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

“Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame” (Proverbs 25:8).

“Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end, when your neighbor has put you to shame?” (Proverbs 25:8, NKJV).

We might summarize this proverb right at the beginning by saying that we “shouldn’t start what we can’t finish.”

The key word here is “hastily.” Just as a king should not go to war without counting his troops (Luke 14:31), or a builder of towers should take a third look at the budget (Luke 14:28), so in the same way an aspiring litigant should take a long, hard look at his case.

The only people who almost always profit in such circumstances would be the lawyers. This is one reason why court cases don’t easily end, as the joke goes, because lawyers bill by the hour, and not by the outcome.

So this proverb is urging is to avoid the legal system equivalent of road rage. In the heat of the moment, when the “offense,” whatever it is, has just been committed, a man’s anger can make absolutely everything seem open and shut. When he tells his family and friends about it, they concur, and because they have not remembered Proverbs 18:17, they urge him on.

The thing that we are being encouraged to avoid is the shame and embarrassment when your neighbor pulls out the contract that you forgot that you had signed and, as it turns out, he did not forget that you had signed.

With all this said and acknowledged, we need to remember that there is a difference between “hastily” and “suddenly.” A hasty move is impulsive. A man who has been careful to think things through beforehand might, when the occasion is right, move suddenly and decisively. But that is not at all like the lurch of the imprudent man.

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

“Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” (Proverbs 19:18).

While There is Hope

There are two basic truths about child rearing that we glean from this proverb. The first is that time is a real issue, and the second is that the response of the child might create a temptation to forget that time is a real issue.

One of the things I came to realize when I was building my house was a fundamental reality about pouring concrete. This was true whether you were talking about a foundation, or a sidewalk, or a patio, or steps. The good thing about working with concrete is that, no matter what, two hours later you are all done. The concrete sets, and that means that it must be worked before it sets. This proverb tells us that there is a way in which children are like this. Work with your son while you have time. While there is hope. While the sun is still up and the concrete is still wet.

The way that you work the child/concrete is by means of chastening. That is one of the central things you do with the time that you have.

The second thing we learn from this proverb is that a child is concrete that can talk back, argue, cry, or wail. This is concrete that does not like to be worked. The child has negative opinions about being worked. Parents should not be surprised when a child is being noisy about it.

The message of Scripture here is plain. Do not be deterred. Do not lighten up because the concrete prefers a rough texture and would rather not be that smooth.

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

“The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty” (Proverbs 18:18).

“Casting lots causes contentions to cease, and keeps the mighty apart” (Proverbs 18:18, NKJV).

When a dispute has arisen, and it looks intractable, and that means that major conflict appears to be inevitable, then perhaps that is a time when someone should suggest that they just flip for it.

This obviously would not work for some controversies, but I think we might be surprised at how many times it could work. There are controversies where neither side is all that eager for the conflict, but they like the look of “backing down” even less. They don’t want the dispute, but they don’t want to look weak either. Perhaps they have friends who are looking at them with a judgmental eye. Perhaps the wife thinks he ought to be more assertive. He doesn’t want to seem like a pushover.

What the proposal to “flip for it” does is provide a face-saving way around the conflict. As the proverb puts it, this is a good way to make contentions cease.

Not only is this the case, but it would not just work on ten-year-old boys. The proverb tells us that this is a technique that can keep the mighty apart. Now I understand that we might not want our diplomats at major peace talks to go out into the hallway to do the rock paper scissors thing, especially when there is a genuine matter of principle involved. We never want to flip on whether or not to do a righteous thing or not.

But how many times has an opportunity for resolution been squandered because we were unwilling to try something that Scripture says could work. When there needs to be conflict, then let there be conflict. But there are times when there doesn’t need to be conflict, and perhaps we should be a little more willing to pull out a quarter.

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

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words: And a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit” (Proverbs 17:27).

There are different variations on this theme. One American proverb says that it is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

But this proverb is a bit different. The one who is in actual possession of real knowledge is economical with his words. He spares his words. Someone who is garrulous is not demonstrating insight to the whole world, but rather the opposite. The person with knowledge does not feel the need to unload the entire truck. He can look at his supply of words, select the best ones for the occasion, and bring them out as appropriate. And, as is the case in other areas as well, less is more.

This proverb is structured as a parallelism, not as a contrast. This means that the one with knowledge is paired with the “man of understanding,” and the one who “spareth his words” is paired with having an “excellent spirit.”

And this means that being economical with your words should not be confused with being taciturn and truculent. If a man goes to a party, and stands in the corner all evening with a little black rain cloud over his head, the few words (or grunts) that he utters are not a sign of an excellent spirit. Quite the opposite.

Rather, he places his words the same way that an excellent craftsman would place jewels in an intricately wrought ornament. “A word fitly spoken Is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Prov. 25:11). Just like real estate, the value of a word spoken the right way at the right time is a matter of location, location, location.

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

“Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: And he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished” (Proverbs 17:5).

The Germans have a special word to describe the sin that this proverb targets. That word is schadenfreude, and it means to take pleasure or joy in the misfortune of another. For some, this is vindictive or vengeful, and would apply when the one suffering the misfortunate was an adversary of some sort. But for others it is more general. The person who takes this pleasure is simply someone who likes to hear about disasters.

This sin is addressed by the second half of the proverb. The one who rejoices over misfortunes is going to be punished for it. Even in the circumstance mentioned earlier, where the joy is brought about by the downfall of an enemy . . . even there we are cautioned.
“Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him” (Proverbs 24:17–18).
This expression of the principle assumes that it is likely the case that your enemy needs to receive what he is getting, and one of the reasons for not gloating is that the Lord might see that and lay off.

The first part of the proverb addresses what seems to be simple unkindness or cruelty. Someone is poor, and the mocker comes to add insult to injury. This kind of cruelty loves to punch down, and the Scriptures will have none of it.
“Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:14).
The Lord is tender toward the poor and downtrodden, and He expects the very same demeanor from us.

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