At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“The tongue of the just is as choice silver: The heart of the wicked is little worth” 

Proverbs 10:20

This proverb compares the mouth of the righteous with the heart of the unrighteous, but we need to remember how Jesus teaches us that the two are closely connected. The proverb actually invites us to compare heart to heart, and mouth to mouth.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). 

Jesus gives us the principle, which is that the mouth is the overflow valve of the heart. Whatever it is that the heart contains, that is what is going to come out of the mouth, one way or another. 

This means that we can tell from this proverb something about the nature of a righteous man’s heart, as well as infer something about the nature of the wicked man’s speech. We are told that the tongue of the just is as choice silver. That means that his heart is a deep silver mine. He speaks silver because he is a source of silver. This lines up with what the Lord teaches in Luke 6. A good man brings forth good from the good treasure of his heart.

The wicked man is in a different place altogether. The shaft that is in his heart reveals nothing but worthless gravel all the way down. And so it is that we understand why there is nothing but gravel strewn about at the mouth of the mine. Because his heart is of “little worth,” what is down in his heart is what is brought up into the daylight. 

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower: The righteous runneth into it, and is safe”

Proverbs 18:10

In times of trouble, people naturally and instinctively resort to their god. If their God is the God of the Bible, they cry out to Him and are delivered. But if there is a natural disaster, say, and they cry out for FEMA to arrive, this shows that their faith is in the power of the state, in the power of government. In times of trial, people turn to their gods, and this is why times of trial are truly revelatory. Times of trial reveal the names of the gods. 

Only Jehovah is capable of providing the kind of protection that we most certainly need in a world like this one. As this proverb puts it, His name is strong tower. Notice that it is His name that is a strong tower. Remember that when the difficulty erupts into our lives, it is His name that we call out. His name is a strong tower.

The promise comes next. When the righteous are revealed by which name they call, the next thing they do is that they run to the name. This running is conducted by means of prayer, and ongoing praying. The danger comes, and the righteous run into the walled fortress and tower that is the name of God. Prayer is how we come to that place of safety. Prayer is what we are summoned to, and a refuge in prayer is what we are promised. This is how the proverb ends—the righteous run to the righteous name, and there they are safe. 

False gods offer false security, and on lying terms. But even though they lie (about the ultimate safety they might provide), they can nevertheless urge other advantages. Perhaps you don’t need to run as far. Perhaps the names of their gods are easier to pronounce. Perhaps it is not necessary to leave any sin behind in order to take refuge—this is an ever popular one. 

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: But the just shall come out of trouble”

Proverbs 12:13

There is a line we are all familiar with that certainly sounds like Shakespeare, but it is actually from a poem by Sir Walter Scott:

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive . . .”

And the spirit of this is right in line with our proverb. The wicked are tangled up by their verbal sinning, meaning that we are talking about slander, lies, accusations, and so forth. The pattern is this. The wicked go for the path of least resistance first, and it consistently trips them up later. The just embrace the trouble first, and find that their path is made smooth later. They come out of trouble.

Another way of saying this is that the wicked are short-term thinkers, while the godly take a longer view. Lies are easy, short term. There are times when they seem like the only possible solution. So the wicked lie, but then they have to tell another one, and it soon gets to the point where you have to keep track of every strand of that “tangled weave.” Liars need to have good memories, and even then it is not sufficient. Lies can run faster than we can, and they always catch up.

The just person here is described as being in some sort of trouble because his way of life brings him out of it. His pattern is trouble > peace. The wicked, by way of contrast experience things in the other direction—peace > trouble.

God is not mocked. A man will always reap what he sows. The reason the wicked are willing to plant darnel (the biblical “tares”) instead of wheat is because they think it “buys them time.” A field planted with darnel looks exactly the same as a field planted with wheat. Even when the plants start to grow they look an awful lot alike early on.  

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: But he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh”

Proverbs 11:17

In this proverb, the merciful man is contrasted with the cruel man. The cruel man is the one who inflicts pain on others, and takes pleasure from the fact that he has the opportunity to do so. The merciful man does the opposite. He does not inflict pain on others, even when it could be just and right to do so. 

Mercy is not giving someone something that they deserve. Grace is giving someone something they don’t deserve. Mercy operates in the context of something that has been demerited. Grace operates in the context of something that has not been merited. If one of your children was standing around waiting for dinner, and you slipped them a twenty, that would be grace. They had not earned it, but they hadn’t demerited anything either. But if that same child had carelessly broken something that cost twenty dollars, and agreed to pay to replace it, but then you intervened and said that you would take care of it, that would be mercy. 

Now it is obvious that the merciful man is doing good to the one to whom he shows mercy. And it is also obvious that the cruel man is doing harm to the one upon whom he is visiting his cruelty. But that is not the point of this parable. 

The merciful man is doing something good for his own soul. Extending mercy is a grace that offers kindness kickbacks. And in an analogous fashion, cruelty boomerangs. Kindness to others is nourishing to the one who is kind. Cruelty to others is destructive to the one who is being cruel.

When someone is cruel to others, one of his punishments is found in the fact that he has to be . . .  him. 

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At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“The crown of the wise is their riches: But the foolishness of fools is folly”

Proverbs 14:24

We are all aware of the warnings that Scripture gives, in multiple places, about the dangers of mammon. Rich men and the eye of the needle. The Pharisees loved their money. Solomon was led astray by his great blessings. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. Those who want to get rich are frequently drowned in “destruction and perdition.” If we don’t have the practical side of this down yet, we are certainly aware of the teaching. We remember the warnings.  

We are less aware of the many places in Scripture where we are taught about the goodness of affluence. It is a sin to forget God, who gives us so many rich gifts, but the sin is in forgetting, not in the getting. “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17).

In this proverb we are flat out told that wealth is one of the contrasting points between the wise man and the fool. The crown of the wise man would be found in his riches. When a wise man is wealthy, as Abraham was, it is not unbecoming. It is a complete incongruity when a fool comes into riches. His proper crown would be his foolishness and folly. It is striking that in this parallel, Solomon has foolishness in place of the crown. The crown of the wise, the foolishness of the fool. The crown of the wise is made up of wealth, and the “crown” of the fool is made up of tin foil. It is his folly. 

The practical application is that the wealthy should certainly remember the warnings. This is why we would call a wise man wise . . . he remembers the warnings. And, having remembered them, he can sit comfortably with the blessings given to him by God.

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