Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked,
    but gracious words are pure in his sight.
The greedy bring ruin to their households,
    but the one who hates bribes will live.
The heart of the righteous weighs its answers,
    but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.
The Lord is far from the wicked,
    but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart,
    and good news gives health to the bones.
Whoever heeds life-giving correction
    will be at home among the wise.
Those who disregard discipline despise themselves,
    but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.
Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord,
    and humility comes before honor.

• Proverbs 15:26-33

Proverbs 15:30 light of the eyes ”This is a comparison, so that the ‘good report’ defines this term.  Whatever is good; i.e. sound truth and wisdom, stirs the heart by relieving anxiety and producing a cheerful face (cf. 14:30; 15:13; 17:22).”

• John MacArthur, John MacArthur Commentary (quoted Scripture without bold/italics)

Starting with the second of these few verses, Proverbs 15:27 speaks of greed and bribes.  Recently, in the 2 Chronicles study, Jehoshaphat instructed the judges to be impartial and not take bribes.  The greedy person will take a bribe, but the person who hates bribes will live.  Jesus spoke a great deal about the perils of greed.

Now for nearly the rest of this chapter, the author (Solomon) dances around thoughts and words.  In verse 26, the author says that gracious words are pure in God’s sight, but even the thoughts of the wicked are bad – before they have a chance to say them.

In verse 28, the righteous weigh their answers, but the wicked gush them out.  This is an admonishment that we should think before we speak, but my wife was an extrovert.  She often spoke without thinking.  Sometimes it was funny.  Very rarely it was cringeworthy.  But much of the time, it was profound.  Yet, her immigrant mentality and what she was taught before she was naturalized kicked in.  She would fuss at me for sharing too much.  She was taught to not let anyone know the family’s “business.”  Meaning what went on behind closed doors.  So, from that aspect, my wife weighed her words and then did not speak, but in the spontaneity of a conversation, the Holy Spirit seemed to do the weighing before she spoke.

You hear people say that God hears your prayers all the time, but is that really true?  Verse 29 talks of the wicked being far away.  It does not say that God does not hear them, but God hears the prayers of the righteous.  When a wicked person realizes that they need God and they genuinely seek Him, they are, in God’s eyes, or ears in this case, a lot closer.  God might turn a deaf ear to the curses and grumbling of the wicked, but to those who humbly seek Him, God hears their prayers.

And verse 30 is for each of us.  God loves hearing good report cards and such, but we do too.  It is good for both our body and our spirit.  I have recently gotten bad news from my extended family, and it has crushed my soul, but my blood pressure is above what it normally is and the medicines do not work as well.  That is the opposite of what this proverb is saying.  With good news, our health and our outlook both improve.

Verses 31 and 32 could relate to words, but words that some people do not like hearing.  Correction, discipline, punishment, rebuke can be delivered softly, but sometimes, with someone who habitually fails to listen, the words may become harsh.  But regardless of the delivery, they are meant in love.  You want that person to correct their behavior.  Those that listen to these methods of correction and discipline are counted among the wise.  But the person who hates discipline hates themselves.  What is the result?  By turning from good discipline, you are turning toward a life of destruction that will end in eternal torment.  The secular world can call that hate speech, but this type of discipline is the ultimate in loving someone, by pulling them back from the brink of destruction.

Verse 33 is a summary of everything to this point.  Fear of the Lord is the definition of godly wisdom.

And humility coming before honor is a pure nugget of wisdom.  Back in the day of duels, how many people died because they felt their honor came first and foremost?  C. S. Lewis said that humiliation would not hurt much if we were humble.  Fighting to the death to preserve honor is not honorable in God’s eyes.  He expects us to be humble servants, and when our honor is put in question, we should respond in love.  We are to defend God’s truth, but as for ourselves, avoid the conflict if at all possible.

And now let us sing.

The following song is All Glory, Laud and Honor.  It is sung by the First Methodist Church, Houston, Texas.  As I mentioned in the conclusions, our honor should take second place to humility, but God’s honor, glory, and praise should be on our lips.  In a way, this summarizes most of this section of Proverbs 15.

“Refrain:
All glory, laud, and honor,
to thee, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

1. Thou art the King of Israel,
thou David’s royal Son,
who in the Lord’s name comest,
the King and Blessed One.
(Refrain)

2. The company of angels
are praising thee on high,
and we with all creation
in chorus make reply.
(Refrain)

3. The people of the Hebrews
with psalms before thee went;
our prayer and praise and anthems
before thee we present.
(Refrain)

4. To thee, before thy passion,
they sang their hymns of praise;
to thee, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.
(Refrain)

5. Thou didst accept their praises;
accept the prayers we bring,
who in all good delightest,
thou good and gracious King.
(Refrain)”

• Theodulph of Orleans, translated by John M. Neale, All Glory, Laud and Honor

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
We need Your wisdom.  Help us to tame our tongues.  Help us to learn from discipline, delighting in the chance of having a second chance where we can show what we have learned.  Help us to be content with what we have in possessions but help us be ever hungry to learn more about God.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.