mistake our heat for zeal. But in strife between believers it is usually a fire-ship sent in by Satan to break their unity and order. While they stand in that unity they are an invincible fleet, and Satan knows he has no other way but this to shatter them.

A little good sense, a little patience and waiting on God may go far. They can silence the strife of tongues, calm an angry temper, remove opposition, and win hearts for Christ. No other Christian grace shows God in His children as clearly as this peace-making spirit. "They shall be called sons of God."

This describes exactly how the soul normally reacts to the words of talebearers. They are deep, internal wounds. The Hebrew word means "to burn in." Such things sink in so deep that we may never forget them, while we soon put other kinds of wrong out of our minds. Talebearing can easily lead to a permanent break between God's people.

The flesh is still in believers, and it makes the whisperer's hints far too easy and welcome. We take them in instead of refusing them. Then they go down and take possession of our souls, right to the innermost part. It is a serious danger when the guard falls asleep at wisdom's gate. Our own simplicity leaves us open to cruel deception.

Even if such words were strictly true, which they seldom are, they do harm in every way, and they come under the condemnation of evil speaking. They have no good purpose and no loving manner. At best it is gossip. Mostly it is simply the pleasure of talking about things that right feeling would rather cover up. The result is wounds that cut very deep, in the places where they are least likely to heal.

Anyone given to talebearing is almost certain to exaggerate, because he wants to put his victim in the worst light possible. This is bad work.

The next three verses speak of the tale-bearer. Here evil takes another step forward. The talebearer does more real damage than the joker, because he makes his evil work look like zeal for righteousness. "For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." You can stop discord among the people of God simply by adding no fuel to the fire.

What great harm false reports have done among Christians! We all admit that it is wrong to start them. Do we all see the wrong of receiving them? An argument breaks out among Christians, and someone brings a bad report about the other side. How tempting it is to accept it at once as certainly true, when after all it is false. We should examine any evil report with care and check it before we accept it.

You can be sure of it: a deaf ear is a very valuable thing to have. Say a person comes to you and starts a long, rambling account of So-and-so's bad ways. Turn your deaf side to him at once. Stay as quiet as you can while the abuse goes on. Make him feel he is getting as much encouragement from you as he would from a gatepost.

Someone has truly said, "The backbiter injures three people: himself, his hearer, and the person he is talking about." If I have any fault to find with someone, he ought to be the very first to hear of it… We need to be more faithful in how we speak to people, and more gracious in how we speak of them. If we see anything wrong in a person, let us go straight to him and speak plainly. And if we have nothing good to say of him, let us kindly draw a curtain of silence around him.

"Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross." Someone may cover a piece of a broken earthen vessel — not with silver plate, but with the dross left from refined silver. Of course it will look silvery, and it barely hides the roughness of the dross. So 2 Timothy 2:20 speaks of vessels of wood and of earth as being unbelievers: but the covering of silver dross is of course deception. "Burning lips" are the silver dross, hot with what looks like zeal. Yet the hypocrisy is clear enough for those who walk with God to see it. A wicked heart will stoop to such things, but the believer ought not to be deceived.

There is no real difficulty here, and no good reason to doubt the force of the opening words of verse 23. In this setting they do not imply the heat of anger at all. Anger might well go with "a wicked heart" in the usual case. But what is meant here is the extraordinary combination of warm affection expressed alongside the desire to do evil. That combination, not anger, is rightly compared to an earthen vessel overlaid not with silver, but with its "dross."

To the end of the chapter, the same kind of mischief is condemned, hiding behind fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms, and we are strongly warned against it — a caution we need in this evil age, and the Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself needs it most.

So when such a person's voice is gracious, that is the strongest reason not to believe him. There is no sure faith except in a testimony that is completely reliable. So this is the blessing of a Christian: his faith and his hope rest in the God who cannot lie. He has spoken to us in His Son, who came in love as sure as the truth.

Hatred cannot cover itself forever. There comes a point when hypocrisy is laid bare. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). Would you not shrink from both — from the disgusting sin of hypocrisy, and from the shame of being exposed? But there is no doubt of such exposure.

To the end of the chapter are denunciations of similar mischief under the disguise of fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms, and these warnings put us strongly on our guard. We need that caution in this evil age. The Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself needs it most.

So the most dangerous hatred here is not the kind that explodes in violent words. It is the kind that would work its way out unnoticed, and so it disguises itself with the lips. The kind words only conceal the deceit inside the man.

But the wicked "lays up deceit within him." That is, he feeds on it, conceives it, stores it up to use whenever he pleases. But let every believer be able to say with the Psalmist, "I have stored up your word in my heart" (Psalm 119:11).

If a person's character is formed by hypocrisy, we may be certain that actual hatred is behind it. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). To think of a man of this kind having any place among Christians is dreadful: he can be there for no other purpose than to scatter the sheep. His own immediate aim may be personal gain, but behind it is the Satanic intention of undermining what is of God.

So says He who searches the mind and heart, which we cannot do, and so we need to profit by His word. Malicious lies, once exposed, prove hatred that was covered up... The divine word does not stoop to the deceiving politeness of society. It speaks out so that all the saints may hear, whether for comfort or for warning.

Hatred cannot cover itself forever. There comes a point where hypocrisy is laid bare. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). Would one not recoil both from the disgusting sin of hypocrisy, and from the humiliation of being exposed? But there is no doubt of such exposure.

The hatred (v. 24) that is most dangerous is not what explodes in violent words. It is the hatred that works its way out unnoticed, and so pretends with the lips. The kind words only hide the deceit inside the man.

The rest of the chapter condemns the same mischief, carried on under the disguise of fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms, and we must be strongly on our guard against it. In this evil age we need the warning, and the Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself needs it most.

So (v. 25), when such a person's voice is gracious, there is the strongest reason not to believe him. There is no sure faith except in a testimony that is fully reliable. This is why it is such a blessing to a Christian that his faith, and his hope too, rest in the God who cannot lie. He has spoken to us in His Son, who came in love as certain as the truth. But how different fallen man is! "for there are seven abominations in his heart." His heart is full of every evil — corruption as well as violence, as the Saviour testified.

Seven. Spiritual completeness — usually of good, but sometimes of evil… There are seven abominations in man's heart. Prov. 26:25.

If hypocrisy shapes someone's character, we can be sure that real hatred lies behind it. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15). To think of a man like this having a place among Christians is dreadful. He can only be there to scatter the sheep… He may speak fair, and his voice may sound gentle and gracious. But that is where the danger is greatest: "believe him not." The "seven abominations in his heart" show that he has completely given himself over to idolatry. Seven is the number of completeness, and abominations is a word for idols.

Pretences (v. 26) may succeed among men for a while. But God knows how to check Satan and expose malicious craft during the evil day — even before His kingdom appears in open power. So from time to time He strips the covering off hatred, and "wickedness is made manifest in the congregation."

If we are honest ourselves, then we will see that the flattery of others is actually falsehood. Commendation, approval and appreciation are right in their place. But if they are excessive, they are unbecoming. If they take the form of flattery, they are simply not true. You cannot trust the person who does this. Ruin follows close behind his words, if he succeeds in deceiving his victims.

"Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it." This is to humble yourself under God's mighty hand, and God will exalt you in due time.

But now the final and most flagrant display of evil fills the last five verses of the chapter. It deals with the deliberate pretender. He is driven by hatred, he puts on a cunning disguise, and he aims to break apart the people of God and any testimony for God. This is the enemy's work, so opposed to the precious unity emphasised in chapter 25.

So the hatred (v. 24) that is most dangerous is not the hatred that explodes in violent words. It is the hatred that would work itself out unnoticed, and so it pretends with the lips. The kind words only conceal the deceit inside the man.

Someone may cover a piece of a broken earthen vessel, not with silver plate, but with the dross from refined silver. Of course it looks silvery, and it hides the roughness of the dross badly... "Burning lips" are the silver dross, glowing with apparent zeal, yet those who walk with God can see the hypocrisy plainly. A wicked heart will stoop to such things, but the believer ought not to be deceived.

The opening words of verse 23 do not suggest the heat of anger here. Anger might well go with "a wicked heart" in the usual way. But what is meant here is the extraordinary combination of expressing warm affection along with the desire to do evil. This, not that, is rightly compared to an earthen vessel overlaid not with silver, but with its dross.

To think of a man like this having any place among Christians is dreadful. He can be there with no other purpose than to scatter the sheep. His own immediate aim may be personal gain, but behind it is the Satanic intention of ruining what is of God. He may speak kindly, his voice gentle and gracious, but this is where the greatest danger lies: "believe him not." The "seven abominations in his heart" show he is completely given over to idolatry, seven being the number of completeness, and abominations a term for idols.

Hatred cannot cover itself forever. There comes a point where hypocrisy is laid bare. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known" (Luke 12:2). Would anyone not shrink from the disgusting sin of hypocrisy, and from the shame of being exposed? But there is no doubt about such exposure.

"Pretences" (v. 26) may succeed among men for a time. But even before the kingdom of God appears in displayed power, He knows how to check Satan and expose malicious craft during the evil day. So from time to time God strips the covering off hatred, and "his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly."

No believer actually has the character of the pretender, any more than of the fool. Yet a believer can still be guilty of pretending. We see it in Galatians 2:13, when "even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy." Peter's influence in this was terribly wrong — not because of hatred, but because of fear. The believer must take care to act true to his character, and not like the wicked enemy of God. But the wicked "stores up deceit within him." That is, he feeds on it, conceives it, stores it up to use whenever he pleases. But let every believer be able to say with the Psalmist, "I have stored up your word in my heart" (Psalm 119:11).

Deception (v. 26) may succeed among men for a time. But even before the kingdom of God appears in displayed power, He knows how to check Satan and expose malicious craft during the evil day. So from time to time God strips the covering off hatred and shows that wickedness to everyone.

When the man who plans harm (v. 27) digs a pit for others, he is the one made to fall into it. When he rolls a stone at his neighbour's head, it comes back on himself. Even people outside Israel, who did not know God, sensed that such payback comes in this life.

"Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling." The aim in these cases is of course to harm another. But "whatever one sows, that will he also reap." Haman built a gallows for Mordecai, and was himself hanged on it (Esther 5:14; 7:10). Jezebel with cunning cruelty had Naboth murdered. But the poor deluded woman never expected to be thrown from a window herself, trampled by horses, and eaten by dogs (1 Kings 21; 2 Kings 9:30-37).

The book of Proverbs refers to the government of God here below. It works on the principle that "whatever one sows, that will he also reap" (Gal. 6:7). This is true of saint or sinner. Grace saves the vilest, but the government of God is over all. So if a man wastes his money, his time, or his health, he will reap the fruit of his ways in the loss of these things. A true Christian may do something without discretion, and without listening to Wisdom's words, and he may have to repent of it all his days.

"Whatever one sows, that will he also reap." The sin of sowing weeds may be forgiven, but the reaping must match the sowing. The first is grace, the second is government. Each acts in its own sphere, and neither interferes with the other. God let David walk the courts of the sanctuary as a subject of grace (2 Sam. 12:20) before calling him to climb the rough slopes of the Mount of Olives as a subject of government (2 Sam. 15:30). And David's heart never had a deeper sense of divine grace than at the very time he was feeling the righteous action of divine government.

The last verse tells us of the extreme wickedness of fallen man. He is not content with deceiving. "A lying tongue hates its victims", and "a flattering mouth works ruin" for the speaker as well as the target. "Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it." That is what it means to humble yourself under God's mighty hand and be lifted up at the right time.

The rest of the chapter denounces the same kind of mischief hidden under fair speech and flattery. It is deceit in various forms. We must be strongly on our guard against it — a needed caution in this evil age, especially for the Christian who walks in grace and refuses to avenge himself.

Falsehood and hatred always go together. One person may have done not the slightest harm to another. Yet because the second lies about the first, the hatred of the guilty toward the innocent will only increase. The remedy, of course, is honest confession. But a person used to falsehood hardens himself against admitting the truth. If someone is accused of lying about another, the wise believer will watch for signs of hatred before drawing his own conclusions.

The last verse tells us of the extreme wickedness of fallen man, who is not content with deceiving. A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin — for the speaker as well as the one spoken to. "Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness; let him rebuke me — it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it." This is to humble yourself under God's mighty hand and be exalted in due time.

If we are honest ourselves, we will recognise that the flattery of others is actually falsehood. Commendation, approval and appreciation are right in their place. But if they are excessive, they are unbecoming. And if they take the form of flattery, they are simply untrue. You cannot trust the person who does this: ruin follows close behind his words, if he succeeds in deceiving his victims.

Accepting flattery means accepting falsehood, for flattery is really deceit: it is not even honestly meant, nor is it sober, real fact. Satan is extremely skilful in such methods.

Flattery overcomes more of God's people than the sword does. Where fierce opposition defeats its tens, smooth words overcome the thousands.

Let us distrust the flattery of the world. A moment's reflection before the Lord would tell us that the world flatters to weaken us, and to take from us the weapons we fight it with.

A friend's wounds, by contrast, are faithful. Through them God does His will, even though people misunderstand and resent them for a while. An enemy gives himself away by the sheer abundance of his kisses.

The counsels before us in chapter 27:1-6 all aim at self-confidence. Self-confidence takes the place of dependence on God. That dependence is the first principle of the life of faith, and the enemy tries to destroy it — whether for earth, in the coming kingdom of the Messiah, or for heaven, as with Christians.

Clearly, no human being can see things before they take place. Solomon says: "for you do not know what a day (that is, the next day) may bring" (Prov. 27:1). We may hope or expect that certain things will happen, but we will never know them in advance. Only our God is a "God of knowledge" (1 Sam 2:3). He alone can foresee things before they happen. He knows the future. In fact, He knows the end of all things, and has done so even before the created universe came into being.

The word in James 4:13-16 is very vivid in its call to beware of similar boasting… "What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.' As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil." In these moral matters both the Old Testament and the New bring in the Lord, who judges self and sets it aside.

As we see straight away, he does not mean to forbid all thought about tomorrow. He is against only the spirit of those who plan without God and forget how uncertain everything here is… It is the spirit of self-confidence he is condemning, which boasts of what it can do without God.

The child of God who walks in godly fear trusts the Lord and plans under Him. Such a person always remembers that everything depends on the Lord and on His will. It is a healthy habit to add, whenever we speak of the future, "if the Lord wills and we live." This pleases Him. It shows that we submit to Him and depend on Him.

True wisdom does not trust the future day, for it may never come. Nor are we to dwell in the past. While it is today we must live and act, and leave nothing undone that we can do today… Someone put it well: "The thief that cheats us of our days and robs us of our wealth is the plausible thought that tomorrow belongs to us." The illusion is as old as the world, but today it is as fresh and powerful as ever.

It takes the honest energy of faith to strike hard at this lazy drifting, to put us on our feet, and to get done now what ought to be done. Only the present is ours. We know nothing about the future. Let us act while we have the time.

Today is a moment of priceless value, tomorrow you cannot call yours. The Lord's gospel is today, the devil's gospel is always tomorrow.

Worse still, we have lost Him from our thoughts in all this calculating about the unknown future, which is in His hands. How often has love disappointed all our fears in ways we never dreamed of!

"Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips" (Prov. 27:2). We are not to blow our own trumpets. An egotistical man is nearly always an empty man. True greatness and conceit do not run together.

This verse is closely tied to the first. Both deal with a man's proper self-control… A single heart does not exalt self, but the Lord. Even the roughest unbelievers despise a braggart. Let us not trust ourselves to talk about what we have done. It is certainly no more than we ought to have done. If it is worth advertising, someone else will usually do it. In any case, the believer is to live under the eye of God, not as answerable to men.

The Old Testament believer knew his own failure well, and knew his need of sovereign grace. That was enough to banish high thoughts of himself and to make him attribute every right word to God. How inconsistent to sound his own praise! How fitting to be silent about any good on his part. If a stranger praised him, it was more than he deserved.

The ear which heard his voice blessed him; the eye looked on a benefactor and a friend. It is indeed a beautiful picture, but spoiled by the pride of personal recital. "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth." Job had won the respect and affection of all… Truly he was a model man! But as for us, let it be far from us to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not always be telling people that you are a mere nobody. They will suspect, and probably rightly, that you are fishing for a compliment. You appear very eager to put yourself down. All the while you are hoping that your complaints will push your hearers into saying that you are really a person of considerable worth. This is deceit and pretence on your part, and a long way removed from humility.

One man cannot do a greater injury to another than by praising him and feeding his pride. "He who flatters his neighbour spreads a net for his feet," and a flattering mouth works ruin. And be sure of this: we are far too short-sighted to judge how godly another believer is.

Self-praise and self-commendation do not mean approval from the Lord, but the opposite. "For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends." Self-commendation and the love of human praise, in some form, hidden or open, are common in many who preach and teach a great deal of truth. These are boastful days. Happy is the servant who hides himself, whose aim is to please the Lord and who looks to Him for approval.

We cannot, and should not, shrug off "a fool's provocation" as if it did not matter. We should feel how deeply wrong it is. "A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty," small as its particles are. But a fool's provocation, groundless as it is, outweighs both — a dead weight, and unbearably out of place.

For a man with a fallen nature, living in a fallen world, to trust himself is to play the fool. God is not in any of his thoughts. He is sure he needs no advice; he is right in his own eyes. The vexation of the fool breaks out in immediate and uncontrollable anger. He forgets God, himself, and everybody else. The prudent man does the opposite: he hides shame instead of exposing it. He feels the insult, rather than despising his brother and hardening his own heart in worldly pride. But his quiet spirit adds no fuel to the flame. It may even help the offender to judge his own unbridled behaviour. How wise it is to ignore such provocations, to hide shame not only from others but from ourselves!

Turning for a moment to what Scripture says about it, we find that it is expressly forbidden (Matt. 5:22; Rom. 12:19); it is a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:20); it is characteristic of fools (Prov. 12:16; 14:29; 27:3; etc.); it brings its own punishment (Job 5:2; Prov. 19:19); it is often stirred up by bad words (2 Sam. 19:43, etc.), but pacified by meekness (Prov. 15:1); that we should not provoke others to it (Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21).

This second section of the chapter, verses 3 to 6, speaks of conflict and of help. The child of God must expect such opposition. Still, it is bound to weigh on him, as the oppression of Egypt weighed on Israel. Notice that here the proverb has in view the effect of a fool's wrath on others. Through this a believer may find out what his real, inward state is. Persecution will bring out what is actually in us. Like the stone or the sand, is it simply too heavy to bear? Or do we find the strength of God enough to enable us to bear it?

If we are treated with contempt, let us not meet the "flesh" with the "flesh" and retaliate. Instead, let us turn to the Lord and lay our case at His feet. Then let us busy ourselves with His will and Word, and leave our defence with Him. It may not be that He will remove the trying circumstance, but He will surely give grace to bear it.

Everyone admits that wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous. But that gives no excuse for hitting back in the same spirit. If we did, we would lower ourselves to the same sinful level. We ought to be able to stand in the face of this.

Before God we have to face more than petty complaints. We also face the cruelty of wrath and the outrageousness of anger. Surely the sun should not set on either the outburst or the anger we hold back. But there is another evil feeling still more unworthy and dangerous: "Who is able to stand before jealousy?"

But who does not know that envy is a greater provocation still? Who is able to stand before it? Who can hold himself back at such a time from impatience and self-righteous indignation? Envy will take countless forms of opposition, more underhand than wrath and anger, and so persistent that it wears its victims down.

Envy, or jealousy, whether in a sinner or in a saint is one of the greatest incentives for evil in the world. It was envy that led to the first murder, when Cain killed his brother: it was envy that led to the greatest murder when the Jews killed their Messiah.

They did not like how close Moses was growing to God. They did not like that the Lord spoke to him in one way and to them in another. Envy led them to DESPISE GOD'S SERVANT. But the Lord did not leave Moses to fight his own battles: Miriam became leprous, white as snow.

How often the envious man tries to hide his jealousy. He protests that he has no bitterness in his heart, and that he is only resisting evil and standing for the truth. Suppose we claim to be exposing some evil and telling a brother the plain truth for his good. If we then choose to say hurtful things, we can be sure that malice in the heart lies behind those words. How often people have excused the most malicious words by quoting the scripture, "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend." How few could quote the words that come just before.

How often we envy the wealth, or the ability, or the gift, or the holiness of another. This spirit of envy raises in my heart a spirit of enmity against my brother, and a long list of works of the flesh may result; all started from envy.

But notice: it does not say that no one can stand. It asks a question instead. Anyone in real communion with the Lord will not be caught by this subtle attack of the enemy. But mere confidence in the flesh always ends in defeat... Therefore, only constant communion with God will protect us.

Let us look up for grace to value anything good in another, and all the more if we know we do not claim that particular good for ourselves. To allow jealousy in ourselves, or to let others plant it in us, is to give room to the great enemy.

Real love proves itself by acting. If it stays hidden when the heart calls it to speak or work, it betrays self rather than true affection. Even if there is a fault, love is bound to give "open rebuke." Indifference passes for much in this world. But it is the opposite of love. It cares for self when it hides to avoid danger and yet pretends affection.

When wrong is present, wisdom will seek to bring the help that meets the wrong. Secret love may wink at the evil, but this is not the true love of God: it is no help to the guilty party. Candid open rebuke in a spirit of kindness, not of mere censure, is both honesty and goodness. It may wound to some degree, even when done in a lowly, friendly way. But even the offender should recognise faithfulness in this. If he takes it to heart in the right way, his wounds will heal well. Moreover, it may lead him to love the wise reprover.

A wise man welcomes open criticism and rebuke, though such rebuke may wound, yet being given by the faithfulness of a friend, it is far better than the deceitful kisses of a flattering enemy. Verse 14 may be linked with these statements: "Whoever blesses his neighbour with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing." Insincerity lurks behind such loud, showy protestations of friendship.

A friend's wounds, on the contrary, are faithful. In this way God's will is done, even though people misunderstand and resent it for a while. An enemy gives himself away by the very lavishness of his kisses. God is not in such a display, but too often it is no more than taking sides in a human cause.

Suppose we say offensive things on purpose, under the pretence of exposing some evil and telling a brother the plain truth for his good. Then we can be sure that malice in the heart is behind our offensive words. How often people have excused the most malicious words by quoting the scripture, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend." But how few could quote the words that come just before. Those words warn us not to use this scripture carelessly, for they ask, "who can stand before jealousy?" (Prov. 27:4-6).

If we have to oppose a brother, then it should be to his face, and not behind his back. Too often the opposite happens. The man judged to be at fault is the last to hear of it, and perhaps only by a side hint. Meanwhile others freely discuss his supposed errors. All this is wrong. If we have anything to say to a brother, let us go to him and say it to his own face first of all. And let us say nothing behind his back that we would not say to his face.

The oil makes the nail drive without splitting the board. The word never enters the heart more kindly than when it falls most gently. Be as rough to your people's sins as you can, so long as you are gentle to their souls. Do you take the rod of reproof into your hand? Let them see that love, not wrath, gives the blow.

There is yet another case. It is exceptional, no doubt, but by no means impossible. Someone takes these words of Scripture and uses them to shut down all faithful correction. This shows a very unhealthy condition of soul. It is shrinking from the light. For "whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God" (John 3:21).

It is the property of real love to prove its activity. If it stays hidden when it is called to speak or work according to the heart, it betrays self rather than true affection. Even if there is a fault, love is bound to give "open rebuke." Indifference passes for much in this world. But when it hides to spare danger and yet pretends affection, it is the opposite of love and cares for self.

A friend's wounds, on the contrary, are faithful, because they carry out God's will, even though people misunderstand and resent them for a while.

Secret love may turn a blind eye to the evil, but this is not the true love of God: it is no help to the guilty party. Open, honest rebuke in a spirit of kindness, not of mere blame, is both honesty and goodness. It may wound to some degree, even when done in a lowly, friendly way. But even the offender should see faithfulness in this. If he takes it to heart, his wounds will heal well. It may even lead him to love the one who wisely corrected him. Again, to do this work rightly takes true self-judgment and communion with God.

An enemy betrays himself by the very abundance of his kisses. God is not in such a display, but too often it is no more than taking sides in a human cause.

Note this: Orpah showed more outward affection for Naomi than Ruth did. But Ruth's affection was deeper and more sincere. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Judas kissed the Saviour and betrayed Him… It is not the outward profession of Christianity that counts, but practical affection for the Person of Christ. How do we stand in this?

Judas illustrates the last part of this verse, in his betrayal of Jesus. Paul illustrates the first part, in his treatment of Peter. He goes to him openly, and in public he exposes the glaring inconsistency Peter had been just as publicly guilty of… He was convinced that Peter, deep down, loved the Lord, the Gentiles, and himself. That explains the faithfulness of his public address. It is a model of plain speaking joined with tact, and of clear reasoning joined with persuasion.

Sometimes we say offensive things on purpose, under the pretence of exposing some evil and telling a brother the plain truth for his good. When we do, we may be sure that malice in the heart is behind our offensive words. How often people excuse the most malicious words by quoting the scripture, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend." How few could quote the words that come just before it. Those words warn us not to use this scripture lightly.

This observation is obvious and simple. That should lead us to expect a far more important spiritual meaning. Paul rebukes the Corinthians: "Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!" (1 Cor. 4:8). They were satiated with earthly advantages, pride, self-complacency. It is the very spirit of Laodicea — "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing" (Rev. 3:17). The heart has no longing for an absent Lord and Master. Instead it feeds on the trash of this world, until it loathes the precious, sweet ministry of the Spirit of God. But, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt. 5:6). This is the true character of the child of God in a barren world. And when it is so, "He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things" (Ps. 107:9).

Only a sense of the need of our immortal souls will make anyone embrace God's way of salvation. Nothing else will bring us into the joy God has in our deliverance. So He sends His servant a second time. He does not send him to the proud religious leaders of the Jews, but to the needy… Needy souls do not refuse the grace of God. Those that feel no need are always full of the spirit of refusal. "One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet."

However much money a God-fearing person has, self-indulgence is unworthy of him. He lives in a world where we have the poor always with us, and where many sudden losses call for special compassion. What a lesson for the Christian! Both times the Lord fed the crowd by a miracle, He used barley loaves and small fish. How far from showy or appetising! And He taught the disciples to pray for bread that is enough. The full soul is unworthy of His name. The honeycomb he loathes convicts him of following the Lord of glory at a distance.

But how touching is that word "Father" — the Father's love, the Father's heart, the Father's care. What room or need is there in the soul that happily enjoys these for the things that are in the world? It is satisfied, and "one who is full loathes honey." Does not even the first hint of worldliness show a heart growing cold toward the Father?

Moreover, "everything bitter is sweet." When the soul hungers and thirsts after God, even the bitter trials and experiences of the wilderness turn into sweetness. Is that not true? God's ways are wonderful. His very judgments are bitter to the belly. Yet they fulfil the truth of prophecy, so they are sweet to the taste of the man of God (Rev. 10:8-10).

To experience the sweetness of honey you have to taste it! When our hearts are full of other things, of worldly things, then we have no appetite for the Word. It is a good thing when we are hungry enough to accept every bitter thing put before us by our God and Father. Surely this is the result of reading and absorbing the Word of God. It makes us pliable in His hands and willing to do His will, which is always good and acceptable and perfect.

God declared Cain a fugitive and a wanderer because he killed his righteous and accepted brother. Cain would have done well to heed the word of the Lord. But no one else is normally called to such a life. The family is the place appointed as the rule in the world as it is. Even the bird owns the attraction of her nest. Wandering from either is a picture of wretchedness.

The hungry soul will not wander from the place God has for him. He thirsts for the living God with a whole heart that will not turn aside after other interests. But wandering feet follow a wandering heart. If we reason only from what we can see, we may think that far-off fields look greener. Then, following our own thoughts, we may wander like a bird from the plain truth of the Word of God. That Word sets every believer in the body of Christ as He pleases. How much better to know His mind, and firmly stand where He has set us!

It is an empty heart, a heart that has never taken up its own portion, that lies open to these attacks... the heart that is not filled with what is its own, that is not enjoying it, is ready for the enemy to come in and lead it into idolatry. The Danites become restless, just as the Levite did: "Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home."

Notice that in all three cases they knew the place — the honoured place — God had given them. And in each case they ask, and well they might, "Should I leave...?" Here comes a very important principle, and the young Christian will do well to remember it. Step out of the place God has set you in, and you leave behind your power for glorifying God and blessing people. You gain nothing but loss and sorrow.

The olive and fig and vine trees glorified God by remaining where He had put them; and their fruit was useful to man.

Perhaps, out of a desire to be noticed, they go out into a public path of service instead of living the path of home duties. That is where God would have them adorn the teaching they profess. So the restlessness never stops. They get uneasy, disappointed, discouraged — not settled here, not settled there, but never at rest.

What is at the bottom of restlessness with us is wanting to be somewhere or something the Lord does not want us to be.

God has arranged the earth and man so that even the desert produces oil and perfume. These refresh a heart in low spirits — not only in the desert, but in lands where there is plenty. But the hearty counsel of one's friend is no less sweet.

God made us so that sweet scents please us in a special way. This teaches us that the Creator Himself delights in what is spiritually fragrant. Ointment is plainly a symbol of the worship of the heart, as Mary's anointing of the feet of the Lord Jesus shows (John 12:3)... It served to anoint the priests and the vessels of the tabernacle, the one place where Israel worshipped the Lord alone... God cannot share His glory with man. He will not let anyone give anything like worship to a creature (Exodus 30:34-38).

Merely copying the excellence of our Lord — claiming faith without the heart behind it — will meet His severe rebuke (Amos 6:6). And does it not apply to the sinful nature still in the believer? Wherever we allow quarrelling, pride and empty boasting, they are dead flies in the perfumer's oil (Ecclesiastes 10:1). They spoil all its fragrance... Let His name be in the hearts of His redeemed people here like "oil poured out" (Song of Solomon 1:3). This is the "oil and perfume" that "make the heart glad" (Proverbs 27:9).

"The sweetness of one's friend is the fruit of hearty counsel." When people take counsel together openly and whole-heartedly, the effects are sweet. How true this is of our communion with God. It is just as true wherever there is honest, warm trust among God's people.

"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" — older translations read "sharpens the countenance of his friend." Fellowship will always have results... True Christian fellowship shares the truths we have learned from God. It sharpens believers into keener joy in the Lord and greater usefulness in serving Him. If we want results, we must practise what brings results.

Proverbs 27:9 says, "Oil and perfume make the heart glad." But people can also use it for plain luxury, or for sin, when the heart is away from God. Proverbs 7:17; Isaiah 57:9.

True friendship does not change. Personal feelings often ruin a friendship when we let them take over. But let us not be guilty of forsaking a friend if he should leave; at least let us not cause a separation. Constancy, loyalty, faithfulness — what a precious character that is! Here the brother spoken of is of course a natural relative. But the "friend" does not speak of a natural relationship. It speaks of another relationship that is willingly taken up, and so it applies to spiritual fellowship. Will we dare to abandon fellow believers whose fellowship God has given us? Will we do it over personal feelings, irritations or jealousies — or just because we want easier circumstances and more agreeable company? But staying steady needs honest self-judgment and real work in the soul. It is not natural, and it is not automatic.

In a world that forgets, we should make even more of our own friend, and of our father's friend too. Still, in the day of calamity, it is unwise to rush for sympathy, even to a brother. A neighbour who is near is likely to prove better than a brother far away. A claim irritates; love is free and holy.

If disaster comes on us, wisdom does not look for comfort from a mere natural relative, "a brother who is far away." We all know how families tend to drift apart. In time any real understanding between brothers is lost. This painful fact is strong evidence that natural relationships on their own are not stable or lasting. "A neighbor who is near" is better — that is, of course, when one has the proper character of a neighbor. Compare Luke 10:36-37. Certainly this is meant to teach us the closer relationship of those who are born of God. Their comfort, help and encouragement rest on faith and true understanding. In the same way the Lord Jesus recognised no relationship except that of "those who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21). Of course, if a brother is also a brother in the Lord, that makes all the difference.

Do you ever want a neighbour? Whom do you go to in your trouble? ... He came where the poor man was. The priest and the Levite passed by. But He sees and enters into the whole character of the evil and of the suffering man. ... He comes to meet you in your distress. He does not stretch out His hand and send favours from a distance. He enters into all the circumstances. He knows closely the need of the one who needs help.

Where friendship is true and real there is no restraint, and a friend may be better than a brother. This "Friend who loves at all times" is the one who "sticks closer than a brother." We do not tell our secrets to strangers. But to a friend we love and trust we tell our innermost thoughts and unload our cares. The basis of friendship is confidence and love.

When a son walks wisely, what joy to a parent's heart! It is the best answer to the reproach which a watchful life must expect from those who are lax.

In this instruction the child of God hears a higher voice than that of his natural parent. The conduct of a child reflects on his parent, who feels it according to what it is. How much more so for the child of God and his Father in glory! Men do dare to reproach God, and they take advantage of every failure of His children to do it. How good it is when a wise, consistent walk on our part gives a clear answer to such charges!

The apostle John could write, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." The same can be said of God Himself. This is His joy, and He knows it far more deeply than the most devoted servant on earth has ever known it.

The Hebrew verb "reproach" means to scorn, to find fault, to reproach. We all know that Satan is described in the Bible as the accuser of our brothers (Rev. 12:10). Satan uses human beings also to inflict scorn on their fellow men. Unbelievers may scorn and mock the believer, or ask him "tricky" questions. The verse goes on to tell us that it is only as "I trust in Your word" that the psalmist is able "to answer."

"Have you considered my servant Job?" asks the LORD. He takes up for Himself the description of Job already given. God delights in His beloved people, and in their righteous ways. If Satan accuses, He will commend. It is always so. Judgment is His strange work. He would rather dwell on good, and "if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise," He thinks about that.

What a testimony! How truly refreshing to the heart! "No error or fault!" Even his most bitter enemies could not put their finger on a single blemish in his character, or a flaw in his practical career. This was a rare and admirable character — a bright witness for the God of Israel, even in the dark days of the Babylonian captivity. His life proves something no one can argue with. It does not matter where we are placed, or how our circumstances stand. It does not matter how unfavourable our position, or how dark the day we live in. It is still our happy privilege to conduct ourselves, in every detail of daily life, so that we give the enemy no occasion to speak reproachfully.

Prudence sees evil beforehand and hides from it; the simple is blind, goes forward and suffers.

The value of prudence in a world like this is next urged. The circumspect sees the evil and seeks timely shelter; the heedless goes boldly forward and suffers the consequence.

The wisdom of true sanctification is clear here. But it is the Word of God that is able to make wise (2 Tim. 3:16). It warns the sinner of coming judgment. If he is wise, he will take refuge in the blessed shelter of divine grace, the atoning death of the Lord Jesus. That is the only shelter from the wrath of God against sin. Then there are the dangers of the Christian path: the snares of Satan, threats against personal faith and godliness, cunning attacks upon the truth of the Church of God. The child of God ought not to be ignorant of these. By knowing Scripture he should foresee the grave dangers that threaten him, and take refuge in the truth God has provided.

Men are living in danger at this hour. The day of judgement is hurrying on. In God's eyes the "prudent" are those who have fled to Christ for refuge. The sadly "simple" are those who make light of Him and His great salvation, however wise they think they are.

This unwillingness to accept an unpleasant truth about oneself is nothing new in man. The prophet Elisha drew a vivid picture of Hazael's future violence. "Is your servant a dog," said the astonished man, "that he should do this thing?" But as one commentator remarks, "The dog went and did it." … The same attitude shows in the devoted Simon Peter. He did not know the weakness in himself. He burst out, "Though I should die with you, yet will I not deny you." What followed proved how true the Lord's words were. How much better if the self-confident man had heeded the gracious warning.

When we are doing our own will, or are careless about our walk, God, in His mercy, may warn us through an obstacle. It stops us if we pay attention to it, while "the simple go on and suffer for it" (Prov. 27:12). Where there is a great deal of activity and business in the work, God may allow Satan to raise up obstacles, to keep us dependent on the Lord… It is a means for our correction.

If a stranger deceives us, we must be ready to bear the responsibility for it. If someone is willing to be surety for a stranger, this verse tells us to make sure he bears the consequences if the stranger proves unreliable. Hold the one who gives a letter of recommendation fully responsible for it.

Thoughtlessness is a direct road to ruin, even if one listens to the spendthrifts of one's own family. But what happens when a man is so weak as to become surety for a stranger? Worse still, when he listens to a strange woman. You may relieve him of his clothing at once.

No one should become surety unless he is ready to lose. That holds when the debt belongs to a man. It is still more dangerous with a strange woman.

Proverbs condemns going surety for another as unwise: "he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure." Going surety for a stranger it condemns completely. Many a Christian has suffered by standing surety for a friend. It may be difficult to refuse, but it is unrighteousness unless the one who acts as surety can bear the loss if it falls on him.

Yet He who was best and wisest chose to be surety for us, and suffering followed to the very end. As He knew beforehand, so He endured it all for us, to God's glory. In our own way and measure we too may take the risk. But we should only do it where we are ready to stand the loss, and can act with care and honour. Otherwise it is right as well as safe to refuse. Speculation without means, or beyond our means, is never justified. It is not kindness. It is dishonesty.

We do not know how badly we may suffer through such a rash act, because it involves making promises we may find ourselves unable to keep. There is no reason for a believer ever to make such a pledge. Yet many organisations urge people to pledge a certain amount of money. If one wants to give to any project, let him do it without any pledge whatever.

He became surety of a better covenant (Hebrews 7:22). Solomon, who was both wealthy and wise, warns in his book of Proverbs against suretyship. "Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm" (Proverbs 11:15). Still, the Lord Jesus Christ, in His matchless grace, took up our cause — strangers indeed. He Himself took on our liabilities and paid our debts. The sorrows and sufferings of the cross show us the price He had to pay for our redemption.

When the Lord Jesus became surety for us, He was fully prepared to bear all the consequences of our countless sins, and He did this perfectly. He had both the ability and the willingness for this. Even if we should be willing to be surety for another, do we have the ability for it? In most cases, the answer is no!

To rise early in the morning and spend quiet time in prayer and fellowship with God brings the deepest blessing. But to disturb others with loud, unbecoming flattery of a friend will bring a curse. If verse 13 warns us not to let strangers deceive us, verse 14 shows that it is not the Christian's business to advertise his friends.

A wise man welcomes open criticism and rebuke. Such rebuke may wound, but it comes from the faithfulness of a friend, and it is far better than the deceitful kisses of a flattering enemy. The fourteenth verse may be linked with these statements. Insincerity lurks behind such loud, hypocritical declarations of friendship.

I am sure you will feel, my dear friend and brother, that one man cannot do a greater injury to another than by praising him and feeding his pride. "A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet," and a flattering mouth works ruin. Be assured, too, that we are far too short-sighted to judge how much piety our fellow believers have. We cannot weigh it rightly without the balance of the sanctuary, and that balance is in the hands of Him who searches the heart.

Flattery is completely impossible when it comes to God. All praise and worship offered to Him falls short of what He is worthy of. We cannot rate Him higher than He is. On the other hand, it is almost impossible to avoid flattery when we begin to praise people. We see one or two features on the surface of their character or their work, and those appeal to us. Many other features lie deep below the surface, and we do not see them. They would not appeal to us at all — they would horrify us. So our praise of people always has an element of flattery in it, even when we have no desire at all to flatter. Let us beware of the praise of people. When we indulge in it we damage each other, though it is very sweet to the flesh.

I shudder when I see the names of Christ's servants paraded in the public journals, with flattering comments on their work and its fruits. Surely those who write such articles should think about what they are doing. They may be feeding the very thing they ought to want put to death and subdued.

Paul speaks like that of the Philippians, making much of their service. He uses the balances of the sanctuary in doing this. Otherwise it would be flattery. He makes all these statements in the light of the holiest place, for he weighs these things before God. We may flatter one another and injure one another. We may point out a brother's service in front of others and injure him by doing it — unless we weigh it in the balances of the sanctuary.

Praise, approval and appreciation are no doubt right in their place. But too much of it is unbecoming, and if it turns into flattery it is simply not true.

This has been understood as a drip through a leaking roof. In a land of flat roofs, that is common enough when the rain is very heavy. Only those who have been through it know how irritating and wearying it can be. But that is the character of an argumentative woman. She is out of her place, not showing the godly qualities of submission and of a meek and quiet spirit.

Another brings the calamity nearer still, and more constantly: a contentious wife. Her cross and fractious spirit is a continual dropping. Not a spot in the house is safe from her turmoil.

A contentious woman is bound to be a trial to every member of the household, but most of all to her husband. The house may be roomy, but only jarring follows her; and if visitors call, it only increases his pain. He can find no better place than a corner on the housetop. There he finds quiet, and, for piety, access to the Highest.

And who has not seen what a blaze a little spark can become, if godliness and grace do not rule? It is like water let out when someone starts a quarrel. At first there are only drops trickling. Then the opening widens into a flow that sweeps everything before it.

It is no small matter to restrain someone who is contentious. Mere human power is not enough for it. But if we use the power of God, He can surely restrain even the wind. This is good work, and only the living presence of the Spirit of God can do it. The right hand is the hand of power. Meeting the oil proves the power of the Spirit of God (the oil) in a living way, through these severe tests of the wilderness path.

When filled with the Spirit, Paul solemnly silenced the unholy contentions of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:6-12). Stephen faced the contentious, angry Jewish council and bore most blessed witness to the glory of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-60).

So it is important to look to the Lord for a gracious and faithful counterpart. House and wealth may be an inheritance from fathers, as they usually were in Israel. A prudent wife was from Jehovah. What was everything else worth, however fine or plentiful, if the one who shared it all had no meekness of wisdom? Even if every material thing were lacking, what comfort and happiness to have one from Jehovah, with His light within her and around her!

Now verses 13 to 16 form the fourth section, dealing with testing in a strange and contentious world.

Only those who have experienced it know how irritating and wearying this can be. But such is the character of an argumentative woman. She is out of her place, not displaying the godly qualities of submission and of a meek and quiet spirit. This kind of contention is to have no place in the assembly of God: it is of the world. Timothy is strongly warned against allowing any such spirit among the saints of God.

"Whoever will restrain her restrains the wind, and his right hand encounters oil" (New Trans.).

It is no small matter to restrain someone who is contentious. Mere human power is not enough for it. But if we make use of the power of God, He can surely restrain even the wind. Only the living presence of the Spirit of God can do this good work. The right hand is the hand of power. Meeting with oil is the proving of the power of the Spirit of God — the oil — in a living way, through these severe testings of the wilderness path. How much better this is than the emotional excitement and thrilling experiences of ecstatic joy that many today eagerly seek! It is far more sound and real. They chase such things as though that were the filling of the Spirit of God... When filled with the Spirit, Paul solemnly silenced the unholy contentions of Elymas the sorcerer (Acts 13:6-12). Stephen faced the contentious, angry Jewish council and gave a most blessed witness to the glory of the Lord Jesus at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-60).

To accuse or betray. Isa. 16:3; Prov. 27:16; Prov. 29:24; Matt. 26:73. From the Anglo-Saxon.

It is used for "fatness, oil, spiced oil," and so "ointment." On joyful occasions people anointed the head with it, Ps. 133:2. Elsewhere it is called the "oil of gladness."

Further, "a servant of the Lord must not quarrel [or fight], but be gentle towards everyone." This is what the Lord had taught and practised... But are not some people so trying that they deserve at least a sharp word? He ought to be "gentle towards everyone." It is not a question of human unpleasantness, but of presenting Christ properly. It is easy enough to wound or defeat a man. But what if it grieves the Holy Spirit of God and dishonours Christ? Are we resolved, as we should be, to bear things in patience and to win in the irresistible might of meekness?

A meek and quiet spirit in a Christian woman — this we read "is in the sight of God of great price" (1 Pet. 3:4)... it is fragrant to God, as was Mary's ointment, it is beautiful in His eyes as the church is in Christ's. What could Christian women desire more than this? Here is fragrance that no perfumer's skill can produce. Here is an ornament that no jeweller can design. Here is beauty greater than anything art or nature can show. And it lasts, for what is of great price in the sight of God, He will preserve for ever.

Fellowship will always have results. An iron file sharpens an iron blade. In the same way, when friends exchange thoughts, each sharpens the other, and it shows in his face. It is true even of ordinary knowledge: the more you use it, the more it produces. Let it be so then among Christians about the knowledge of God and the truth of His Word. When Christians share the truths they have learned from God, that fellowship sharpens them. It gives them a keener joy in the Lord and makes them more useful in serving Him. If we want results, we must practise what brings results.

There are other needs even more common than this. We need to work together, and we need to divide the work between us. God gave us different abilities, so we depend on one another. This is how He meets our need for company. Here we form and strengthen the ties that hold the world together. And when mind meets mind, and heart meets heart, every hidden ability is stirred and grows.

Yet man finds the help he seeks. "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." Bringing men together encourages this. And the more different those men are, the more this help may show. It is struck out, you might say, when contrasted qualities collide.

Fellowship with other Christians is also vital. It feeds the new life God gives, and helps it grow... Being with fellow Christians draws out the new nature. It strengthens the desires God has given. "Two are better than one... For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow" (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). Someone weak in the faith may be close to falling. Friendship with stronger Christians will lift him up and make him strong.

Select only decided Christians to be your friends. Be sure your companions are strongly on the Lord's side. A man is known by the company he keeps. Stay clear of people with loose opinions and lax morals. Your companions will influence you either for good or for evil.

In close walking with those who fear the Lord, the experiences and joys of each become a common blessing to all. They are multiplied in being shared together.

"Those who feared the Lord spoke with one another" is God's resource for days of ruin. Look at these few faithful believers. All around them, religion had gone dead. Yet they looked for each other, found each other, and talked together... Notice too that all these faithful ones talk about only one subject. It is the comfort of Israel. It is Christ, the Messiah. It is the person of the Saviour. Such conversation pleases God, and He listens closely to it.

At times God may test us with loneliness. But practical fellowship is His way for His people... Proud, self-sufficient flesh may treat the help of others as worth little. But if we truly see how small we are, we will look first and above all to the One who is faithful. We will also value the support of our brothers and sisters... How easily the flesh gives in to a little spite. It loses its temper and provokes a brother, saying what it knows will offend when there was no need to say it. Let us instead provoke one another to love, by showing love.

The fifth section of our chapter covers only verses 17 and 18. It speaks of recompenses, the reaping of what is sown.

The fig tree speaks of the nation Israel; and a Jew whose love for the nation led him to seek the blessing of his nation would himself be blessed through this. In the same way, the child of God today may care for the church, the body of Christ, and for its proper interests. If he does, he himself will reap proper spiritual benefit. This is good service to our Master, in reference to His interests — "waiting on the Master" — and it cannot but result in honour for the servant. Seeking our own honour will, on the other hand, result in our dishonour.

It is good when Christians who feel their own weakness "wait on the Lord." We are indeed like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. We wait on Him because "in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." And we are told, "he who waits on his Master will be honoured." At the time Isaiah spoke, all was weakness and confusion in Israel... Then came the blessed and definite promise, surely not less for us than for Israel: "they that wait on Jehovah shall renew, or change, their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." This overcomes faintness and weariness. He gives power to run in His service, and strength to walk carefully — to all who wait on the Lord.

We are afraid that this seeking of our own interests and not Christ's is sadly common among believers today. No servant of God can serve the saints so effectively as the one who moves among them seeking nothing but the interests of Christ.

"If any man serve Me" — who is this ME? The humbled and rejected Son of God! Who serves Him in the hour of His unpopularity and rejection? Such are honoured by the Father, and the honours will be publicly theirs when the day of the great review arrives. The highest honours of the world are only tinsel compared with this.

The servant may care for His interests with zeal, and do His work faithfully and with intelligence. He seeks sinners earnestly so that they may be saved. He loves and tends the saints because they are precious to Him. The Lord is not unmindful of the service; nor is God unrighteous to forget the work. For that servant whom the Lord on coming shall find so doing, He will set over all that He has. And has He not pledged Himself to act this way, He who is Heir of all things? The servant shall share in the display of his Lord's glory, if he serves faithfully now in the day when He is slighted.

The still pool of water was man's first mirror. Gazing into it, a person sees his face reflected. As truly as the face seen in the pool is like the face which the water reflects, so truly does one man's heart reflect the other's. Though there may be culture, education and a certain refinement, underneath each human being there is the same corrupt, fallen human nature.

It is not "As in a mirror," but "As in water." It is almost impossible to get an absolutely flat surface on either glass or metal. And to see a perfect image of yourself, you must look at a surface that is perfectly flat. An ordinary mirror only reflects a resemblance. There is always more or less distortion. But look into a pail or pool of water perfectly at rest, and you see an exact image of yourself in the reflection.

Water will act as a mirror to reflect a man's face just as it is. The Word of God is likened to water (Eph. 5:26) and in this I see the reflection of my own heart, answering to the heart of all mankind. The deceitful motives and ways of people that Scripture exposes are only a true reflection of my own heart, and of every human heart.

"As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man" — the heart, not necessarily the life. As to the life, God has given many restraints and hindrances that keep it from being just what the heart is. Evil also has many forms, and some look very different from others — indeed, in a true sense they are different. In the coming day of judgment, as we know, God will judge each person separately. But toward God, at bottom, there is no difference by nature.

Are we ready to admit such a verdict — to believe that "there is no distinction," and that the God-fearing Hezekiah and the godless Assyrian are no different in nature? … The Holy Spirit would teach us that the flesh in a Hezekiah is no better than the flesh in a Sennacherib. "No human being can boast in the presence of God." "As in water, face answers to face, so does the heart of man to man" — one heart matches another exactly as the face looking out of the water matches the face looking in.

"For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction." The history of the professing Church has often repeated Israel's history; for "as in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man." Only, in the Christian world, the corruption has been even worse and the turning away from God even more obvious.

But if some — if we have yielded, is it because of some betterness in us? Were our hearts naturally more teachable or obedient? Scripture shall answer for us: "As in water face answers to face, so the heart of man to man." Therefore it was necessary that we should be born again, "not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" alone.

Murder, in seed form, lies buried in the natural heart of every person born into the world. … I know from this verse in Proverbs what I am looking at when I see the Jewish heart showing itself in the presence of Jesus here on earth. I see, not a resemblance of my Gentile heart, but an exact image. And yet, wonder of wonders! He loved, and loves, me still! And when He came to earth He knew just what treatment He would receive at the hand of man.

What the eye sees seems to wake covetousness again and again. It takes stern self-judgment to hold back this natural impulse of our hearts. It is a disease of all mankind. It is like the way sheol and destruction devour mankind and are never satisfied. Sheol is the state of the spirit after death, apart from the body. Death feeds on mankind without a pause. It lays the body low in destruction and sends the spirit into the realms of the unseen, leaving only mourning and depression. In the same way, man's eyes feed on all they can see, and never gain a satisfying, living, vital result. All is transient and vain.

The word seems to come from shaal, which means "to ask." Most think it takes its meaning from the way death keeps "demanding" its victims and is never satisfied.

Scripture never has annihilation in view in any of these passages. Even in material things, everyone agrees that nothing is ever annihilated. Some passages speak of destruction as a place or a state of existence: "Hell and destruction are before the Lord"; "Hell and destruction are never full."

This man had followed his natural inclinations; he had begun where we all begin, where the first man began. "I saw" (v. 21) — "when the woman saw" is said in Genesis 3:6. He had eyes that knew how to pick out the fine things among the spoil. His eyes were the avenue to his heart, but there was no sentinel on watch, no challenge sounded in case of an attack. The forbidden thing takes hold of the heart through the eyes, and stirs the heart to lust: "I coveted them." "Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin": "I took them."

The Spirit of God may be using my eye to take in and survey everything important for me to see on my course. Or the natural mind may be using it to gather materials for its own support. That is why the "lust of the eye" belongs with the "lust of the flesh," though no one ever thinks the two are morally equal. Both tie us to the world, which is not of the Father. And the "lust of the eye" is even the more dangerous of the two, because people fear it least and discourage it least.

"Enough is as good as a feast," says the world, and for things that wear out as you use them, that is true in its way. Yet even here the world convicts itself, for it admits that by enough every man means something more than he has. So in practice he never reaches his "enough" — and how much less the feast? ... The human heart is too large for any earthly thing to fill it!

Even for the senses of widest range and the easiest to please, the eye is not satisfied, nor is the ear filled. The result is weariness and disappointment, not happiness. What a difference when one beholds the Son and believes on Him! For He is the Bread of life, and the believer feeding on Him neither hungers nor ever thirsts again.

Intense heat tests silver and gold. In the same way, the praise of men's lips tests a man. Let him remember the two previous verses, and human praise will not puff him up. Mere flattery will not deceive us if we remember the simple, honest fact of what we are. Silver is mentioned here. Is that not a reminder that Christ has redeemed us by His precious blood? That work for us is infinitely precious. Gold stands for the glory of God, and if His glory delights our hearts, it will drive out every desire for our own glory.

In the matter of the ambassadors from Babylon, Hezekiah shows what he really is. After deep searching of soul he had vowed, "I will walk slowly all my years." Even so, he has no defence against the flattery of the world… The man who has learned resurrection through discipline still has no defence when Babylon recognises him and makes much of him… When men acknowledge a man and make much of him, that is when he is tested. "The crucible is for silver, and a man is tested by his praise." Our flesh enjoys being recognised and exalted, and that simple fact proves how dangerous praise is for us.

It is almost impossible to avoid flattery when we begin to praise men. We see one or two features on the surface of their characters or their actions, and those features appeal to us. But we do not see the many other features, deep below the surface, that would not appeal to us at all — they would horrify us. So our praise of man always has an element of flattery in it, even when we have not the slightest desire to flatter. As saints, let us beware of the praise of men. By indulging in it we damage each other, though it is very sweet to the flesh.

I am sure you will feel, my dear friend and brother, that one man cannot do a greater injury to another than by praising him, and feeding his pride… we are far too short-sighted to judge how godly another believer is. We cannot weigh it correctly without the balance of the sanctuary, and that balance is in the hands of Him who searches the heart. So judge nothing before the time. Wait until the Lord comes, brings to light what is in the heart, and gives to every man his praise.

How inconsistent to sound his own praise! How fitting to be silent about any good on his part. If a stranger praised him, it was more than he deserved. Here too the New Testament shows the truth more deeply in Christ. It calls for lowliness of mind, valuing one another as more excellent than ourselves — not as a nice feeling, but as a living truth of faith.

How often the saints praise us for the very things in which we can find the flesh at work — some selfish motive that we have to judge in ourselves before the Lord. We are therefore to judge nothing before the time. Both the condemnation and praise of men may be equally at fault.

The monuments of Egypt show that in ancient times, as now, people used stone mortars with stone pestles to pound hard seeds. The manna was ground in mills or beaten in a mortar (Numbers 11:8). This pounded the seeds very small. Even so, such treatment would not cure a fool of his folly. It shows that nothing can correct the man who despises wisdom and instruction.

He is the person who is uninstructed, and disregards both counsel and instruction. So it borders on irreverence toward both man and God. It flows from a groundless independence of will, with no independence of understanding and knowledge... This, as regards God, is practical atheism. The Psalms and Proverbs are full of matter connected with this.

The mortar was a vessel in which wheat was pounded with a pestle, to remove the husks and make it edible. The true child of God is likened to wheat (Matthew 13:30, 38), and the wheat must be sifted, the Lord sometimes allowing even Satan to do this work (Luke 22:31). But if a fool is put in company with the saints of God, and pounded with the trials that ought to remove all dross, this will still not remove his folly from him. Environment and training will not decide an issue like this. "You must be born again." Only a real work of God in the soul will accomplish true and permanent results.

Nor does the darkness produce repentance: "People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds." That is how hardening sin is. And that is how powerless judgment is on its own to break the heart and bring the soul to God.

There is no use in trying to make foolishness wise. You must bring heavenly wisdom into a heart that folly alone has governed until now. Again, "you have put off the old self" (Colossians 3:9). He does not say, You have improved, or are trying to improve, "the old self"; but, You have put it off. This gives us a totally different idea.

You are opposed to God at the very source of your being. So it is clear that you will not do for God. You must be born anew, every one of you. You cannot be reconstructed. You cannot be patched up. I know you go in for reformation; but it will not do. It is like painting up a rotten ship, putting in new rigging and new masts, and sending it out to sea only to sink in the first storm. You must have an absolutely new nature, and you cannot get it from anyone but the blessed Son of God. Self-improvement is a huge delusion.

Verse 22 sums up the hopelessness of man's condition, if he chooses to remain a fool, ignorant of the grace of God, a stranger to new birth.

Nor is there any hope of better things, unless the fool repents and learns wisdom from above.

The fact that mere human work is empty is no reason to be lazy in the Lord's work. Faith in the Living God and diligence go together, for in this there is no emptiness: "in the Lord your labor is not in vain." Our verse implies shepherd care. However weak the day we live in, the need of souls should draw out tireless work and concern from our own hearts.

The public teacher cannot do this. Certainly, if he has something of the pastor in him, his public preaching can reach a great deal of the soul's private struggles, sorrows, and difficulties. But he cannot fully meet the soul's individual need. This is the pastor's holy work. As we see it, a pastor is to the soul what a doctor is to the body. He must understand disease and medicine. He must be able to tell what is wrong. He must be able to discern the spiritual condition, so as to apply the true remedy.

What I mean by a pastor is a person who can carry the whole sorrow, care, misery, and sin of another on his own soul. He takes it to God, and brings back from God what will meet it, before he goes to the other person.

He needs a skilled eye to watch faces, to notice movements, and to catch the first change in behaviour. Someone hurries off at the end of a meeting to avoid speaking or being spoken to. Why is this? He was not like that a while ago. Ask, and you find that he took offence at what he thought was neglect, or that the leader himself seemed to show favouritism and hurt him.

Shepherding the sheep is more than feeding them. It is going after the sheep when they have slipped away under the hedge and may be torn by the thorns. It is comforting them, caring for them as well as feeding them, and nursing and tending them in every way.

The sheep had been "purchased with the blood of His own," that is, God's own Shepherd (Cf. Zech. 13:7), and therefore of priceless value to Him. This fact should move our hearts in diligent, tenderest care for all the flock of God.

Time for work in natural things is limited, and natural wisdom makes use of the present. How true this is in the things of God! We have only the present to work for the Lord, to gain for Him what will please Him in the day of rewards. "Engage in business until I come," He says. When He comes, the account cannot be put off.

Care for souls, young and tender as they may be, works for our own benefit too. The wool of the lambs clothes the shepherd, and the price of the goats is enough to buy land. There is also a reminder of sacrifice here. The lamb pictures the Lord Jesus in His quiet submission in death for us, and that is what really clothes us in the eyes of God.

The emptiness of man's own work is no reason to be lazy in the Lord's work. Faith in the Living God and diligence go together. In the Lord's work there is no emptiness: "your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Our verse implies shepherd care, of course. However weak the day we live in, the need of souls should draw out tireless labour and concern from our own hearts.

Time for work in natural things runs out, and natural wisdom makes the most of the present. How true, too, in the things of God! We have only the present to labour for the Lord, to acquire for Him what will please Him in the day of rewards. "Engage in business until I come," He says, for then there will be no delaying of the account.

So the apostle warns first against pride, and then against resting your hopes on wealth. Money soon grows wings and flies away. Its owner is often called away himself, in the middle of his plans to make himself great. "Uncertainty of riches" indeed: how true and expressive!

Confidence in riches is unsafe. Riches certainly make wings for themselves and fly away like an eagle toward heaven. No wonder that the man who trusts in them will fall. On the other hand, righteousness endures, whatever comes from outside.

The fact is that there never has been a king in this world who has not, sooner or later, lost his crown. There never has been a kingdom that has not been overthrown, or is going to be. But God is about to bring in a King who will never lose His crown, and a kingdom that will never pass away.

Our danger lies in the tendency of our hearts to seek a portion here, to hold present things as though they belonged to us. In truth, nothing here belongs to us. Our portion is in the eternal things. We hold what we have only as stewards, on trust. We must give account for all.

"When the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). Here the Apostle Peter is speaking to the pastors of the flock of God. He tells them of the unfading crown of glory that the Chief Shepherd will award to faithful under-shepherds. It is an unfading crown, unlike the laurel crown of the Corinthian games, which began to fade as soon as the winner put it on his head.

Because mere man's work is vanity is no reason to be slothful in the Lord's work. Faith in the Living God and diligence go together, for in this there is no vanity: "your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Our verse implies pastoral, shepherd care. However weak the day we live in may be, the need of souls should draw out tireless labour and concern from our own hearts.

Time for labour in natural things is limited, and natural wisdom takes advantage of the present. How true, too, in the things of God! We have only the present to labour for the Lord, to acquire for Him what will please Him in the day of rewards. "Engage in business until I come," He says, for then there will be no delaying of the account.

This also shows how quickly the present passes. Our lives are only a vapour, come and gone, like the grass and the hay. Yet something is gathered. Fruit brought forth for the Lord in this short life will keep its value long after our story here is over. "Your fruit shall remain" (John 15:16). It is a wonderful thing that the believer's life is not all emptiness and frustration. God's work in his soul will bear much fruit.

"The hay is removed, and the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered in" (New Translation).

"Green pastures" — what restful freshness, what comfort too, in a scene of dry waste and barrenness. The "tender grass" has its place in the welfare of the flock (compare Proverbs 27). And "His favour is as dew upon the grass" (Proverbs 19) — so wonderfully seen when He made the people sit down where "there was much grass in the place" (John 6:10). Blessed, compassionate Lord!

Care for souls, young and tender as they may be, will work for our own benefit. The wool of the lambs clothes the shepherd, and the price of goats is enough to buy property. There is of course a reminder of sacrifice here. The lamb is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His quiet submission in death for us. That death is the real means of clothing us in the eyes of God. The goat speaks of Him taking our place, a propitiation "for the whole world," that is, "the field," which His death has purchased. Not that the world is redeemed, but redemption is available for it, and all who receive the Lord Jesus receive the eternal benefits of this great work.

The goats' milk of course speaks of the nourishment that comes from the sacrifice. It is enough for the individual, for his household, and for others who depend on him — serving maids. For faith cannot help considering the welfare of others. Here the calm confidence of faith and the devoted energy of faith come together beautifully. It is a scene of quiet prosperity and rest.

Man's own work is empty, but that is no reason to be lazy in the Lord's work. Faith in the Living God and diligence go together, for in this work there is no emptiness: "your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Our verse implies pastoral, shepherd care, of course. However weak the day we live in, the need of souls should draw out the tireless labor and concern of our own hearts.

Time for labor in natural things is short. Natural wisdom makes the most of the present. How true this is in the things of God too! We have only the present to labor for the Lord, and to gain for Him what will please Him in the day of rewards. "Occupy till I come," He says, for then there will be no delaying of the account.

Care for souls, young and tender as they may be, will work for our own benefit. The wool of the lambs clothes the shepherd, and the price of the goats is enough to buy property. There is of course a reminder of sacrifice here. The lamb is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His quiet submission in death for us. He is the real means of clothing us in the eyes of God. The goat speaks of Him in substitution for us, a propitiation "for the whole world" — that is, "the field," which He purchased by His death. Compare Matthew 13:44; 1 John 2:2. The world is not redeemed, but redemption is available for it. All who receive the Lord Jesus receive the eternal benefits of this great work.

The Lord bought the world and every soul in it: all mankind belongs to Him. He does not own the earth only as the One Who created it; He has also bought it. After sin entered and brought in confusion and every evil work, He bought all here below with a price. So, in the parable of the treasure hidden in a field (Matt. 13:44), the man who found it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field — not the treasure but the field. No doubt it is the treasure that gives him joy, but he buys the field, and not the treasure only.

The goat chosen by lot for the Lord speaks as plainly of substitution as it does of propitiation. The goat stands for the sinner, and it is the very thing that speaks of substitution. No picture could convey the thought more exactly. It proclaims propitiation to be by substitution.

The goats' milk of course speaks of the nourishment that comes from the sacrifice. It is enough for the man himself, for his household, and for others who depend on him — the serving maidens. For faith cannot help considering the welfare of others. Here the calm confidence of faith and its devoted energy blend beautifully. It is a scene of quiet prosperity and rest.

Because mere man's work is empty is no reason to be lazy in the Lord's work. Faith in the living God and diligence go together, for in this there is no emptiness: "your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Shepherd care is of course implied in our verse. However weak the day we live in, the need of souls should draw out the tireless labour and concern of our own hearts.

Care for souls, young and tender as they may be, will work for our own benefit. In the same way, the wool of the lambs clothes the shepherd, and the price of goats is enough to buy property. There is of course a reminder of sacrifice here. The lamb is a picture of the Lord Jesus in His quiet submission in death for us. That death is the real means of clothing us in the eyes of God. The goat speaks of Him standing in our place, a propitiation "for the whole world" — that is, "the field," which He purchased by His death. This does not mean the world is redeemed. Redemption is available for it, and all who receive the Lord Jesus receive the eternal benefits of this great work.

Milk from cows, goats, sheep and camels is widely used in the East. People drink it fresh, or shake it in a skin until it turns sour and curdled — what Scripture calls "butter." Flocks and herds were so many, and wild honey so plentiful, that the country was rightly called "a land flowing with milk and honey." Gen. 18:8; Ex. 3:8, 17. Milk is such a necessary food that it stands with wine to picture what grace now supplies, without money and without price, and grace will supply the same to Israel in a future day. Isa. 55:1. In the New Testament milk is a symbol of the nourishment of God's word. 1 Peter 2:2. It also stands for the food of infants, in contrast to the solid food adults use. 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12-13.

The goats' milk of course speaks of the nourishment that comes from the sacrifice. It is enough for the individual, for his household, and for other dependants — the serving maidens. For faith cannot help but consider the welfare of others. Here the calm confidence of faith and the devoted energy of faith blend beautifully. It is a scene of quiet prosperity and rest.

The seventh section is in every way a contrast to the sixth, for its subject is sufficiency and rest. Is it not simply because only the number one is added — that is, God? His work accomplishes the complete change.

When evil gains the upper hand in a nation, among the people themselves, there will be many princes, and no one maintains true authority. They may rise and fall fast, and many will be pushing for the highest places. Conscience will not make them flee, as in verse 1, because evil has become popular. On the other hand, one man of understanding and knowledge can hold authority and prolong the peace and welfare of a nation. But the nation must submit to his authority.

The Syrians had destroyed the princes toward the close of Uzziah's grandfather Joash's reign, and this left the people a free hand. "When a land transgresses, it has many rulers," wrote Solomon, more than a century before. Perhaps this clearing out was not a thing to regret, nor was it unnecessary. Princes who "seek their own" interests cannot judge fairly. A needy, suffering people turn by instinct to a deliverer. Their choice of Uzziah was a good one, as later events proved.

Countless rulers have come to grief because they lacked some or all of these qualities that a throne needs! Kingdom after kingdom has decayed or been destroyed for the very same reason! But His throne takes its character from Himself. He is just and righteous altogether. No one can measure His wisdom and knowledge and understanding. He is Himself "the wisdom of God" and also "the salvation of God." How stable, then, must the throne be on which He sits!

There was no man to stand in the breach. No one carried out judgment. No one even sought the truth. What else could come! The desolation of such a nation, which had turned its back on the Lord, was inevitable. Corrupt princes and a corrupt people called for this... The man was not there. Both the land and the nation must wait for the coming again of "The Man Christ Jesus". He was raised from among the dead. He is a descendant of David, and He is now hidden in the heavens. They shall not wait in vain!

Righteousness exalts not only a man but a nation. Righteousness is a right sense of our relationship to God and to man. It is the very opposite of being absorbed in our own interest, which before long ruins those blindly devoted to it. Sin is a real reproach to peoples as well as to individual people.

The Christian is to discern all these principles and to know how to act in whatever condition he meets. He is not here to change world conditions or national conditions, but he is not to be ignorant of them either.

A poor man who had learned through his hardship, if placed in any authority, could be like refreshing rain, producing food. But if he has not learned to bow to the will of God, he is likely to take shameful advantage of his position. He will exalt himself and oppress without pity the very people he should feel for most. Like rain driven by a fierce wind, this will devastate rather than produce. The antichrist will have this revolting character (Psalm 55:12-14), just as Saul, raised to the throne, persecuted David.

He "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45)... On the one hand, God witnesses to Himself by giving "fruitful seasons" through sun and rain and other forces, filling men's "hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). On the other hand, by "sweeping rain" (Proverbs 28:3) and the burning heat of the sun, He destroys the food of both man and beast (James 1:11).

Of the poor and the rich we read that the poor is hated, while the rich has many friends (14:20). "Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him" (14:31). To deal kindly with the poor and the lowly is God-like. The righteous person shows his righteousness in a practical way, by giving thought to the poor.

The rich think nothing of the aching heart of that man. He goes home to his family to tell them of the disappointment to himself and to them... If we want to know what God thinks of such behaviour, listen to these words of holy indignation. "Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts" (James 5:4). "The Lord of hosts" hears the cry of the wronged and disappointed labourer.

Anyone whom God forgives has been forgiven a debt far beyond anything we could ever pay. Certainly we should therefore have the same forgiving spirit toward others. Yet his fellow servant begged him to have patience. This servant refuses to budge. He demands payment of a debt of a hundred denarii, and has him imprisoned until he should pay it. He himself had owed 700,000 times as much, yet he forgets how great the mercy was that he received.

Of Solomon, a type of Christ, we read: "May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth" (Psalm 72:6). Men, His people, are affected by His rays. Grass mown down by judgment gives way to new grass: the remnant, a willing people. He comes down like refreshing rain on His humbled people. Then the shining of the sun of righteousness makes it spring up with abundance of blessings.

Those who forsake the law turn their backs on the revelation of God and refuse obedience to Him. They praise the wicked; they make common cause with them. Those who keep the law, who obey God's Word, are contenders for the faith.

Let the spirit of disobedience to God once take hold of a man, and in the end he will commend the most wicked doers. Should our hearts not tremble, then, at treating even the least of God's commandments carelessly? This is no justification of a hard, legal spirit, but an insistence that God has a right to my complete obedience.

A pagan could say: I see and approve what is better, but I follow the worse. An apostle names the last degree of evil in such people: they not only practise things that deserve death, but take pleasure in those who do them (Rom. 1:32)... Godlessness destroys the moral landmarks, just as it did among the Jews: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" (Isa. 5:20).

So the believer's life comes down to this. He brings forth the fruits of the light, since he is a child of the light. And he keeps complete separation from the unfruitful works of darkness, for he is no longer of the darkness. Indeed he is to go even further and reprove them... The meaning of that word is not exactly to admonish or rebuke, but rather to expose. It is to expose, as by light, the true character of the works in question. If a believer shines out in his true character, his whole life will have that effect.

We ought not to be contentious people. There is only one thing we have to contend for, and that is the faith of the Gospel. We do not have to contend for our rights or our reputation. We have to contend for one thing that is more precious to us than our name, more precious than our reputation in this world. That one thing is the faith of the Gospel.

We may be sure of one reason why we clash so little with the men of this age. We are so little marked by these features, which stand in such sharp contrast with them... But if the wicked of this age compliment us and pat us on the back, it raises some serious questions!

The solid, sober principles of God's governing judgment are a foreign language to an evil man, because he has no intention of bowing to God's judgment. A disobedient spirit will not humbly accept the consequences of wrongdoing. And the one who tries to dodge that judgment only makes it heavier in the end.

Evil men are blind, but with seeking the Lord comes understanding; the blind eyes are opened.

If a person values wisdom as priceless, digs for her like hidden treasure, and openly and deliberately goes after her, the result is that he grasps the fear of Jehovah and arrives at the knowledge of God. Here we do not have a call to people. We have the heart itself seeking true wisdom as its portion and treasure... "For Jehovah gives wisdom." I do not simply grow wiser by human understanding. Jehovah gives true wisdom. It is what He has said, His word, that gives true knowledge and understanding, and he who seeks it will get it.

Where there is spiritual discernment, things get simple and clear as daylight. "The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him."... Where there is the fear of the Lord, there will be the understanding of His word and mind. But the word of God will not be simple without subjection to Him.

Everyone can see that those who lack intelligence ought to get knowledge, and that the unwise should seek it. But in fact the opposite is true here. The intelligent are the ones who set their hearts on getting knowledge, and the wise are the ones who seek it. The Lord promised as much while He was on earth: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Who ever asks God for our real good and asks in vain?