Author: Denis Gibson

A just weight is a full, perfect stone (Dt. 25:15). It is a perfect jewel and precious in the sight of God. This figure is from the use of stones for weights and measures. A false balance represents any unjust or fraudulent practice in business dealings. How remarkable that God’s eye marks even our common dealings with aversion or approval. “Oh! What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive” (Walter Scott).

Have you to plead guilty of an abusive tongue with shame and sorrow? Many more have been victims of that froward tongue in the mouth of others. The words mouth, lips, and tongue are synonymous, but the source of what ultimately comes out is the heart.

Verse 29 brings out a vital truth that deserves close attention. The way of the Lord is the subject of both clauses. Omitting the italics, shall be, we see the contrast intended here. Thus, what is strength to one is destruction to the other, and the response of man to the Lord determines which it will be.

In verse 26 we meet the sluggard once again who is nothing but an irritant. In vs.27-28 we have two more familiar characters, the righteous and the wicked, and the themes of the longevity and brevity of life are portrayed.

The word fear in v.24 (megorah) is not the usual word, as in v.27 (yarah). Jeremiah (20:3-4) used it in his encounter with Pashur. The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur (meaning, security around or free) but Magor-missabib (terror on every side), a judgment against both Pashur and Jerusalem (Ps. 31:13)! Today’s verses state the hopes of the righteous and the fears of the wicked. The righteous have their share of fears as do the wicked, but the difference is in the outcome!

Jerry Clower entertains audiences with his rural Mississippi brand of humour. Once after people had laughed uproariously at some of his humour, he suddenly became serious and said, “There’s one place where there isn’t any laughter, and that’s hell.” No laughter in hell! Here is a comedian reminding us of this fact. Yet millions go gleefully on, ignoring all the warnings. Evidently they think God is too loving to punish anyone. Yet, it was Jesus Himself who spoke of the furnace of fire, of weeping, and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 13:42).

1. Their Secret: The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow (pain) with it. These riches are “without alloy, free from the drawbacks and anxieties which attach to earthly riches” (Perowne). Some have charged this verse with deterministic fatalism. In other words, if God makes one wealthy, nothing one does can change that. Certainly this is not the message of Proverbs. We believe this verse teaches that the Lord doesn’t add sorrow, but that His gifts include happiness as well as well wealth. It is not that effort on our part is useless, but that labour without God’s blessing is (Ps. 127:2; Hab. 1:6-7). “This man receives riches from God because God has ruled that wealth belongs to wise and good men” (Alden). It is speaking, not of earthly riches only, but heavenly, true riches where moth and rust do not corrupt. Earthly riches, like earthly friends, may prove untrue, bringing cares, fears and distrust. “The soul of a thorough worldling is either choked by wealth possessed, or torn by wealth taken away” (Arnot). Examples abound which illustrate that many who have temporal riches are often unhappy (1 Tm. 6:9- 10). The god of this world frequently gives riches, but then adds great pain and sorrow with them. Remember, the blessing of the Lord turns every possession into wealth. We sometimes attach sorrows to that which God intends ultimately to prove a blessing to us. Today’s verse has been paraphrased thus: “All that God gives to do us good really secures our good without any admixture of evil.”

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

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

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