A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Whoso is partner with a thief hateth his own soul: he heareth cursing, and bewrayeth it not.
The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
Many seek the ruler’s favour; but every man’s judgment cometh from the LORD. An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.
Proverbs 29:22-27
He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession. The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out. When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.
Proverbs 28:8-12
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.
He that hateth dissembleth with his lips, and layeth up deceit within him; When he speaketh fair, believe him not: for there are seven abominations in his heart. Whose hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be shewed before the whole congregation.
Proverbs 26:20-26
Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
Proverbs 23:17-19
“The Way” is through Jesus Christ, because He died for our sins on the cross, He was buried, and He rose again.
The way that wisdom guides Us in fearing the LORD.
He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want. Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips. That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?
Proverbs 22:16-21
The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever He will.
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts. To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin. The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.
The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them; because they refuse to do judgment.
The way of man is froward and strange: but as for the pure, his work is right.
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
The soul of the wicked desireth evil: his neighbour findeth no favour in his eyes.
Proverbs 21:1-10
Man’s goings are of the LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?
It is a snare to the man who devoureth that which is holy, and after vows to make enquiry.
A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.
The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.
Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.
The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.
The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.
Proverbs 20:24-30
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.
Proverbs 19:15-17
He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Proverbs 17:27-28
It is a wise individual who knows what to say, when to say it, and to whom it is said. The individual who is wise also knows how long to speak.
Even those who are foolish, ignorant willingly ignorant of God, when he remains silent is counted wise. Anyone who knows when to speak and when to be silent is a man of understanding.
As a Christian we ought always tell others of God’s gift to mankind; that is His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for out sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. To call on Him in the time He calls you is the wisest choice you will ever make.
The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.
Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil.
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Proveorbs 16:1-7
The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
Proverbs 15:31-33
In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.
In the multitude of people is the king’s honour: but in the want of people is the destruction of the prince.
He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.
Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.
Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
The king’s favour is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.Proverbs 14:26-35
The life of any human being on earth will be a better life lived when they fear the LORD. The rest of these Proverbs will be heard, and heeded through our respect and awe toward the GOD who made the heavens and the earth.
Note the warning, “He that oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker…” How are we doing with the poor? How am I doing with the poor?
A wise son heareth his father’s instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke. A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence. He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
Proverbs 13:1-3
Jesus had a few words about the words we speak:
“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.” Matthew 15:18.
Before that He said,
” Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” Matthew 15:11
Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?” Matthew 15:17
So we must pay attention to the words we use when speaking, guard and keep out mouth from speaking ill of others, with other sinners,
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will He condemn. A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved.
Proverbs 12:1-3
Sometimes we do not like people who are trying to give us good advice or instruction on how or why we should do, or even not do something.
The one who loves and approves of someone giving good instruction, also loves knowledge.
The “Good man” obtains “Favor of the LORD”, but who is a good man? Those who are perfect before God. Those to whom God calls “Just.” Those who have believed God concerning what He says about His only begotten Son, who is Jesus the Christ.
The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.
Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.Proverbs 10:11-14
Our world, and our nation are in peril of perishing. We need men and women with righteousness through the Lord Jesus Christ to speak the word of God, which is the truth of God to all.
Look at the comparisons of each of these proverbs. The one with the righteous mouth is a well of life. Violence covers the mouth of the wicked. Hatred stirs up strife; but love covers all sins. When people hate righteousness, those who live for God and His word, it is quite an eye opener to watch the hatred flow.
How does the man or woman of God deal with such hatred? With love. Remember Jesus tells us, “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27). Pray for them, love them by greeting when you see them around, do good to them no matter how they treat you. Treat your enemy the way you would like them to treat you. Hard? Yes! Quite doable when Jesus lives within you.
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength. By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
Proverbs 8:12-21
In chapters 8 and 9 wisdom is presented as a person speaking; using the words I and mine.
Notice that wisdom “Dwells with prudence” which means, “with discretion.” Working behind the scenes working for good in those who have it.
There is one thing for sure the world needs more godly wisdom, because worldly wisdom has caused certain hatred, and a willingness to take lives. That includes all of those who murder people with whom they disagree, with their mouth.
How to have the wisdom of God! First of all one needs to know God, and that is by trusting in the finished work of God’s Son since He died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again. Next, you need to realize that is the wisest thing you ever did – calling on His name. Then you need to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5-8).
Your life will change, because your heart changes, and what you love and desire will be replaced by what God loves and desires. Be wise, open your eyes to the truth of Jesus Christ.
My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.
Say unto wisdom, “Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:” That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.
For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding…
Proverbs 7:1-7
My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.
Proverbs 6:20-25
The commandment of the father, and the law of the mother are compatible because they are equal in discipline, correction, and instruction.
The words are from a father to his son, and as the word of God is directed from God our heavenly Father to His sons (children) of the new birth. Note what the commandment, and the law do for those who will listen, hear and do it.
First it will give you peace when you sleep through the night. It will talk to you when you are awake.
It does this for us; GOD does this for us to keep us from evil. God is full of love, mercy, and grace. He will deliver you when you turn from your sins to Him through Jesus Christ who bled and died on the cross, He was buried and He rose again.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love. And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange woman, and embrace the bosom of a stranger? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He pondereth all his goings.
His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
Proverbs 5:15-23
I am a man who has been blessed with a good wife. I know no other woman so loving and kind and has such a heart for serving others. We have been married for 52 years, and everyone of those years blessed me with love.
I know that is not so in many a man’s life, and I hurt with you, because I know some men do not know how to treat a woman. She should be; your wife that is; treated with awe and respect. It is amazing what a good wife can do.
I am not saying that everything will always be bliss, and heavenly, because it will not. There will be hard times. Work through them together. If you have the Lord Jesus Christ in your marriage and home, you can overcome any attack against you.
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of His correction: for whom the LORD loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Proverbs 3:11-12
Are you a faithful, Bible reading, Church attending, Holy Spirit living Christian (a follower of Jesus Christ), or are you just a nominal Christian who attends church once, twice, maybe five times a year; when you find it convenient?
If you are one of the faithful ones then let me tell you something you already know or may not know. That is, that the LORD chastises His children. He disciplines His own. If you are without chastisement, then you are not His child (Hebrews 12:7-8).
Please bear with me. I am going to share something with you of my personal health. Several years ago (2011) I had some blocked arteries in my heart, and they put three stents in to open them up. On November 01, 2013, I was out trimming around the edge of our yard, was having a minor heart attack, and the doctors put more stents in my heart. I have had a tremor in my right arm and hand for many years and over the years it kept getting worse. In September of 2023 I went to see a Neurologist, and she did some test, and told me that I had Parkinson’s Disease. This has seemed to get progressively worse, affecting my voice and speaking abilities, I have fallen many times. One of those times was a face plant on a concrete parking lot in Branson, MO..
Anyway, I see the chastening hand of the LORD in this. I do not know the purpose of it yet. I do know that He is not only Lord of all, He is also my Lord and Savior. It is good to know that He is still working on me. Even though it is painful.
I thank the Holy, Holy, Holy Three in One for the grace and mercy they have given to me.
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
Proverbs 2:10-22
My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Proverbs 1:10
These words though they are written by a man to his son, are good words to hear as if from God to His children.
We are to give no consent to sin in our lives. We are to flee temptation, that is our weakest point.
It can only be done with the power of Jesus Christ in us, who is the Holy Spirit. He will not lead us into sin. “Be filled with the Spirit” Ephesians 5:18.
Have a blessed and safe New Year. Remember to read your Bible daily and you will be hearing from God, Jesus who is God the Son.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. For by me thy days shall be multiplied, and the years of thy life shall be increased. If thou be wise, thou shalt be wise for thyself: but if thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Proverbs 9:10-12
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
Proverbs 10:27
In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge.
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.Provoerbs 14:26-27
The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility.
Proverbs 15:33
Our loving the LORD means that we fear Him, and we trust Him, because He will always do what He says He will do. His positive as well as His negative promises will come to pass, just as He has said.
Someone has said, “If we fear GOD we need to fear nothing else.”
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.Proverbs 8:13, 35-36
Proverbs eight and nine personifies wisdom, and she is speaking of the need, for we descendants of Adam, to possess her. She is mentioned in chapter one verses 20 through 33; and she says quite a bit there for us to hear.
Wisdom is a gift from God, that comes with knowledge, and understanding. In chapter six we are given seven things which God hates. I do not believe this is an exhausted list, but that each of these evil things include all the evil that we do; and God hates it.
As you can see in verse 13 of chapter 8 above, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil.” Wisdom is telling us that we are to hate everything that the LORD hates.
God hates sin and evil so much that he sees us in the bondage of wickedness of evil, and knows we cannot defeat it on our own. So seeing us in the condemnation of sin, evil, wickedness, sent His holy, ownly begotten Son, Jesus Christ to die in our place to purchase our salvation.
Jesus died on that old wooden cross as the propitiation for our sins, by becoming sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. When we turn away from sin to Christ Jesus that is repentance and faith, then we are no longer in condemnation. We are freed from the bondage of sin and evil.
The wisest thing we can do is to find life through Him. The greatest evil you can do is to reject wisdom and turn down God’s greatest gift. That is the mind of a fool.
Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.
That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made known to thee this day, even to thee. Have not I written to thee excellent things in counsels and knowledge, That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto thee?Proverbs 22:17-21
This book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We also hear of the truth, and it is the truth. Pilate asked Jesus the question, “What is the truth?” (John 18:38). Jesus Christ told His disciples, “I am the…truth…and no one can come to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6).
Jesus also said in His prayer on the night of Passover, and the day He was to be crucified, “Sanctify them through Your truth: Your word is the truth” (John 17:17). Jesus is the living Word of God.
When it comes to speaking the truth that is something all God’s people, all who love the Lord Jesus Christ, ought to love doing. When we speak of Jesus according to the Scripture, we are speaking the truth.
When it comes to telling the truth in a conversation with others, we need to be wise to being truthful. It is wise to tell the truth to those who deserve the truth. For instance, if you tell the truth you never have to remember what you said. If you tell a lie, then you always need to keep track of what you said before, if you do not want to be found to be a liar.
The greatest wisdom, knowledge, and understanding comes from the LORD who is the Truth, and there is no lie in Him. The LORD never lies, neither does He deceive anyone. It is not in His character to do so.
Through Jesus Christ we have the means to answer others who ask us about our faith; the Bible says, “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man” (Colossians 4:6). The wisest words ever spoken by any man were these, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Be wise, and hear the truth, Jesus died on a cross for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again.
The Fire and Hammer 