18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to [1] the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool's lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18 The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,
and with dishonor comes disgrace.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.
5 It is not good to be partial to [1] the wicked
or to deprive the righteous of justice.
6 A fool's lips walk into a fight,
and his mouth invites a beating.
7 A fool's mouth is his ruin,
and his lips are a snare to his soul.
8 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;
they go down into the inner parts of the body.
9 Whoever is slack in his work
is a brother to him who destroys.
10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
11 A rich man's wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
12 Before destruction a man's heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
13 If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
14 A man's spirit will endure sickness,
but a crushed spirit who can bear?
15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
16 A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
17 The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
18 The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
19 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
20 From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the Lord.
23 The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Footnotes
[1] 18:5 Hebrew to lift the face of
3 comments:
v 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,and those who love it will eat its fruits.
I recall the following quote in one of our church member's blog (wisdom she learned from her mum):
"If you have nothing good to say about a person, it's better to keep quiet"
-end quote-
Man's words are subjected to so many limitations. We changed our word due to change of circumstances or due to the inevitable change of information. We make careless comments that we are not able or willing to bear with the consequences...
Steve Green compiled this great sunday school song based on 1 Thessalonians 5:11
"Encourage one another and build each other up, build each other up, build each other up! Encourage one another and build each other up up up up up up up up up!
Encourage one another, don't tear each other down, tear each other down, tear each other down! Encourage one another; don't tear each other down, down down down down down down down down down down"
Lord, help us to remember these truths especially when we are angry with our brothers.
v 14 A man's spirit will endure sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?
Pro 15:13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
Pro 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
A joyful, glad and hopeful spirit can endure sickness and adversity, but with a down casted spirit everything is sorrowful, hopeless and difficult to bear.
How to have such spirit that perseveres and triumphs over adversities?
Two very practical keys from the scriptures (strongly recommended by my favorite heroes of faith such as George Muller, Bro Lawrence):
Firstly,
Psa 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
i.e to have a habitual quite time to devote ourself to feed and fest on His words and promises. Wait upon Him prior to any activities of our day. Do not leave until He has gladden our heart with His words/promises and satisfy us with His steadfast love.
Secondly,
1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
i.e. when any slightest cloud of anxiety is sensed, call unto Him and run right into the caring Lord. Ask for assistance and release it to Him.
I have found the following word of the Lord to be extremely helpful:
Mat 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
God has given us sufficient grace for the day
..My grace is sufficient for you,.. 2 Cor 12:9
Our anxieties come because we try to use today's grace for tomorrow's troubles. Remember how God gave the Israelites daily manna during the wilderness? The manna need not and cannot be stored overnight. Today manna is sufficient for today. Tomorrow manna will come tomorrow morning. God want us to trust Him .The grace for tomorrow's troubles will only come tomorrow!
Lam 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; ..
Therefore it is important for us to receive our new manna(new mercies, love and grace) by going to Him every morning (before we start our biz). Failing to do so will cause us to be malnutrition and hungry.
A malnutrition man is a sickly man.
A hungry man is an angry and sorrowful man.
Prov 18
I feel, this is one of Chapters where we gain from the wealth of the writer's experience in life.
For eg, Verse 17
The first to present his case seems right,till another comes forward and questions him.
I have found this to be true, time and time again when I am dealing with people. If we are indeed wise, we will take heed and follow the principles that have been mentioned in this Chapter, our lives will be well-ordered, as we are adhering to spiritual principles instead of trying to swim against the current.
However, often, being stubborn and arrogant, I get my learnings from 'hard-knocks'.
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