The Proverbs of Solomon dispense wisdom as a father to a son. They freely move from one subject to another, often contrasting righteousness and wickedness.
You can play, download, or read the transcript of this Take Note Podcast below.
Download The Lips of the Righteous mp3
The Lips of the Righteous
Proverbs 10:24-32
- We’re discussing one of the Proverbs of Solomon today
- He speaks a father to a son
- And his words of wisdom transition freely from subject to subject
- We’ll talk about the fear of the Lord today
- The hope of the righteous
- The way of the Lord
- And our theme phrase “The Lips of the Righteous”
- It’s Proverbs 10:24-32 today
- We see a contrast between wickedness and righteousness throughout this chapter
- And in this section as well
- And the real-world consequences of doing wrong versus the blessing of doing right
- Notice our first verse of the day…
Proverbs 10:24
24 The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
- The wicked person dreads what will come upon him
- And he has good reason for this
- Evil complicates his life
- It makes everything worse
- It gives him an initial feeling of enjoyment or success, but eventually crashes
- Sin makes him unhappy in the long-term
- And solves none of the short-term problems the enemy deceives him into thinking it can
- The tenuous nature of a wicked life causes anxiety
- But the desire of the righteous will be granted
- To clear up any confusion, a righteous person tends to have righteous desires
- Never sinful desires
- Never selfish and self-centered desires
- Those that are righteous
- Those God is eager to grant
- And does so, by His grace
- The wicked have another issue to deal with…
Proverbs 10:25
25 As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
- This is a key point about wickedness
- It leads to destruction
- To soon loss of life
- And eternal death, never eternal life
- Those who are declared righteous, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for sin
- Have their lives built upon an eternal foundation
- Which cannot fall
- We look ahead to everlasting life with Him
- A tempest passing may shake our house, but the foundation will hold
- This provides tremendous confidence for everyone who believes
- A Proverbs change of topic…
Proverbs 10:26
26 As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.
- A lazy person causes quite real irritation
- There is pain and frustration for the righteous and diligent working with a sluggard
- We can almost feel the sensations in the text
- The boss expects work to be completed, but the lazy man fails
- These Proverbs of Solomon go on…
Proverbs 10:27
27 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
- There are genuine benefits for the man who recognizes who the Lord really is
- Who has a clear enough (and Biblical enough) picture of Him to gain proper reverence
- This will mean adjusting our attitudes and our actions to conform to His will
- When this happens, life will be prolonged
- Not just because of the physical-world benefits of righteous living
- But because God makes the pro-active promise to the God-fearing
- The wicked are not so
- Evil shortens life
- And makes the short time men have much worse
- Any wicked person who makes it to old age does so, by the grace of God
- There are other benefits to fearing the Lord…
Proverbs 10:28
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
- The hope God grants to every righteous person brings gladness
- That hope is what every believer clings to
- It is not a vain hope in the unknown, but a confident assurance of the truth
- Which is provided by scripture
- That our future is secure in Christ
- And this is true
- The wicked may have a fanciful hope in many things
- That good works will be enough to save
- Though this is false
- That membership in an organization or keeping of some catechism or dogma will save
- But it does not
- Only Christ saves
- Whatever expectation a wicked man has perishes with him
- For it is not based upon the truth
- Next…
Proverbs 10:29
29 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.
- There is strengthening and energizing in righteous living
- The way of the Lord is the right way
- It is not a way of no resistance – there is often much resistance
- But it is the way of blessing and joy
- The very opposite comes to those walking the evil way
- Doing iniquity
- More proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 10:30
30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.
- There is a constancy to righteousness that the wicked can never have
- It is the firm foundation believers stand upon
- It is the stronghold they have in God
- It is the promised future – eternal life in Christ
- It is the confidence in God’s word that tells us the truth about ourselves and about God
- We remain, because God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice make it possible
- But a future of eternal death awaits the wicked
- We return to a familiar theme of this chapter next…
Proverbs 10:31
31 The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
- There is wisdom in the mind and heart of the just, of the right
- And therefore wisdom in their speaking
- A perverse tongue, it says here, will be cut out
- We speak what is in our hearts
- And God hears and responds accordingly
- Our final bit of wisdom in Proverbs 10…
Proverbs 10:32
32 The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.
- When we know God
- When we are walking in His ways
- Understanding His words
- There is an understanding of exactly what to say
- What is acceptable to speak
- What is right to speak
- There is only perverseness in the mouth of the wicked
- A crookedness, a twisted nature to their words
- Of course, this does not mean the righteous only speak righteously
- And the wicked only speak wickedly
- But this is their pattern
- Believers in Christ speaking that which is acceptable to God
- And those outside Christ, walking their own way
- Speaking in their own way, which can only be twisted and perverse
- How are we speaking?
- Where do we find ourselves?
- Righteous, because Christ has made it possible?
- Or remaining in our wickedness?