- righteousness delivers from death
- the Lord does not let the righteous go hungry
- blessings crown the head of the righteous
- the memory of the righteous will be a blessing
- the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life
- the wages of the righteous bring them life
- the tongue of the righteous is choice silver
- the lips of the righteous nourish many
- what the righteous desire will be granted
- the righteous stand firm forever
- the prospect of the righteous is joy
- the way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous
- the righteous will never be uprooted
- the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom
- the lips of the righteous know what is fitting
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who
looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately
forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that
gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it -
he will be blessed in what he does.
Not only will he/she be blessed ... she will participate in the transformation process orchestrated by God Himself.
There is my prayer for today ... Lord, I long to be among Your righteous followers. I surrender myself to You again today. Do Your work in me. Righteousness ... my highest aim.
"The memory of the righteous will be a blessing..."
ReplyDeleteThis verse reminds me of a poem given to Geoff by a dear friend, a shepherd of our church family in Ohio. The anonymous author writes in masculine terminology, but reputation does not recognize boundaries of gender, so I must consider what "legacy" I am leaving to my daughters, as well. I pray it will be a blessing!
YOUR NAME
You got it from your father;
It was all he had to give,
So it's yours to use and cherish,
for as long as you may live.
If you lose the watch he gave you,
it can always be replaced,
But a black mark on your name, son,
can never be erased.
It was clean the day you took it,
and a worthy name to bear,
When he got it from his father,
there was no dishonor there.
So make sure you guard it wisely!
After all is said and done,
you'll be glad the name is spotless
when you give it to your son.
The thing that most stuck out at me in this chapter is its instruction on the lips / mouth of the righteous and the many chattering words of a fool.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the warning in verses 8 & 10 (“a chattering fool comes to ruin”), verse 14 (“the mouth of a fool invites ruin”), and verse 19 (“when words are many, sin is not absent”) is a great reminder to me of Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:36-37, that “men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” Ouch. I needed to hear that.
But also encouraging to me was the converse side of the Proverb. “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (v. 11), and “the lips of the righteous nourish many” (v. 21). This makes me think of Romans 12:8’s gifts of using these words of righteousness to encourage others, and thereby nourish others with Jesus’ fountain of living water.
Yes to what Jill pointed out! I think that the verses on chattering and the lips are significant to us (women) because we use words to become closer to our friends and our family. Conversation is intimate, but without heart and without Godly widsom it is just chatter and probably bordering on slander and gossip.
ReplyDeleteverse 20, "the tongue of the righteous is choice silver." I know a few righteous women who's words are precious jewels to me! That is the kind of woman I long to be.