In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of honesty and truthfulness in our words and actions. He highlights that telling lies can lead to trouble and that honesty is its own defense. The speaker also discusses the wisdom of listening to advice and recognizing our own blind spots. He contrasts the mindset of a wicked person who desires what belongs to others with that of a righteous person who seeks to help others. Additionally, the speaker emphasizes the concept of generosity, explaining that giving to others can actually lead to increased prosperity, while withholding what is due can result in lack. The sermon concludes with the analogy of a sower who scatters seed, illustrating the idea that being generous and watering others will ultimately bring blessings. These teachings align with various verses from the Bible, including Proverbs 12:14, Proverbs 12:15, and Proverbs 11:24-25.

Proverbs 11, where we stopped last time, Proverbs 11, and we were considering, if you will remember, verse 12. He who despises his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding keeps silent. We have seen that the book of Proverbs gives us the marks of foolish and wise people. A person who despises or belittles others to speak scornfully of other people is the mark of a fool. It says in the Good News Bible, it is foolish to speak scornfully of others. If you are sensible, you will keep quiet, which means that when we speak in a scornful, despising way of somebody else, what it tells us is not something about that person, but it tells us something about our own self, that we are fools. That is, when you see somebody speaking scornfully about someone else, you know something about that person himself, that he is a fool. And yet, there may be situations where there are things which are wrong in others, a wise person keeps quiet, he commits it to God. It is very important to keep that in mind. I believe the only time we need to perhaps give a bad report about someone is when either someone has asked our opinion concerning that person for a business relationship or a marriage or something like that, then of course we have to give an honest opinion, that is true. But most of the time when people air their opinions about other people, it has got no purpose behind it at all, and that only reveals that they are fools themselves. If we are wise, we will keep quiet. Now let us look at verse 13. Verse 13, it says, He who goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy conceals the matter, or as the Good News Bible reads it, no one who gossips can be trusted with a secret. The vast majority of people in the world cannot be trusted with a secret because they gossip so much, but you can put confidence in someone who is trustworthy. And one mark of maturity is that when someone shares something with us, we know how to keep it to ourselves. Here is another mark of a fool, that he hears something and he can't keep it to himself. Have you ever felt like that? I must tell someone about this. It is an itch to tell someone this exciting thing I have heard, and yet someone may have told it to us in confidence. And brothers and sisters, we are to grow up to maturity, where we learn to keep secret the things that other people tell us or that we know. A man who is faithful conceals a matter. It is a mark of a faithful man. Verse 14, where there is no guidance, the people fall, but in abundance of counsellors there is victory. And that just means that when we are considering a course of action, it is good for us to have small thoughts about ourselves, and one mark of our having small thoughts about ourselves is that we seek advice from others who have more wisdom and more maturity. And not necessarily just from one, but from many. It says in the abundance of counsellors there is victory. Of course, we can only go for counsel to those who have some maturity and wisdom themselves, not to a bunch of fools. That would bring confusion. But what it means here, in the abundance of wise counsellors, there is safety, that we can be protected from a wrong path. And that is why it is a privilege to be able to have fellowship, to have in the fellowship others with whom we can consult and share that keeps us in safety. But where there is no guidance, it is easy to fall. It is very easy, brothers and sisters, for us to take the fellowship and the word of God that we have in the Church for granted. There are many who live in situations, even in our country, who do not have the opportunities for fellowship and guidance that we have. So there is something that we need to always be thankful for, because it says where there is no guidance, the people fall into various types of folly. Verse 15. If you promise to pay a stranger's debt, you will regret it. You are better off if you don't get involved. Now, that means that we must never think that love means going to the extent of being a surety for someone in whom we have no confidence. I believe that we can come into a relationship in the brotherhood where a brother becomes a part of you, like a member of your own body. But that takes time. It doesn't mean sitting in the same congregation. There are a lot of people who sit in the same congregation who are not integrated with one another as members of a body. I, for one, would not become a surety for such a person, even if he sits in the same church. It's a question of being integrated with someone in the body of Christ. Now, that was not possible in the Old Testament. So, where such a relationship has come between two brothers, that is all right to commit oneself to one another, even for large amounts of money. But otherwise, in most cases, it is wisest not to get into financial relationships with strangers where you promise to pay their debt or stand surety for them. That's something that the Book of Proverbs speaks so often about. And somebody can come and ask you to be a surety or a guarantee for him. He says, I come to the same church as you. Yeah, but I still don't have that relationship in the body with you, even though you come and sit in the same congregation. I'm sorry, I cannot stand as a guarantee for you. And he may go around saying that brother so-and-so doesn't have any love. Well, we couldn't care less what he thinks about us. But we're going to obey the word of God. We're not going to be bothered about his opinion about us. So, that's something which the Book of Proverbs speaks again and again about. And if we are wise, we will be careful in this area so that we don't suffer for it later on. But if he hates going to surety, then we will be safe. Verse 16, it says here, Honor goes to kind and gracious women, but mere money to cruel men. Cruel men, violent men, make money, thieves, robbers, etc. But those who are kind and gracious, the contrast is drawn here between a woman and a man. But the same thing applies to a man as well. But the honor, the honor that God gives goes to those who are kind and gracious. There it speaks about a woman, that in God's eyes, a woman, a sister, young or old, is honorable if she has become kind and gracious. Like in the New Testament, it speaks about a meek and a quiet spirit. Here it says, this is the Living Bible, Honor goes to kind and gracious women. Take that seriously. Say, Lord, help me to be a sister like that. Kind in all my words and actions, gracious in all my words and actions. And then the honor of God will certainly come down upon you. Verse 17, reading from the Good News, You do yourself a favor when you are kind. If you are cruel, this is following on from the previous verse, you do yourself a favor when you are kind, and if you are cruel, you only hurt yourself. In other words, God's laws are all for our good. And when we are kind, we are not really doing the other person a favor as much as we are doing ourselves a favor, it says. It's we, kind people, are more at rest and more peace in their heart and their digestive system works better and their health is better and everything is better for a person who is free from bitterness and cruelty and anger. But when you are cruel and evil, you are not really hurting that other person. You need to see that you are hurting yourself much more. In New Testament terms, it means that if you hate someone or you are bitter towards someone, you are not really harming him, you are harming yourself. And when you love someone, you are not really blessing him as much as you are blessing yourself. So that's a wonderful verse, you do yourself a favor when you are kind, but if you are cruel, you only hurt yourself. That's where we see the folly of all the people in the world, they don't realize that. That they are harming themselves when they are cruel towards other people. Verse 18, the wicked earns deceptive wages, but he who sows righteousness gets a true reward. And that's exactly what we read in Galatians 6.9, that we reap what we sow. That if we sow righteousness, well, we reap eternal life. But the wicked earns deceptive wages. What do we earn? Money. And here money is called a deceptive wage. That means you think that's very valuable, but there's a deception in it. Jesus spoke in Mark chapter 4 about the deceitfulness of riches. Now we all know that we need money to live on this earth, and for most of us, it is a struggle to try and make ends meet each month. There is a discipline in it, which is good. But whether we get much or little, we must always remember that there is a deceitfulness in riches that Jesus spoke of. There's something in it which can deceive me. And when I get it, I must say, Lord, I need to use this because I live in the world, but let me never forget that something deceptive about this money that can deceive me, can make me happy when I get much, and it's a hollow happiness. It will make me so sad when I've lost something, and there's a deception in it. And it's a wonderful thing if our eyes are open to see it now. We will see it clearly in eternity, but then it will be too late. It's good for us to realize it now. Verse 19. He who is steadfast in righteousness will attain to life. What that means is that you don't just start the race. Steadfast means you're righteous today, and you're righteous tomorrow, and next week, next month, the whole year, the next year. Steadfast, the one who endures until the end, will attain to life. There are people who can be stirred up to righteousness just by hearing a sermon, but here it speaks about those who are steadfast in righteousness. And he who pursues evil will bring about his own death. Or as Romans 8, verse 13 says, if we live according to the flesh, we shall die. That's exactly what it says here too. Then verse 20. The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord. Now notice, those who are an abomination to the Lord. Not those who are necessarily perverse on the outside. There are people who can be clean on the outside, but who are perverse in heart means their motives and their intentions in life are different from what they appear to be on the outside. They are an abomination to the Lord. It is the attitude of our heart, the goal and aim for which I live, determines God's opinion about me. I'll tell you something that's encouraged my heart much and will encourage you too, that the little mistakes that we make in our external life don't disturb God so much, you know. It's like, you think of your own child trying to help you in some way, and in trying to help you makes a few mistakes. If you're a good father or mother, you won't get upset with that child at all, even if they mess up something, because basically that child was trying to help you. We have to think that God is much more understanding than any earthly father and mother, that when we are seeking to live for Him and seeking to serve Him, we slip up here and there, it doesn't disturb Him. It is the one who is perverse in heart, that means who's got ulterior motives. He appears religious on the outside and trying to do so many spiritual things, but deep down his ambitions and goals are not the glory of God, but something for himself. Yeah, if I'm seeking my own, I'm perverse in heart. If I appear to be religious on the outside, but deep down I'm seeking my own, I'm an abomination to the Lord. But if I'm not seeking my own, I say, Lord, I want to live for Your glory, I want to seek Your kingdom, Your will, and then I do stumble and make a few mistakes, God just ignores it, doesn't disturb it. Think of that. That's why it's so important that in our heart we are not perverse and crooked, that we are honest and sincere and say, Lord, my only ambition and goal in life is to glorify You, to seek Your kingdom, to be pure and holy before You. Yeah, the perverse in heart and our abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their walk are His delight. That means the wholehearted. Those who are blameless are those, the perverse of heart, the opposite of perverse of heart is wholehearted. That means according to the light they have, that is the meaning of blameless. It's not that we don't make any mistakes. Your small child can write you a letter on your birthday perhaps. Say a five-year-old child writes a letter to you on your birthday and there will be so many spelling mistakes in it. It doesn't disturb you because the letter is a blameless letter. It's not a perfect letter because a lot of spelling mistakes, grammar mistakes that can be perfected, but it's a blameless letter because it comes with such a good heart. And we have to see that in the same way with God. There is a difference between being blameless and being perfect. We may not be perfect, but we can be blameless in the sense that my intention was good. See, sometimes we try to help one another and we're not wise, we do some things foolishly. It doesn't disturb God if our intention was really to seek the good of that other person. The other person may not understand. Well, we also have to humble ourselves and say, Lord, give me more wisdom, but always make sure that the intention of our heart is for the glory of God and the good of others. And then, many of our external mistakes don't really matter too much. We are blameless and it says here, such people are God's delight. When it says, the Lord your God will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. Whom does He rejoice over? He doesn't rejoice over religious hypocrites who come and sit in the church to get a reputation for holiness and deep down they're seeking their own, seeking money, seeking honor, seeking gain for themselves and the world and all the time want to have a religious whitewash on top of that. God's certainly not rejoicing over such people, I'll tell you that. They are an abomination to Him and the sad thing is most of them don't even realize it. Most people who are seeking their own think themselves to be quite spiritual because they've got this religious whitewash on the outside. What we need to see is those whose hearts are seeking God's glory, who are sincere in their heart, blameless in their way, they are His delight. Even if they've got a few spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes in their life. They are blameless in their intention and motive. Verse 21, assuredly the evil man will not go unpunished. There's a wonderful verse, I don't know whether you know it, in the book of Numbers, which says, be sure that your sin will find you out. And that's the verse that we need to remember. Be sure that your sin will find you out. Numbers 32 and verse 23. Be sure your sin will find you out. In other words, you may think that that sin was committed there, nobody has seen it. There's a verse that needs to come to our mind. Be sure that one day that sin will catch up with us. And it will expose us and bring us the fruit. That's what it says here in verse 21. Assuredly, hand to hand it says, or like the modern slang says, you can bet on it. You can be absolutely sure that the one who is evil, one day he will be found out. But, in contrast, not only the righteous will be delivered, but the descendants of the righteous will be delivered. It's amazing how righteousness blesses not only one generation, but blesses the next generation. That's something the Bible speaks about, that even the seed of the righteous will never beg for bread. Because the father was a righteous man, something of that blessing overflows on the children, so that at least as far as earthly things go, God provides for the need of the seed of the righteous. It's amazing. To seek righteousness, to seek godliness, it says in 1 Timothy 4, has God promised, not only in the life that is to come, but also in this life. You see, in the days when there is inflation and value of things goes up, the best thing to seek is righteousness and the kingdom of God. Because there are pension benefits, family benefits, children benefits, everything in those who seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. It's the best thing in the world. All things will be added unto you. The descendants of the righteous will be delivered and will be blessed. In other words, God will rescue the children of the godly. Verse 22, this is a good verse for all young people when they consider marriage, and also for young women to have a proper opinion about themselves. As a ring of gold in a pig's nose, so is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion. In other words, if a woman does not have a certain modesty about her, the basic meaning of discretion means a certain modesty which women should have, which men need not have. But women need to have it, because that's necessary for women. And a person who doesn't have that, and who is so good looking in the face, is really actually a pig. In other words, a woman who doesn't have modesty is a pig. It's modesty that changes a woman from being a pig into someone attractive to God. And the beautiful face is just like this golden ring hanging on the nose of the pig. And it's very good for young men when they look at the opposite sex and consider marriage, and everybody in the world sees just this golden ring, you know, the beautiful face. They get so taken up when they see this golden ring that they go and marry the pig. You see the folly of it, that's the point here. You've got to be a real fool to marry a pig just because you want to get the golden ring hanging on his nose. He's going to live with that pig for the rest of his life. That's what the word of God, think of the strong language the word of God uses for a woman who's like that. The book of Proverbs, it's opinion about physical beauty. What is physical beauty without spiritual character? It is only a golden ring. It is golden, it has some value on earth. But the person is a pig, spiritually dirty. And that's good for young sisters also to remember that even if you look into the mirror and you find that the mirror on the wall tells you that you're the fairest girl in Bangalore or whatever it is, you've got to say that's just a golden ring. Don't think too much of yourself because there's a golden ring on that mirror. It's your character that determines whether you're a pig or whether you're a child of God. God's eyes, a meek and a quiet spirit, a certain modesty and reserve, discretion. And the word here on the margin used is taste. You know in the world they speak about taste. People have got taste in the saris they choose and taste in the way they decorate their houses and taste in their colors and all that. Here it speaks about a spiritual taste that people need to have, particularly women. How should a spiritual, God-fearing sister be to have a taste for that? Yeah, she doesn't have that. It's like a golden ring in a pig's nose. Very important verse for young brothers and sisters particularly. Verse 23, it says, The desire of the righteous is only good. I read it like this, that one mark of a righteous man is, if you open up his heart, you find that his desire for every other person is only good. He desires good for everybody he knows. He may not be able to do so much for them, that's another thing, but his desire is only that something good might come for them. He's not happy when something bad comes to someone else. That's not a righteous man. A man who's happy when something bad happens to someone, well, we don't want to say he's a wicked person, but there's some wickedness there that needs to be cleansed out. And it can come to us sometimes that we discover in certain situations when we hear some news about other brothers or sisters, whether the news is good or bad, our reaction often shows us whether we really desire the very best for others. The very best. That's the mark of a righteous man. The desire of the righteous is only good. Only good for others. What do you desire for that brother? Only good. What do you desire for that sister? Only good. That's a mark of a righteous man. He desires only good for others. But the expectation of the wicked is raw. That means what the wicked can look forward to is judgment. We can read that verse in another way, that the good man can look forward to blessing and happiness himself, but the wicked man can only look forward to judgment. And here's a wonderful verse, verses 24 and 25 together. They really teach the same thing. It's one of those important verses in Proverbs that we all need to know. There is one who scatters and yet increases all the more. He's speaking about one who is generous. You'll see that in the next verse. And there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters others will himself be watered. Now, what that basically means is that it is possible to give away and still become richer, it says in the Living Bible. It's also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. The liberal man will become rich and by watering others he waters himself. In other words, one who is concerned about the needs of others and is not stingy but generous to God and to his children, he will never lack in his life. And when it says about scattering, the picture here is about a sower who's got a whole bag of seed, and the seed is like all the material resources, money and other things that we have, God gives us. And I can just store up all that for myself, and at harvest time, what do I have? Just some of the seed, some of it has become rotten, some of it the insects have eaten, and it's much less than what I started out with one year ago. That bag has become quite small. But another person who had the same size of bag, he didn't just all store it up in his house, he scattered it. And harvest time he collects, and he's got a hundred bags there. That's the picture here. He who scatters, increases all the more. And that's the picture used in 2 Corinthians 9, where it says that if we are liberal and open-handed with what God gives us, God will be open-handed with us. And even though you think you're giving, you're actually going to end up having more. But if you are stingy, you end up only in want. It says in verse 24, He who withholds what is righteously due, that means one who does not pay his debts, one who does not pay his taxes. I heard something about Brother Haslakson. He spoke about rejoicing in doing righteousness, and he said, I rejoice to fill up an income tax form. It's a great delight for me to fill it all up exactly and correctly and forward it and pay the taxes. I mean, it's not a thing I grumble about. No, it's joy for me to do it. That's rejoicing in doing righteousness. Very happy to do it. Justly due. Something that is justly, righteously due to someone else. Something that's righteously due. I borrowed something from someone, and it righteously belongs to him, and I just sit on it lazily. Or, it can be that God demands that I should share something of what I have with someone that is also due to that person, and I don't do it. I can be in want myself. Here is one reason why some believers are in want. But the generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters others will be watered also himself. That means if we take care to bless others, and it's not necessarily only money. Sometimes our mind can just think in terms of money. Just think of being a blessing with words and goodness, and God will water us. It's a tremendous thing. Brothers and sisters, just go around encouraging others, and see how much God encourages you. If you feel condemned so much, just ask yourself whether you are going around condemning others yourself. Just stop all that condemning of others, and just encourage others, and see how much God encourages you. You water others, the same water will fall on your head back from God one day. That's a law. You can't escape it. So it's good to water others. Water means you find a tree that's dry, and you pour some water there. It's encouragement. You see a brother or sister depressed, gloomy, just a word of encouragement. And God waters you. He who withholds grain, the people will curse him. That's selfishness. But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. In other words, when there's a time or shortage of something, and you've got plenty of that, and you're holding on to it, of course we're not involved in that type of thing, but in those days people were. They were in business, and they would keep the grain till the prices are going up. Oh, there's a shortage of grain. Wonderful. Says this man who's got grain in the house. I'll wait till it gets a little more short, and the prices will go up, and then I'll make my money. Such a man can never be a believer. It's impossible for such a man to be a child of God, who has that attitude, that people are in such terrific need, and he's hanging on to something, which is necessary for their living, just because he wants to make more money. And that was very true in the days in which, for us in different situations, we are not selling grain. We may not face ourselves in that situation, but we need to take that verse, and apply it to our own profession, and to our own situation, and see whether such selfishness is our attitude. We have something, we're not using it, and someone else needs it, and we just sit on it. The person's probably desperately in need of it, and I hang on to it. I can be so selfish. And when people know it, they'll curse such a man. Now that's something, which we can look carefully. We can see that God is righteous, in what he says, verse 26. It is a time of shortage, but he says there, the blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He doesn't have to give it away free. He may not be rich enough to say, alright, here you are, take it all. He sells it, but he sells it at a reasonable price. He doesn't sell it in order to make a lot of money himself. No. There'll be a blessing on him, if he sells it. Verse 27. He who diligently seeks good, seeks favor. That means if I'm always seeking to do good. Let me read that, in the Living Bible. If you search for good, you will find God's favor. That means if you're always seeking, how can I do the good, in my own life, and towards other people, God's blessing will be on your life. But if you search for evil, you will find his curse. Yeah, that's clear. And then verse 28. In the Good News Bible it says, those who depend on their wealth, will fall like the leaves of autumn, but the righteous will prosper, like the leaves of summer. Or as the Living Bible says, in verse 28. Trust in your money, and down you go. Trust in God, and you flourish like a tree. See, it's the two masters that Jesus spoke of. Money and God. You trust in money, and you're bound to go down. Money was never given, to be trusted in, or to be loved, or to be hoarded. Money was given, to be used. Never to be loved, or depended upon. And that's the mistake, of a lot of people in the world. The opposite to that, is to trust in God. You know, in Proverbs 3 we saw, don't trust on your own understanding, but, trust in the Lord. Here it says, don't trust in money, but trust in the Lord. The two things we should not trust in, is our own cleverness, and on money. We depend on God. He who troubles his own house, the next verse 29, I'll read it in the Living Bible. The fool, who provokes his family to anger, and resentment, will finally have nothing worthwhile left. That means a man, who acts like a big dictator in his house, always provoking his wife and children, to anger and resentment, and always making demands on them, and shouting at them, and yelling at them, finally he won't have a home left. He'll have nothing worthwhile left. He will be the servant, of a wiser man. A wise man, is one who knows, how to bless his house. Verse 30, The fruit of the righteous, is a tree of life. This is amazing, that we read of the tree of life, a number of times in Proverbs, the same tree of life, that we read in Genesis. It says here that, one righteous man, the fruit that comes forth from his life, can be like a tree of life, for other people. Think of the challenge of that. That we, can be like a tree of life, to other people. And he who is wise, wins souls. Wins people. One who is wise, wins souls. He's a blessing to other people. And then verse 31, If the righteous, are rewarded on the earth, how much more, the wicked, and the sinner. Now, it's a question of what this means. I believe this is the verse, that is quoted in 1 Peter chapter 4, and if you look at that, you'll understand this verse a little better. This is the verse that Peter quotes, in 1 Peter chapter 4, in verse 18, where it says, If it is with difficulty, that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless, and the sinner? And that's this verse, in Proverbs 11, 31. The meaning is this, that even a righteous person, when he does something wrong, is disciplined by God. A righteous man, and he does something wrong, and he is disciplined by God. Then it says, you can imagine, what's going to be the fate, of the wicked, and the sinner, finally. Think of Moses. He was such a righteous man, and yet once, he smote the rock, instead of speaking to the rock, and God punished him, so severely, not to enter the land of Canaan. And there, we get examples in the scripture, of how strictly God dealt, with righteous people. And there, he says, you can get a picture, of how severe, will be the judgment, on the ungodly, and the sinner, in the final day. It doesn't appear on this earth now, they seem to be having a cushy time, but even the righteous, get a reward on this earth, how much more, the wicked, and the sinner. Chapter 12, and verse 1, maybe I can show you another verse, before we move on to that, and that's 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy 5, verse 24, and 25, it says, the sins of some men, are quite evident, going before them, to judgment, for others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good, are quite evident, and those which are otherwise, cannot be conceived. What that means is, there are some people, who are such obvious sinners, that you know that, they are just going into judgment. There are other people, who appear to be so religious, their sins are all concealed inside, but, one day it will get exposed. That's verse 24. Verse 25, it says, in the same way, there are some people, who are so obviously good, that you know that, God has got such a fantastic reward for them, lined up for them. Equally, there are some people, whose goodness you cannot see, because most of the things, they do in secret. And, we are going to get a surprise, when we see, how God rewards them too. So, it says here, there are people, whose goodness and evil, can be hidden. And, God will reward each person, according to the deeds, done in his body. Now, chapter 12, verse 1, is one of the things, we have looked at before, that in order to become wise, God has to discipline us. There is no way, to get wisdom, apart from discipline. Whoever loves discipline, loves knowledge. When God disciplines you, and you love it, not just submit to it, but you love it, and say, thank you Lord, I accept that, you are really loving wisdom. But, he who hates reproof, reproof means correction. And, I just want to say this, brothers and sisters, it's a number of times, in the book of Proverbs, it speaks about, loving correction. And, if I hate correction, in the King James Version, it says, he is brutish. Brutish means, like a brute, like an animal. And, that's something, you know, children, you find, so often, they get offended, when they are corrected. That animal nature is there. And, that's something, we have to grow out of, quickly. We know that, I mean, those of us who are parents, when we correct our children, we know that it is for their good. But, they don't often understand it. Very often, it's exactly the same with us, who are grown up, that when we hear a word of correction, it may be from God, directly through His Spirit. It may be, from some brother in the meeting. Or, it may be directly, from someone, older than us. And, then I can, think about it, and I don't like it too much. And, I'm a little offended, and a little hurt inside. What does it show? It shows, that I'm not really, interested in wisdom. If I were interested in wisdom, I would say, thank you for that. Lord, thank you, for what you, spoke to me, through that brother, or sister. Really, that's something I need to, take heed of. Take heed to. I was hearing, about one brother in Norway, who spoke in a conference, and said, he said, my wife told me one day, that you seek your own, right up to your ears. That means, you're sunk in, seeking your own. And, he said, that is quite a strong thing, to hear from your wife. Of course, she knows you better, than I do. So, he thought she must be right, that I must be seeking my own, in a lot of things. And, he took it to heart, and began to, judge himself, and cleanse himself from it. That's really something. Sometimes, our wives tell us the truth. Don't think that, oh, she's very angry with me. Usually, it's when she's angry, that she tells you the truth. When she's not angry, she may just, say nice things to you. So, hear it, hear it. There's a word, that perhaps, you need there, which will lead you, to wisdom. Verse 2, a good man, will obtain, favor, from the Lord. But, he will condemn, a man, who devises evil. This is something, that we considered earlier, that is the intention, of the heart, that God sees. That basic intention, of your heart, is good. And, such a man, will obtain favor, from the Lord. Verse 3, a man will not be established, by wickedness, but the root, of the righteous, will not, be moved. Now, there again, it speaks, about the root. This thing, that we see much, in the New Testament. The heart, the root. When you get, into the Old Testament, it's only in the book of Proverbs, you find that emphasis, coming out. That's why I said, the book of Proverbs, has got something, of a new test, new covenant, taste and spirit in it. The root, of the righteous. Check, your roots. Because, your security, and your steadfastness, are dependent, on righteousness, in the, roots. The root, of the righteous, will be, unshaken. And then, verse 4, an excellent wife, or a virtuous wife, and that virtuous wife, is described later on, in Proverbs 31. A virtuous wife, is the crown, of her husband. We can define, a virtuous woman, as one who has, the virtues of Christ. Or is increasingly, having it, none, nobody has it in full, but is seeking it, realizing her own lack, and poverty of spirit, and seeking, more and more, the virtues of Christ. Such a virtuous woman, do you know, what she is really? She becomes, the crown, for her husband. That means, it's a woman, who ultimately, makes a man, a king, in his home. That's a tremendous challenge, to all wives. You can make your husband, a king, if you're a virtuous woman. And if your husband, is like a slave, and not a king, it's because you're not, a virtuous woman. You can be a crown, to your husband. And the word used, for husband, here in the original Hebrew, is the word for master. Master, A virtuous woman, is the crown, of her master, husband. One, who recognizes, that her husband, is her master. I wonder, if you wives realize, that God's word, calls you to recognize, your husband, as your master. And there's no, disgrace there. Jesus was a servant. And that's the example, all wives have to follow. Your husband, is your master. But she, who shames him. In the Good News Bible, it says here, that a wife, who brings shame, on her husband. By something you do, maybe your husband, is a God-fearing, upright, righteous man. And the way you behave, and the way you conduct yourself, you bring shame, on your husband. It says here, a wife who brings shame, on her husband, is like a cancer, in his bones. Cancer, inside the bones, of your husband. Think of that. And the opposite of that, is to be marrow, inside the bones, of your husband. To be marrow, inside the bones, of your husband. Now I want to tell you, something about marrow. If we don't have marrow, inside the bones, do you know, that we can't live? Do you know, that the blood cells, are produced, in the marrow, in the bones? That's where the blood cells are produced, that keep us living. And when a person, gets cancer, inside his bones, you can write him off. He can't defend himself, against germs. And a woman can be like that, to her husband it says, like cancer inside his bones, by the way, she treats him. By the way, she speaks of him, in the presence of the children, or, some other situation. Like a cancer, just, and the poor man's, resistance to, spiritual disease, is weakening. And think, instead of that, that you can be a wife, who's like marrow, strengthening your husband, and ultimately strengthening, the whole home, including yourself. There are many exhortations, to wives, in the, book of Proverbs. It's good to take these seriously. Verse 5. The thoughts, the Living Bible says, are good man's, mind is filled, with honest, There again, you find the emphasis, on that inner life. The thoughts we think, that determines, whether we are good or bad. An evil man's, is crammed, with lies. And you find that particularly, when you're in a difficult situation, and you wonder whether, what the, senior officer, in the office or factory, is going to ask, and you're thinking, what shall I say? Shall I say it like this, or shall I say it like that? And there you see, the possibility of lies, coming in. Whereas a good man says, well I've just got to speak the truth, that's all. There's no question of, shall I say this, or shall I say that? And yet you know, that our natural tendency, in our flesh, is to think and scheme, and say a lot of white lies, in order to escape, some difficult situation. An evil man's mind, is crammed with lies. Verse, 5, 6 and 7. It's very interesting. Verse 5 speaks about, thoughts. And verse 6, speaks about, words. After thoughts, come words. And verse 7, speaks of the result, of, the two types of thoughts and words. First, we considered about thoughts, in verse 5. Now verse 6, it speaks about, words. The words, of the wicked, lie in wait, for blood, but the mouth of the upright, will deliver them. What does it mean, to lie in wait for blood? We know this verse, from Luke chapter 20. Let me read this, Luke chapter 20, verse 20, and 21. It says here about, the scribes and the priests, they watched Jesus, and they sent spies, who pretended, to be righteous, in order that they might catch him, in some statement. That's it. One who is, lying, the words of the wicked, are lying in wait for blood. To catch him in some statement, so as to deliver him up, to the rule and the authority, of the governor. And they questioned him saying, Teacher, we know that you speak, and teach correctly, and you are not partial to any, but teach the way of God, in truth. Now that happened to me, some years ago, when the local leader, of the operation mobilization, brought one, of the OM people, to my house, pretending to want to know, about the new and living way, and all that. And all the time, he was taking notes, and all that. And later on, it became evident, that his only intention, was to warn everybody, in OM, against this doctrine. Well, he could have been honest, about it. I don't believe, that the blessing of God, can ever be on such a person, who is deceptive. I mean, even if he disagrees, if he disagrees, someone be honest. Not with all this, type of deception. That deception itself, shows that you are, an agent of the devil, not an agent of God. An agent of God, will never be deceptive. He may not agree, with some doctrine, that's fine, but there will be, no deception there. You know, pretending to be, righteous, and wanting to know the truth, and actually, you are a spy, trying to find out something, with some other motive. Well, that's a serious thing. The words of the wicked line, wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright, will deliver him. That means, the words of the upright, will justify him. Jesus said that, by your words, you'll be justified, and by your words, you'll be condemned, in the final day. And here's the result of it, finally, in verse 7. The wicked, are overthrown. That's the foolish man, who built his house on the sand. His words, were foolish, his thoughts, were foolish, and his house, is finally overthrown. But, the house of the righteous, yeah, that's the house, of the wise man, built on the rock, in the hidden life, the foundation, the thoughts, and the words, it will stand. So, we are never to, become, this scheming type of people, speaking words, in order to get some information, out of people, or to put them, in some, trap. We are to be, No crookedness, in our words, no scheming, and deception. Verse, 8. A man, will be praised, according to his insight. What that means is, that's a good exhortation, brothers and sisters. Let me put it like this. Gain, the confidence, of other people. Live in such a way, speak in such a way, conduct yourself in such a way, that, people will, begin to, have confidence in you, because of your wisdom, and your insight. Yeah? A man will be praised, but one of perverse mind, will be despised. If you find that, brothers and sisters, don't have confidence in you, well, that's not a good thing. It's usually, an indication of something, in your own character. Because I believe that, if you are really, godly, you may be despised out there, by carnal Christianity, but the brothers and sisters, in the church, will, be able to recognize, one who is, wise. They are able to discern, one who is humble, one who has insight. So it's good to, particularly young people, to really conduct ourselves, in such a way that, over a period of years, people can have confidence in us. This is a great goal, that you should have in mind, so that you can help them. It's not that we want honor, but so that we can help them. Verse 9. I want to read this to you. It's a little different in, some other translations, but let me read it to you, in the Living Bible. 12 verse 9. It's better to get your hands dirty, and eat, than to be too proud to work, and starve. In other words, don't stand on all your dignity, and then, you don't have anything to eat. You might as well do some dirty job, and earn a living, and support yourself, than stand on all this false dignity, and prestige. It's better to be an ordinary man, working for a living, the Good News Bible says, than to play the part of a great man, and go hungry. And you find a lot of that in the world. People who try to pretend to be very great, and really, there's lack, in their lives. But, it's better to be an ordinary man, willing to do dirty jobs, in order to earn a living, than to stand on prestige. Verse 10. A righteous man, has regard for the life of his beast, but the compassions of the wicked, are cruel. And what does it mean, to have regard for your animals? You see, we don't have animals in our houses, nowadays. But in those days, every home, had animals. They had sheep, they had cows, they had donkeys, to carry the load, and they had, various things, that every house needed these. And there, you know, the donkey, would know, whether his master was righteous, or not righteous, by, just one thing, that, does he have any concern for me? You know, you can keep on, loading all the luggage, on top of the poor donkey, and, it says, a righteous man, has concern, even for, his animals. No, that's something, we may think, that animals, they've got no souls, we can throw stones at them, and kick them, and, I mean, particularly if they're weaker than us. That's, not good. It's alright, to defend yourself, some dog coming to bite you, or something, but, otherwise, to, be cruel. You can see cruelty, even in the way, a man treats animals. That's the point of this verse. He has regard, for, the safety, and the needs, of his animals. Now we can say, we don't have animals today. What do we have? We've got servants, who work in our homes. And a righteous man, has a concern for, the needs, and the safety, of, the one who serves him. Yeah. We can apply that to our own situation. But the compassion of the wicked, is cruel. But a wicked person, even when he shows a little compassion, there's a cruelty, even in that compassion. That's, what it says here. Verse 11, A hard working farmer, has got plenty to eat, but it is stupid, to waste time, on useless projects. There's a lot that the word of God speaks about, hard work, and diligence. We can apply that to the Christian life. That the one who is a hard working farmer, as Paul tells Timothy, he gets, a harvest quickly, and a good harvest, and that's righteous of God to do it. Verse 12, Crooks, are jealous, this is a living Bible, of each other's loot, while good men, long to help each other. In other words, wicked people, you know how crooks are, two bunches of thieves, they are jealous that, that person's got more loot than me. And, but, righteous people are not like that. We can say, put it like this, that a wicked man, a robber, what does he desire? He desires, other people's things. But you know, we may not be robbers, but we can desire, other people's things too. We can go into somebody's house, and desire his things. We are not so bad, that we'll rob it. We're just one step short of that. But we're basically, facing in the same direction, as the robber. Only thing, we don't go that, take the next step of robbing it. But it's really the same thing. A wicked man, desires other people's things. But, a righteous person, he, of course, longs, a good man, longs to help, the other. And that's the opposite. That he doesn't think, in terms of what he can get, that belongs to another, but what he can give, to help that person. Verse 13, Lies, will get, any man into trouble, but honesty, is its own defense. And that's also a good verse, for us to bear in mind, that once you tell a lie, you get into trouble, you get yourself, into so many difficulties, that you then, you have to tell another lie, to cover up the first one, and then something else, it goes on and on. It's all practical advice, for daily life. Whereas, if you're honest, even if you get into a little difficulty, that is its own defense. Finally, the truth, will protect you. Verse 14, relates to the same thing. Telling the truth, gives a man, great satisfaction. Or as the, Good News Bible puts it, your reward, depends, on what you say, and what you do. You will get, what you deserve. Notice the emphasis again, on words, and our actions. What you say, and what you do, will determine your reward. You will get, what, you deserve. And then, verse, 15. Stupid people, always think, that they are right. Wise people, listen to advice. It's a mark of stupidity, to think, that we are always right. And one mark, of a wise man is, we can put it like this, that he knows, that he has got, certain blind spots. One mark of wisdom, will be that, I realize, that there are certain areas, in my life, where I'm not doing it right, but I don't see it. That's a mark of wisdom. But as a stupid person, he says, no, I'm alright in every area. And there, a wise man is humble. He realizes, that even when his intentions are right, and to the best of his knowledge, he is doing right, there are still, whole lot of areas in his life, where he may not be doing it rightly, and that's why he is glad, to receive correction, from somebody else. Then verse, 17. Here it says, he who speaks truth, tells, what is right. A good man is known, by his truthfulness. And in the, NASB here, it's, very interesting, the margin, it says, he who breathes, truth. In other words, truth has become, so much a part of his life, that he is breathing it. It's wonderful. Once upon a time, we breathed lies. Our whole life, was lies. Think, that we can so, cleanse ourselves, it's not only our words, but that, our breathing. These are they, who follow the lamb, wherever he goes. Revelation 14, 144,000. And no guile, was found in their mouth, because they cleansed themselves. It's a tremendous lot, that the word of God speaks about, being truthful. Truthfulness, is the mark of a good man, and a false man can be, known by his lies. Verse, 18. In the living bible, it says, some people like to make, cutting remarks, but the words of the wise, soothe and heal. Here's another mark, of a foolish man. He likes to say something, that's a cutting. Some people like to make, cutting remarks. Something that will wound. You know that it's going to wound. And you say it, in order to wound. You say it in a sharp way. There may be truth in it, but it's sharp. And it's said, with the intention of hurting. Yeah? It shows you're a fool. But the words of the wise, they soothe, and they heal. They don't keep quiet, they speak. But they speak, so that they'll be soothing, and healing. There's another contrast. It's very interesting to see, in the book of Proverbs. Tremendous contrast, between the wise and the wicked, being brought out in words. Words. Words determine, whether we are wise, or whether we are foolish. Verse 19. Truth stands the test of time, lies are soon exposed. It's always best to speak the truth, because finally, it'll be proven. If not here, finally. It stands the test of time, but lies are soon exposed. Verse 20. Deceit fills hearts, that are plotting for evil. But joy fills hearts, that are planning for good. Like God told Cain, if your intention is evil, then it's going to be bad with you. But if you intend good, then your face won't be cast out. That's a good verse. That if our hearts are planning for good, then there'll be joy in our faces. Our faces will be lifted up. But, if our hearts are planning something, which is not good, then we are deceptive. And here's a wonderful verse. No real harm comes to the righteous. Never. This is Romans 8, 28. No real harm befalls the good, but there is constant trouble for the wicked. It's good for us to remember that. Maybe we can stop with that verse. No real harm can ever come to a righteous person. Even that which appears to be harm, is not really harm. God makes it work for good, to those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.