 Let's open our Bibles if you haven't we're in chapter 10. We're going to be looking at the Proverbs of Solomon and We'll begin reading In verse one. I'm just reading verse one and giving you a bit of an introduction We'll move into our our study tonight the Proverbs of Solomon Chapter 10 verse one a wise man a wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother Well, what we have here in chapter 10 and notice with me verse one you have a new introduction I want you to notice that notice how it begins chapter 10 verse one with the phrase the Proverbs of Solomon So this is what is called a new heading and with the new heading comes a collection of Proverbs That are really on different subjects What we're going to see from chapter 10 on is a different style Because almost every one of the Proverbs that we look at in the in this chapter following really is a distinct proverb that relates to Something that it individually wants to state When you went through it up to chapter 10 There were times as you're going through the Proverbs that it looked like like there were like devotional thoughts There were several thoughts that were tied together that were related to a subject So you might see him warning his son against joining a gang or warning against being involved with With a promiscuous woman and on you saw that through the first several chapters of Proverbs But now each proverb is to be taken for its individual meaning and you're going to see that as we go through this Now some are placed near one another because they're touching on the same subject But again, this is a different style that Solomon is now moving into as he's giving these Proverbs Now when we begin in verse one Solomon has contrasted the invitation of wisdom with the call of foolishness And so verse one actually gives to us the results of Heeding either one of those invitations He speaks of a wise son notice how he says in verse one a wise son makes a glad father But a foolish son is the grief of his mother So Solomon has contrasted the invitation of wisdom with the call of foolishness and now he gives the result of heeding either invitation the wise son has listened to the call of wisdom and As the wise son has listened to the call of wisdom notice what he says it makes his father glad it pleases his father to know that his son has listened to the invitation wisdom is given and Thus has chosen to live a life that is wise Obviously every father and mother who loves their children Desires them to walk in wisdom and this is a common theme that you see in the book of Proverbs You'll see in chapter 23 Proverbs 23 verses 15 and 16 How it says my son if your heart is wise my heart will rejoice indeed. I myself Yes, my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak right things Or in chapter 23 verses 24 and 25 the father of the righteous will greatly rejoice and He who begets a wise child will delight in him Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice And so obviously as a father I want to see my children walk in wisdom and when I see that they are it causes my heart to be glad That's obvious But the foolish son Well the foolish son is listen to the calm of folly and as a result has hurt his parents Folly and his son Will always will always hurt a loving parent It always will Proverbs 1721 he who begets a scoffer does so to his sorrow and the father of a fool has no joy And that's true isn't it if you're a parent and your children are doing well You see they're walking in wisdom they're doing well in life. They're following the Lord serving God There's a joy that you have you put your head on your pillow at night and your rest well But when your son or your daughter is not doing well and you see that they're rejecting the things of the Lord It's hard to sleep sometimes Sometimes you stay up late Sometimes you wait to hear the door as it opens and the footsteps as they crossed through the hallway The close of the door as they entered the room and you're glad that they're home safely But you don't know what they did that night and it concerns you and a son Who is living a foolish life? Breaks the heart of a righteous father a son who is not living right causes sorrow in the heart of the mother It's interesting how it says the mother is mentioned mother is mentioned rather Because the mother normally has a well the mother has a different kind of Relationship with the children It's just generally true that the mother has a different relationship with the children Even now with my own children who are not you know, I'll always call them my children, but they're all adults all of them and Even to this day on occasion when one calls the home I'll hear my wife Marie answer the phone and If she hands it to me It's for advice My children will call hi mom and I'll see her smile hot Okay, he's here and I know it's advice and so I run out of the house at that time and Go do something else If they're calling she stays on the phone usually for some money So I call her and say you know honey, let's go get out of here You know let's save some money But the fact the fact is is that the mama has a different kind of relationship with the children Again in Proverbs 15 verse 20 a wise son makes a father glad a foolish man despises his mother Proverbs 17 25 a foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him And so when a son is doing well, well, it makes the father joyful But a foolish son is the grief of his mom verse 2 treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famished, but he casts away the desire of the wicked Treasures of wickedness that's an interesting phrase there treasures of wickedness has more than one meaning Treasures of wickedness speaks of profit that has resulted through dishonesty It's through ripping people off is through overcharging them or it's through just conning them And so that's called treasures of wickedness. It's it's a profit It's money that has resulted through dishonesty But it also speaks of money that is used for evil Jesus referred to it as the mammon of unrighteousness in Luke 16 verse 9 It's it's using your money to produce evil treasures of wickedness it use you're using your money to produce evil How do you do that? All you need to do for example If you want to see it is look at the movies that that that are produced by Hollywood You know I was reading a review not a review Yeah, I guess it was a review a comment in in a newspaper just the last week about a movie something about the latest variation of Something about gray. I forget the name of it Shit, what is it called shades of gray something like that, right? I don't know. I know none of you would know the name of that But it's something it's what's it called? I don't mind if you say it out loud Do you know what's it called? Well, it's not it's a variation of this movie shades of gray. I don't want to waste my time too much as anybody know the actual Shades of gray 50 shades of gray. Okay, you saw it. Oh, I knew it. I knew it. It took a while, but I got you But I was reading a comment related to that and I don't really know what the movie is about That's something that I just haven't been interested in though. I've heard that it's not a good movie and it's not a good series I've heard that I've heard that it's a series made out of a book Or a movie from a book of some sort written and it's extremely sexual and that's what I've heard about it And I've heard that there are it's a sadomasochistic and a variety of things like that now Maybe I'm wrong about that, but that's what I've heard So I'm reading the review and the individual reviewing that particularly new variation is saying That they're very glad because they're making millions and millions of dollars. That's treasures of wickedness That's treasures of wickedness. We're making millions of dollars in selling pornography And that's what we have today There are people who are making money off of selling evil Much of the music today can be beautiful, but so much can also just be filled with evil There are books that are written that could be beautiful But many of the books that are written today are not those are treasures of wickedness and he's saying these treasures profit nothing Fact is wealth can provide for material comfort But we need to remember that material comfort is only Temporary when he says in verse two treasures of wickedness profit nothing But righteousness delivers from death He's making the point that ultimately the satisfaction that you get from using your finances Improperly, even if it for that moment is pleasurable You need to always remember that it is also temporary in Luke chapter 12 verses 16 through 21 Luke writes that Jesus spoke a parable to them saying The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully and he thought within himself Saying what shall I do? Since I have no room to store my crops So he said I will do this I will pull down my barns and build Greater and there I will store all my crops and my goods and I will say to my soul Soul you have many goods laid up for many years take your ease eat drink and be married But God said to him fool this night your soul will be required of you Then whose will those things be which you have provided So as he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God And so you can put up and lay up and and get ready to retire, but it's all Temporary and money that is made in an improper way and used improperly will never produce Something that lasts forever He said in verse 2 that righteousness delivers from death Righteousness speaks basically of doing the right thing and doing the right things springs from faith in God And so righteousness delivers you from death because you have a relationship with the Lord in verse 3 He says the Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famished, but he casts away the desire of the wicked The righteous person's soul will be completely satisfied That's because they desire the kingdom of God first and when you seek first the kingdom of God You are satisfied in Matthew 5 verse 6 It reads blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled Because the unrighteous only have carnal appetites there is no hope in eternity for them and God He says cast away their desire in other words words. He rejects it because their desire is filled with sinful longing It's Lord give me something so I can use it for this. I want this I'm asking for this I want this but their longing is filled with sinful desire their carnal appetites are Never really satisfied, but the righteous soul is satisfied in the Lord So when he says in verse 3 he casts away the desire of the wicked He rejects it because it's filled with with sinful longing in Proverbs 27 verse 20 It reads howland destruction are never full So the eyes of man are never satisfied You never have enough and we all know that I could wax eloquent on this one. We know that You save up your money because you want a certain thing you finally have enough. It's taking you years You finally get it There's nothing wrong with planning for something that you'd like to have and it's great when you can buy it But it's an amazing thing that once you finally have it in your hands How temporary that joy can be It's amazing when you're young you think oh, I'm gonna and I'll get and it'll be and when I find and then You get older and you say I finally gonna have it You know you wanted that little sports car and it's a cool car and you you're driving it But then you try and get out of it You're driving with the top down and the wind blows your wig right off your head Or somebody takes their shopping cart and smashes the side scratches the paint and those things happen and right away you realize These things aren't that aren't that important the joy I had with them though It's good and it's nice to have it really doesn't satisfy forever really doesn't And when you begin to put your eyes on things of the Lord You start to see the things that really do last and really do matter And it changes your entire perspective in life and you begin to use things But not be owned by things and you begin to see pleasures in a different way And so he's basically making a very clear point the Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famished But he does cast away the desire of the wicked verse 4 he who has a slack hand becomes poor But the hand of the diligent makes rich you he who gathers in summer is a wise son He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame So he who deals with a slack hand He comes poor what he's doing is he's contrasting diligence with laziness The term slack hand is actually a term that would be used to refer to careless work And it speaks of a lazy worker who's careless on the job And the point is the lazy worker generally comes to poverty over time It's because he's working with a slack hand. He's not really that good at what he's doing He might go out get a job and tell the people I can put this together for you and it'll be this quality But he's kind of lazy and he's not working hard and ultimately he doesn't do a good job And what at one time was a good business with people making referrals After a while people begin to say, you know, it's really not that good You know, take a look at this or see what he did there and and ultimately he's saying You're going to become poor but in contrast A hard work a person who works hard is generally rewarded with success Proverbs 19 verse 15 says laziness casts one into a deep sleep And an idle person will suffer hunger. And so working hard has its own reward When he says in verse five he who gathers in summer is a wise son He who sleeps and harvest is a son who causes shame It's sad that people are going to sleep in greg lorrie's church. They're sleeping in harvest. This is a prophecy When he says he who gathers in summer that was very dumb. Forgive me He who gathers in summer the wise son goes to the field to work And make sure that the harvest is produced and when the harvest is gathered He makes sure that his family can eat and he also cares for his parents But the one verse five who sleeps in harvest is the son who causes shame In other words, he doesn't care for his parents and ultimately he comes to nothing in life That's because he's lazy Proverbs 20 verse four says the lazy man will not plow because of winter But he will beg during harvest and have nothing Verse six blessings are on the head of the righteous Verse six blessings are on the head of the righteous But violence covers the mouth of the wicked the memory of the righteous is blessed But the name of the wicked will rot When it says blessings are on the head of the righteous But violence covers the mouth of the wicked covers the mouth is an interesting phrase And I looked it up. What does that mean covers the mouth? That covers the mouth speaks of something falling upon someone Um The phrase cover the mouth may be a reference to the ancient custom of covering the faces of condemned criminals So when it says violence covers the mouth of the wicked There is evil that will come upon them is That's the picture the focus here is on rewards A righteous person will leave a legacy of love and respect You see that if you ever Go to a cemetery To lay flowers At the grave of a grandmother grandfather Father mom brothers sister somebody you love And you will see that you'll see people You know, uh, I I've been to the cemetery on occasion I'll go just to spend a moment remembering my dad and my mom And there will be people Who are actually picnicking In the area some of you have seen it. They're there And they're remembering grandmother remembering the grandfather They're remembering that's a legacy. That's a legacy And the point he's making here very simple simply is in verse seven the memory of the righteous is blessed They're there and they're remembering because you need do good when you minister and and are loving to others There's a tendency part of others to To remember you well, but the wicked well, they simply die and they leave a bad memory And that's sad when you think about it that somebody passes on and nobody has a good thing to say about them Nobody has a thing to say, you know, I I've shared this before but I believe it very much live in such a way that that if you're if your kids were to get up and And and give the eulogy at your funeral live in such a way that they won't lie about you Saying good things that they really didn't believe Be very careful about that because I've done eulogies for my mom. I I've done eulogies for my for my for my dad You know, um, I've eulogized other relatives and all and and it's a it's a wonderful thing to be able to walk up and to say This is the father That that I knew you knew him as frank But I knew him as dad And and this is what he was like It's a beautiful thing to be able to walk up and say that he was this way or that way or my mom She was this or that it's a it's a beautiful thing But if somebody said could you speak at this funeral and I say I uh, no I'm a minister. I can't I can't lie You get somebody else to go up there and lie. I can't do it I don't ever want to be in that position You know, I remember of a preacher here and of the preacher who his his board said this guy who died Was a very heavy giver He gave a lot of money to this church and you're going to do his funeral And the preacher said I can't do that. He was he was no I will not do that They said if you don't go up and do his funeral say a few words that we're going to fire you So he said All right, so he got up and he said the guy was a dog He lived like a dog. He died like a dog bury him and he walked off He did say a few words. You don't want you. You don't want that kind of eulogy verse 8 moving on The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prading fool will fall a wise person Knows how to receive an order especially scriptural orders But a prading fool a prading fool is an individual just keeps talking or talks on Person just talks but never listens Proverbs 9 verse 9 says give instruction to a wise man. He'll be still wiser Teach a just man. He will increase in learning Proverbs 18 6 and 7 says a fool's lips enter into contention and his mouth calls for blows A fool's mouth is his destruction and his lips are the snare of his soul One of the wisest things an individual can be and that's what solomon is saying Is to be what we would say I would use the word teachable to be somebody who hears and responds And does the right thing based on what the scripture teaches So the wise in heart will receive commands verse 9 He who walks with integrity walks securely But he who perverts his ways Will become known When you live what you say when you walk with integrity when you live what you say You live without fear of evil ever being discovered in you When you live in such a way that You could run for president and nobody would say you did some bad things. That's a good thing You know, I I I want to live that way And I I believe that I do I would like to Say I do But I want to walk in integrity Because it says he who walks with integrity walks securely many years ago Many years ago now when the summer harvests were first beginning Greg lorry came and did an outreach we put on Because it was just beginning 20 some years ago then And greg came and did something we rented A location ontario in ontario gardener spring auditorium auditorium on chafee high school campus It seats a couple thousand people and we had a summer harvest and kind of a Preview of what was going to take place at the pacific amphitheater and And after greg had shared and all he came over my house and and he was at my home and He walks up to my refrigerator and opens the door and looks in He was looking for a beer Not for himself. He wanted to see if I drank And I remember just looking at him as he did that that takes a lot of nerve But I I remember thinking oh, I'm glad I don't I'm glad I don't drink because you know, who knows probably would have kicked me out of heaven, I don't know but um You know when you when you're when your life is right with the lord and you're doing the right thing You're not afraid that someone's going to uncover evil about you live that way Live that way Live as if somebody is following you around now. I'm not talking paranoia because there are people right now saying Yeah, I do have someone following and no no I'm talking about If you're being filmed And your life was shown on a screen. I'm not saying again try to be perfect But just be aware And live in a way that you don't have anybody uncovering evil about you live what you say Because if you do you live without fear of being discovered But on the other hand he speaks of the perverse the word perverse is is a word that speaks of that which is crooked It pertains very often to that which is sinful Perverse crooked. They are ultimately he said found out in luke 12 verse 2 There is nothing covered that will not be revealed nor hidden that will not be known In first Corinthians chapter 4 verse 5 judge nothing before the time until the lord comes Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the councils of the hearts Then each one's praise will come from god in verse 10 He who winks with the eye causes trouble But a prading fool will fall Winks with the eye, but an interesting way to put it It's not like if my wife walks in and I see her and I give her a little wink. That's not what that's all about It's that conversation that you're having with somebody and he has somebody off to the side And he kind of gives a sly little wink It's like he's bringing him into the plan Because they're about to do something to deceive you It's seek it speaks of secretly planning mischief against somebody else And so the one who's winking with the eye is causing trouble He causes trouble because he's planning on doing something wrong And he's doing so with some wicked associates He says a prading fool will fall. In other words, they ultimately reap the consequences of their falling Verse 11 and 12 the mouth of the righteous is a well of life But violence covers the mouth of the wicked hatred stirs up strife Love covers all sins The lord fills the mouth of the righteous With living water when he says the mouth of the righteous is a well of life The lord fills us with living water Our our thirst is quenched But the water that he gives to us Also quenches the thirst of others. It's interesting how in john 7 38 Jesus said he who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water When you've taken a drink of the water of life And the water of life has quenched your thirst and satisfied your spiritual thirst Not only do you have this satisfaction within you But out of the abundance of your your heart your mouth is going to speak And so you begin to share things the good things that the lord has done And you do it because it's a natural thing The water of life that has come into you begins to also pour out of you And there are many who say I would like to have a class on how to give away my faith And I think those are good classes and we do have them we do offer them here I've also discovered though that if you want to give away your faith Just drink richly of the living water Because when you drink up the water you can't help but speak about what god is doing in your life You're looking for opportunities to share with other people you look for for for moments that that may be an opening And you may be speaking to somebody and they may be saying something to you that begins to trigger with you You a sense like I think that they're open And so you may just kind of throw out a line like a fisherman, you know Little little hook there with some bait on it. You may say something to them And then they they they come and they take they begin to talk and they say Something to you that opens the door for you to be able to share About the lord jesus christ and it's just going to come out That's why you spend time in the word and in prayer because you're prepared at any given moment In contrast verse 11 Violence covers the mouth of the wicked Their well if you will is covered and the water in that well stagnates All of us has have seen that you you've seen water that's collected in something The rain and the water collects in there Two or three days later you're looking in there and there are little things that are Floating around in there, you know, that's the kind of water that they have it stagnated. It's it's it's it's just dirty It's putrid and he's saying that the wicked only produce words that that ruin lives They're the ones who say things to people that actually undermine them in every way In verse 12 hatred stirs up strife Love covers all sin Wicked are motivated by hatred But the righteous are motivated by a love that is protective Love protects others from evil and I shared this I don't know if this will make sense But i'll say it anyway I i've had i've had people over the years who have said That they know that I love my wife they know that how do you know that? I've been places many times even recently Where people will say to me say hi to marie and I'll look at them And I've asked them how do you know her? Do you know her? You better not know her. No, I do you know her? Do you know her? No, no, I've never met her Okay, then why are you asking me to say hi? Because you speak about it And we have grown to love her Just by hearing the way you speak Now I really am going to give you something practical and only take a moment some of you may not care, but Let me share one little thing with you that may make some sense to you I have a belief that it's my job To encourage people to love my wife It's my job. It's part of my calling I want people to love my wife And so I say things about my wife that will help you to do that Am I saying that my wife is perfect in many ways? I have no complaints I love her She loves me I mean I could go on and on about that. I'm very grateful for her. I really am Is she perfect? No, am I? Yeah. No, am I? No Of course not two sinners got married Two sinners Got married We brought in our baggage And all these years we've dealt with the things that made us so different And remain making us different Does she sometimes infuriate me? Of course. Do I infuriate her on occasion? Would you know what those things are ever? No Why? Because it isn't my job to air dirty laundry in front of a church Because some things Belong to us And some issues are our issues that we together deal with love conceals Love protects Love does not cause somebody else to start disliking that person Because of what somebody's been saying So you go to mom and you say my husband's been doing this this and that And your mom after a while starts hating that guy that you're married to Because you keep saying things to mom about your husband And mama loves you and that's why you tell her And the same could be true with the husband going off and telling mama about my wife My wife this my wife that When marie and I were first married I'll say one more thing and then move on We were first married. We hadn't been married more in a few months My mom was a real open person. She'd share was on her mind. That was my mom always was that way And I sat at the table with her at her house My mom said you know I've noticed something about marie And I I put my hand up I said that's my wife I said you have nothing to say to me about my wife. That's my wife My mom never ever had another statement that she made to me about my wife. Why because love protects Because it's not my mom's job to tell me what my wife is supposed to be And if my mom has any issues with my wife, my mom should speak to my wife Not me because love protects I love my mom loved her with all my heart But I love my wife more And I protect my wife That's what you do and so hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins There are things that we deal with That are just ours to deal with in first Corinthians 13 7 love bears And that word bears love bears all things means covers up Keeps something off that is threatening Love bears all things in first Peter 4 8 above all things have fervent love for one another Love will cover a multitude of sins Proverbs 17 9 he who covers the transgression seeks love But he who repeats a matter separates friends And so be careful when you're sharing the treasures Of your marriage and relationships with other people Because you need to remember that the person that you're married to Is the person that you should be loving the most now Does that mean that you should never seek advice or help? Because sometimes there are issues. No, I'm not saying that What I'm saying is under normal circumstances be aware of the fact that love is protective And there are times when you may have to say listen to a to a minister to somebody who has spiritual wisdom and ability Who's not going to get emotionally tangled and tangled who can give to you objective Biblical counsel there may be times when you say I've got an issue. I'm dealing with can you help me? And even when you do that be careful how you go about saying the things that you say hatred stirs up strife Hate is a motivator for spreading division and hate is a motivator for causing hurt to other people And if somebody really loved they wouldn't spread lies that hurt other people James 4 11 says do not speak evil of one another my brethren In verse 13 wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding But a rod is for the back of him who is devoid of understanding Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction and so Wise people treasure Or store up knowledge Because knowledge has value But a fool doesn't understand and does not value wisdom And so the result will be suffering even ruin In proverbs 21 23 it says whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles And so wisdom is found on the lips of him who has understanding in verse 15 The rich man's wealth this is strong city the destruction of the poor is their poverty Here's something practical we americans can understand normally When people have wealth they have security Personal security can come with wealth But poor people can't afford security systems And poor people can't have bodyguards And poor people sometimes live in areas or neighborhoods That are dangerous And so the point he's making and it's very easy as the rich man's wealth is this strong city He is secure because he has money But when somebody is poor Well, it's because they can also suffer for that And it's because they can't afford anything that will protect them verse 16 The labor of the righteous leads to life To wages of the wicked to sin Profit gained by honest work will have god's blessing on it The money made by the wicked only helps them to continue in sin and the sin even the more Verse 17 he who keeps instruction Is in the way of life But he who refuses correction Goes astray Um, I don't I don't know If how I can make this practical as it can be Make it I want it to be practical for us That's what that's what the proverbs are supposed to be and I'm trying to find ways to do that Even as I'm speaking to you right now um Be quick to hear Have a heart that is willing to be corrected When somebody is reproved and they harden their neck to it. They stiffen their heart they They don't receive it their lives not going to be blessed If you have a willingness to hear correction if you say speak lord for your servant is listening And somebody comes and says something to you That you may not want to hear You take it to the lord and you say god is that something you you're speaking to me right now Because sometimes correction will come to you From a person that you don't like very much It's a lot easier when somebody loves you very much and says to you You know how much I love you. Yeah, I know you love me Well, let me let me tell you something this has to be done I'm concerned for you you can receive but when it's somebody that you really don't like And they say let me tell you something. No, you don't tell me anything Your your heart can be hardened to that And so in ministry over the years I've tried to ask the lord to help me to cultivate an ear to hear now sometimes people They're right no matter what they're right. I have to hear it You know when marie and I again when we were married and going through our first years of marriage You know there were times that you would say things to me that I have you've got to be kidding That's not true And I would want to argue and over time What I began to try to learn to do and I think I've done it up to this point better than ever is that If she has something to say I know one she loves me and two any correction she brings is for my well-being She wants me to know the lord she wants me to walk with god She wants me to be a better man She wants that and when I know that And she says honey this or that I I will close my mouth. Do you know that there were times when one of my daughters was Was going through some tough time in her life and and her personality Was so much like mine That we would butt heads easily. I never even realized it until I I started thinking it through and she was in her late teens and I It finally hit me. Why does she irritate me this way? And it was because she's like me And when I figured that went out and helped me to change a lot of you parents know what I'm saying There are things about your kid that you don't like why because it's you And you see it And this is the truth. I'll say this quickly, but it's true what I learned to do Is I learned to literally you know the term bite your tongue? I literally do that. I literally will stick my tongue out And bite it that's a fact and I didn't do it in a way that she could tell but And I would pray I'd say god God help me keep my mouth shut I would help me keep my mouth shut Because what she's saying right now I want to respond to And I'd listen and after I listened I would take it to the lord And then I'd come back We could converse there wouldn't be anger and I understood what she was trying to say I started doing that many years ago. I do that now all the time If somebody has something they're saying that I don't want to hear I listen Because it may be something I need to hear And just because I don't like how it's being said I need to hear what is being said And I have to be careful not to say well, they don't love me. They hate me. That's why they're saying that Doesn't really matter if what is being said is true I need to hold fast to that because it's true That's what I need to do and I've I've tried to learn to do that So be very careful and and all because That's one of the things that we can learn to do Over time So Let's see. I'm I'm almost through We're on verse 18 right there just testing Whoever hides hatred has lying lips Whoever spreads slander is a fool So at least one thing Um I'll put it I'll say it like this the person who is uh The person who is is is speaking Whoever hides hatred at least that person's being open Because when someone's hiding hatred They're they're really hypocritical And so the point he's making here is at least the one hiding hatred isn't spreading and he's keeping it to himself But the the slanderer is a person who spreads his hatred Around it's one thing to not like somebody. It's another thing To go and tell everybody how much you don't like someone In the multitude of words sin is not lacking he who restrains his lips is wise The tongue of the righteous is choice silver the heart of the wicked is worth little The lips of the righteous feed many fools die for lack of wisdom And so some people just cannot cease from speaking That's true in the multitude of words sin is not lacking But the problem is is the more you speak the more opportunity you give to actually go in the wrong direction I've said this before sometimes there are those who who are uncomfortable with silence Silence disturbs them. So they feel the sound of silence with their own voice But I've discovered that that sometimes if you just keep talking and talking and talking You could actually go in a direction. You don't really want to go So in the multitude of words sin is not lacking restraining your lips. Well, that's a wise thing We need to be people of few words. We need to be quick to hear and we need to be slow slow of speech There's there's a uh psalm that you might want to mark. It's a beautiful psalm psalm 141 verse 3 I I had this over my my screen in my office said a guard. Oh lord over my mouth Keep watch over the door of my lips Help me to be a man of few words and teach me to listen more than I speak You see in verses 20 and 21 the the tongue of the righteous is choice silver A silver is purified by fire It's tested and it's valuable and it's it's it's a picture of the value of feeding those who lack wisdom And and the tongue of the righteous will use their words to counsel to teach They use the words to bring comfort or to encourage They use their words to praise the lord But the heart of the wicked is worthless and it's ignorant. So avoid their counsel Verse 22 the blessing of the lord makes one rich and he adds no sorrow with it So trust in the lord he provides for you in his provision We can have financial prosperity, but unlike the wicked There's no anxiety in our hearts when god gives to us And so trust the lord to provide for you Verse 23 to do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom Your character is revealed by what you enjoy being involved in Evil for the fool is like games that make them laugh. They enjoy it so much For the man of understanding Wisdom is what they enjoy the most Verse 24 the fear of the wicked will come upon him the desire of the righteous will be granted The righteous receives what he desires But the wicked receives what they fear And what they fear is ultimate judgment Verse 25 when the whirlwind passes by the wicked's no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation Remember what jesus said in matthew 7 26 and 27 Everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them Will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand The rain descended the floods came the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell And great was its fall when you don't build your life on the shore foundation of god's word You're doomed to failure Your life will fall Verse 26 as vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes So is the lazy man to those who send him What is he saying there? Well, if you send a lazy man on a task, he's just an irritation to you He just irritates you why because he's just kind of moseying around him get it done. Would you please? So that's just another picture of being irritated Verse 27 the fear of the lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened The hope of the righteous will be gladness That the expectation of the wicked will perish the way of the lord is strength for the upright But the destruction but destruction will come to the workers of iniquity the fear of the lord produces length of days The fear of the lord produces gladness and strength But those who do not fear the lord Well, they generally live shorter lives and they're hopeless And their end is always Ruin and finally The righteous will never be removed But the wicked will not inhabit the earth the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom But the perverse tongue will be cut out Oh The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable But the mouth of the wicked What is perverse Ultimately the righteous inherit the land And the inherit blessings The wicked will not When he says in verse 31 the mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom Well, the righteous fear the lord they love his word and that's why wisdom comes from them But the perverse the one who's twisted Where their tongue will be cut out. That's another way of saying they will be silenced And finally in verse 32 the lips of the righteous know what is acceptable Because out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will always speak The righteous ultimately will sing their praises to god the wicked Well, they only speak that which is stored within them And we need to remember what it says in matthew 12 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things An evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things If you want to bring forth good things then store good things in your heart And as you do so Well, what you're saying will be acceptable to the lord if you don't what you're saying is not that simple Let's pray