PROVERBS 16

1 ¶ The preparations (arrangements, plans) of the heart in man, and the answer (reply) of the tongue, is from the LORD.

To man belongs the plans of the heart, but from The Lord comes the reply of the tongue. NIV

Preparations … answer. Human responsibility is always subject to God’s absolute sovereignty (cf. 3:6; 16:2, 9, 33; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1, 30, 31).

• This is another way of saying that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
• Your fingerprint belongs to you alone. The retina of your eye is uniquely yours.

2 ¶ All the ways (Heb. Roads, course of life) of a man are clean (pure) in his own eyes;

FBN- Self-flattery and self justification are the universal sins of fallen man. We will visit this thought again in verse 25.

but the LORD weigheth the spirits (motives).

Weigheth the spirits-While man can be self-deceived, God determines his true motives (cf. 21:2; 24:12; 1 Sam. 16:7; 1 Cor. 4:4).

God knows the motives that are behind all of our deeds.

• Pr 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
• Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When the prophet Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to find the successor to king Saul, The Lord told him the kind of man that He was looking for.

• 1 Sam 16.7 Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

3 Commit (roll) thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts (plans) shall be established.

• This literally can read, roll the burden of thy care from thyself upon God in the sense of both total trust (3:5–6) and submission to the will of God (Psa. 22:8; 37:5; 119:133). We roll all of our works unto The Lord in prayer by faith and dependence upon Him, submission and resignation to Him
• Pr 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
• Ps 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
• Php 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

4 ¶ The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Even the wicked will bring glory to God in the day of their judgment and eternal punishment.

• Re 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Job declared in 21.30, the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction.

The wicked would be the vessels of wrath fitted (prepared; NASB;NIV; ripe;Amp) to destruction spoken of in Rom 9.22

Paul identifies the wicked in Scripture as being a title for the antichrist:

• 2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.

Paul also describes the wicked as being demonic powers.

• Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It must be kept in mind that Satan is a created being who was not created wicked. Eze 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

• The Hebrew word for perfect here according to Strongs means this, entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth:--without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), whole.

Of the rest of the angelic order it is written, Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

• These created beings were not created sinless, but they were created without spot until they iniquity was found in them and they sinned against God.
• Where sin came from is what is known in Scripture as the mystery of iniquity.

72 times, the phrase the wicked is used in the Proverbs; each time it is used it is used in contrast to the just or the righteous, and the context of the passage determines what is wicked and what is righteous.

• All of the wicked, angelic or human suffer the consequences of their choices to rebel against God’s authority.
• 2Pe 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.

Who was hell made for?

• Mt 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

5 ¶ Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD (saved or unsaved): though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished (NIV be sure of this, they will not go unpunished).

• The two classic examples given in Scripture of pride are Lucifer in Isa 14 and The Pharisee in Luke 18.
• Pr 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
• 1 Pet 5.5 God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
• Pr 11:21 Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.

6 ¶ By mercy and truth iniquity is purged (atoned for): and by the fear of the LORD men depart (avoid, turn away from) from evil.

• By God’s “mercy and truth,” He affects the “atonement” or covering of sin, which for the believing sinner inclines him to depart from evil.
• In Heb 1.3, we read that Jesus, by Himself purged our sins on the cross and then sat down on the right hand of The Father as our Mediator and Advocate.
• David cried in Psalm 65:3 Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
• No amount of good works on our part can merit forgiveness with God. It is only by His mercy and truth in Christ that iniquity is purged.

Indeed purging in the atoning and redemptive sense is a work that only Christ can perform, but there is a purging that is part of the process of our personal sanctification for which we are responsible.

• 1Co 5:7 ¶ Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

• 2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.2Ti 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

This process of sanctification stems from the fear of The Lord: By the fear of The Lord, man departs from evil:

• Job 28:28 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

7 ¶ When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

• How are we to deal with our enemies? Mt 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
• Ro 12:20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

This general rule does not preclude persecution from some. 2 Tim. 3:12. The intense persecution and even martyrdom of the saints throughout church history is proof that this verse does not mean that if our ways please The Lord, even our enemies will love us. For is we choose to live godly in Christ Jesus, we will suffer persecution.

Exactly how God makes our enemies to be at peace with us and our enemies is one of those passages, along with many others that I simply do not fully understand.

8 ¶ Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues (income) without right (injustice).

• A little gained honestly is better than great revenues gotten by dishonest practices.
• Ps 37:16 A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
• 1Ti 6:6-9 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

9 ¶ A man's heart deviseth (weaves, plots) his way: but the LORD directeth (arranges, orders) his steps.

• Sovereign God overrules the plans of men to fulfill His purposes. See Gen. 50:20; 1 Kin. 12:15; Ps. 119:133; Jer. 10:23; Dan. 5:23–30; 1 Cor. 3:19, 20.
• Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
• I take these verses to mean that you and I, apart from the revelation of God’s Word, are incapable of knowing what it means to be living in harmony with God’s desires. I do not believe that this verse means that if I plot to rob a bank, The Lord will direct my steps to carry out that plan. God does not tempt man to do evil.

·      Ps 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

o   When we find the will of God in Scripture, and like the wise man Jesus speaks of in Matt 7.24-27, we listen and they obey His Word, our steps are being ordered by The Lord. On the other hand, if we read God’s Word and then go off in another direction, doing our own thing, our steps are not being ordered by The Lord.

o   Ga 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

·      If the doctrine of the providence of God paralyzes us from making decisions, we have not properly understood the mystery of providence and human responsibility and the book of Proverbs soundly refutes that notion.

10 ¶ A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

• Except for verse 11, verse 10-15 all speak about the king of the nation. The king in those days possessed absolute rule over every part of the nations.
• The king was under mandate (Deut. 17:18–20) to seek out and speak God’s wisdom

11 ¶ A just (honest) weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.

·      Pr 11:1 ¶ A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

·      Le 19:36 Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.

·      Fairness, uprightness and honesty are God’s way of doing business.

12 ¶ It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.

• FBN-There is but one law for rulers and private persons--righteousness and prosperity, or wickedness and ruin.

13 ¶ Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

• NIV- Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man that speaks the truth. Upright rulers will surround themselves with men of truth.
• Our King, Jesus Christ delights in conversation that is rooted in grace.
• Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
• Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

14 ¶ The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.

·      This points to the king’s power of “life or death,” which can be abused (cf. 1 Sam. 22:16–18; Esth. 7–10; Dan. 2:5) or used for good (cf. 2 Sam. 1:1–16; 4:5–12).

·      The Hebrew word for pacify is kaphar and is the same word that is translated atonement. It is only by the faith in the atonement of Christ that the wrath of God is pacified in our lives.

15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain (a rain cloud in the spring).

• The late spring rain, which matured the crop, fell before the harvest (cf. 2 Sam. 23:3, 4; Ps. 72:6) and is here compared to the king’s power to grace his subjects with encouragement.
• How wonderful it is to walk in the favor of King Jesus! How refreshing to know that His face is shining upon us!

16 ¶ How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!

·      Ps 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.

·      Gaining godly wisdom and understanding about how to live a life pleasing to The Lord is far more valuable than pursuing material things.

17 ¶ The highway of the upright is to depart from (avoids) evil: he that keepeth (guards, protects, maintains) his way preserveth his soul.

·      A plain road represents the habitual course of the righteous in departing from evil. As long as he stays on it, he is safe.

18 ¶ Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

·      Every single time with no exceptions.

19 ¶ Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.

·      The “better” sayings of verses 16 and 19 tells us that God values the pursuit of wisdom over the pursuit of wealth (v. 16) preferring a life of humility along with the poor than the obtaining of spoil with the proud.

·      The proud are those who have plundered the poor.

20 ¶ He that handleth a matter wisely (orders his affairs with discretion) shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy (blessed) is he.

·      Please note that biblical wisdom and faith in The Lord are vital parts of making decisions and are keys to having a blessed life.

·      Psalm 2.12 Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

·      Ps 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

21 ¶ The wise in heart shall be called prudent (discerning): and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.

• Sweetness of the lips. “Honeyed words,” which reflect intelligence, good judgment, and discernment in speech. This refers to eloquent discourse from the wise

22 ¶ Understanding (discretion, prudence) is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.

• Wellspring of life. The advice of the understanding person brings blessing, while the correction offered by a fool is useless. A fool can only communicate folly.

23 ¶ The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.

·      The wise person directs him or her to speak learnedly and wisely.   

24 ¶ Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health (healing) to the bones.

This is most beautifully illustrated by God’s Word.

·      Pr 4:0 ¶ My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. 21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. 22 For they are life unto those that find them, and health (medicene) to all their flesh.

·      Ps 19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

25 ¶ There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

This ties in with what we read in verse 2.

·      Pr 21:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

·      Thus we are reminded to seek to align all of our ways with the Word of God.

26 ¶ He that laboureth laboureth for himself; for his mouth craveth it of him.

·      Our needs compel us to seek ways to meet them. All of this is to be put in light of what other Scriptures teach about trusting in The Lord and the other extreme of being driven by the mighty dollar.

27 ¶ An ungodly man (scoundrel) diggeth up evil: and in his lips there is as a burning fire.

·      This is a classic description of a gossip. They meddle in other peoples affairs. They hear something “juicy” and then spread it around, caring not to know the validity of the story, only seeking to destroy the person talked about and those who are listening to them.

·      On digging up evil Matthew Henry writes these words, “They  dig up evil; they take a great deal of pains to find out something or other on which to ground a slander, or which may give some colour to it. If none appear above ground, rather than want it they will dig for it, by diving into what is secret, or looking a great way back, or by evil suspicions and surmises, and forced innuendos.”

o   Pr 10:18 He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

Tell the story about Matilda….she came to conclusions that were not true based upon appearances alone. A brother who was once an alcoholic came to Christ and joined the church that she attended. All was fine until one night, she saw his van outside of the only bar in town. Since his van was outside the bar, he must be in the bar drinking his head off. Matilda immediately starts telling others that this brother is back to hi old ways….she even approached the brother who simply said that what she thought was happening wasn’t the truth. After scolding him about appearances of evil, they parted their ways. To teach her a lesson, this brother parked his van outside of Matilda’s house one evening and then walked home…..Matilda learned her lesson.

·      The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity.

28 A froward man soweth strife (quarreling, dissension, discord): and a whisperer (talebearer, slanderer) separateth chief friends.

• Living bible paraphrase says, “An evil man who sows strife and gossip separates the best of friends.”
• No person is more abhorred and avoided than the slanderer and whisperer, whose course is marked by the creation of strife and dissension among brethren. FBN
• Pr 15:18 A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
• Pr 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
•  Pr 26:20-22 Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

29 ¶ A violent (cruel, unjust) man enticeth (allures, deceives, flatters) his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

30 He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass.

• These phrases shutting the eyes and moving the lips are references of secret deeds of mischief.

31 ¶ The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

• This calls for the respect of elders. That’s a mighty big if in this verse. Grey hair alone is no sign of righteousness. Grey hair can be biological, it can be due to the effects of sin that cause premature grey….it can be due to worry.
• May each of us age graciously in The Lord beloved, graying in the line of service of The King.

32 ¶ He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty (powerful, warrior);

• Contrary to the many who would say it is good to vent one's anger, Proverbs advocates being slow to anger.
• Slow to anger is an attribute of God that is much needed in the life of His children in our dealings with one another in the body of Christ, the world, our families and ourselves.

and he that ruleth (has dominion) his spirit than he that taketh a city.

• Pr 25:28 ¶ He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.
• A mighty warrior like a Braveheart figure seems to be the strongest man of all, but in reality a man who can control himself is stronger than a he is.

33 ¶ The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.

• The lot was the ancient practice was in deciding doubtful things.
• Jonah 1:7 And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
•  Ac 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
• The old Puritan’s had a saying, “Everything is the wheel of providence, there is no such thing as accident or chance.”
• Casting lots was a way that people sought to know the will of God. This does not imply that people should cast lots to make their decisions today, for there is no such command in any NT letter or in any of Jesus' earthly teachings.