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Proverbs 12. Proverbs 14:27 & 15. The fear of the Lord. (Prov 14:27 NKJV) The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.
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The fear of the Lord • (Prov 14:27 NKJV) The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. • The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life - Another allusion to the great aorta which carries the blood from the heart to all the extremities of the body. Of this phrase, and the tree of lives, Solomon is particularly fond. Clarke
A King needs people. • (Prov 14:28 NKJV) In a multitude of people is a king's honor, But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince. • (Prov 14:28 TLB) A growing population is a king's glory; a dwindling nation is his doom.
The Importance of Patience • (Prov 14:29 NKJV) He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly. • (Prov 14:29 TLB) A wise man controls his temper.He knows that anger causes mistakes.
Patience from Ephesians • (Eph 4:1-3 NKJV) I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, {2} with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, {3} endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Truth or Consequences • (Prov 14:30 NKJV) A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones. • (Prov 14:30 TLB) A relaxed attitude lengthens a man's life; jealousy rots it away. • (Prov 14:30 NASB) A tranquil heart is life to the body,But passion is rottenness to the bones.
Help the Needy • (Prov 14:31 NKJV) He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy. • (Prov 14:31 TLB) Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God.
Needing God in Death • (Prov 14:32 NKJV) The wicked is banished in his wickedness, But the righteous has a refuge in his death. • (Prov 14:32 NIV) When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.
The “Display” of wisdom • (Prov 14:33 NKJV) Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding, But what is in the heart of fools is made known. • “Wisdom” . . . is “made known,” i. e., by the very force of contrast, in the midst of fools; or she is reserved and reticent in the one, noisy and boastful in the other. -- Barnes
Righteousness exalts a nation • (Prov 14:34 NKJV) Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people.
Righteousness exalts a nation • Alexis de Tocqueville was the famous 19th century French statesman, historian and social philosopher. He traveled to America in the 1830s to discover the reasons for the incredible success of this new nation. He published his observations in his classic two-volume work, Democracy in America. He was especially impressed by America's religious character.
Righteousness exalts a nation • Here are some startling excerpts from Tocqueville's great work: • Upon my arrival in the United States the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there, the more I perceived the great political consequences resulting from this new state of things.
Righteousness exalts a nation • In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom marching in opposite directions. But in America I found they were intimately united and that they reigned in common over the same country. • Religion in America...must be regarded as the foremost of the political institutions of that country; for if it does not impart a taste for freedom, it facilitates the use of it.
Righteousness exalts a nation • Indeed, it is in this same point of view that the inhabitants of the United States themselves look upon religious belief. • I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion -- for who can search the human heart? But I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions.
Righteousness exalts a nation • This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society. • In the United States, the sovereign authority is religious...there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America, . . .
Righteousness exalts a nation • . . . and there can be no greater proof of its utility and of its conformity to human nature than that its influence is powerfully felt over the most enlightened and free nation of the earth. • In the United States, the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of the people...
Righteousness exalts a nation • Christianity, therefore, reigns without obstacle, by universal consent... • I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors...; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution.
Righteousness exalts a nation • Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. • The safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law as well as the surest pledge of freedom.
Righteousness exalts a nation • The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other • Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts -- the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims. • Tocqueville gives this account of a court case in New York:
Righteousness exalts a nation • While I was in America, a witness, who happened to be called at the assizes of the county of Chester (state of New York), declared that he did not believe in the existence of God or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say.
Righteousness exalts a nation • The newspapers related the fact without any further comment. The New York Spectator of August 23rd, 1831, relates the fact in the following terms: • "The court of common pleas of Chester county (New York), a few days since rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God.
Righteousness exalts a nation • The presiding judge remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice: and that he knew of no case in a Christian country, where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief."
The good man's life is full of light. • (Prov 14:35 NKJV) The king's favor is toward a wise servant, But his wrath is against him who causes shame.
Seems to be about a king literally • The king should have an intelligent man for his minister; a man of deep sense, sound judgment, and of a feeling, merciful disposition. He who has not the former will plunge the nation into difficulties; and he who has not the latter will embark her in disastrous wars. Most wars are occasioned by bad ministers, men of blood, who cannot be happy but in endeavoring to unchain the spirit of discord. -- Adam Clarke
Wisdom in Speech In several verses
A gentle answer • (Prov 15:1 NKJV) A soft answer turns away wrath,But a harsh word stirs up anger.
Lack of Humility accomplishes nothing • (Prov 15:2 NKJV) The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness. • Sometimes we need to hold our tongue and say nothing until we think. • Sometimes we need to say nothing because nothing is better than anything else.
The “All Seeing Eye!” • (Prov 15:3 NKJV) The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Which tongue? • (Prov 15:4 NKJV) A wholesome [lit. healing] tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness [crookedness], in it breaks the spirit. • (Prov 15:4 NASB) A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit. • (Prov 15:4 NIV) The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
Listen to Correction! • (Prov 15:5 NKJV) A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction [rebuke, correction, reproof, punishment, chastisement] is prudent. • (Prov 15:5 NCV) Fools reject their parents' correction, but anyone who accepts correction is wise.
Righteousness produces real wealth. • (Prov 15:6 NKJV) In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble. • Our speaker this morning was a good illustration of this as he told that many of those in poverty are not interested in productive work, but instead, just lie around the house drinking.
The tongue used wisely. • (Prov 15:7 NKJV) The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so.
God wants us to be right. • (Prov 15:8 NKJV) The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. • (Isa 1:13 NASB) "Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
The thought continues. • (Prov 15:9 NKJV) The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness. • (Luke 6:45 NKJV) "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Evil will be punished in the end. • (Prov 15:10 NKJV) Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die. • (Prov 15:10 TLB) If they stop trying, the Lord will punish them;if they rebel against that punishment, they will die.
The Lord sees all! • (Prov 15:11 NKJV) Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men. • (Prov 15:11 NCV) The LORD knows what is happening in the world of the dead, so he surely knows the thoughts of the living.
Problems for the Evil • (Prov 15:12 NKJV) A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise. • (Prov 13:21 NCV) Trouble always comes to sinners, but good people enjoy success.