A tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Sermons
I. IN PUBLIC LIFE. 1. Fulness and scantiness of population. (Ver. 28.) The Hebrew had a deep sense of the value of fruitfulness in the wedded life, and of increase in the nation. The majesty of the monarch is the reflection of the greatness of his people, and the decay must represent itself in his feebleness for action. It is our duty as Christian men to study with intelligence political questions, and to support all measures which tend to freedom of commerce and abundance of food. 2. National exaltation and shame. (Ver. 34.) The common ideas of national glory and shame are false. There is no glory in victory over feeble foes, no shame in seeking peace in the interests of humanity. Too often these popular ideas of glory represent the bully and the coward in the nation, rather than its wisdom and honour. There is no other real secret of a nation's exaltation than, in the widest sense, its right dealing, and no other shame for a nation than its vices - such as drunkenness, selfishness, lust for territory. Could Englishmen see the national character in the light in which it often appears to foreigners, it would be a humbling view. 3. Royal favour or disfavour is an index of worth. (Ver. 35.) Not, of course, the only or the truest index; and yet how seldom it happens that a man rises to high position in the service of his sovereign and country without eminent worth of some description or other! Here, again, moral law is exemplified. There is nothing accidental. If it be mere prudence which gains promotion, still prudence is of immense value to the state, and moral law is confirmed by its advancement. II. IN PRIVATE LIFE. 1. Patience and haste of temper. (Ver. 29.) They are branded respectively with the mark of sense and of folly. "The Scripture exhorteth us to possess our souls in patience; whosoever is out of patience is out of possession of his soul." 2. The calm and the seething heart. (Ver. 30.) The first member seems more correctly rendered, "life of the body is a gentle or tranquil mind." Zeal, on the other hand, or envy, is a constant ferment within the soul. Men's minds must either feed upon their own good or others' evil. Inquisitive people are commonly envious; it is a "gadding passion," and an old proverb says that "Envy keeps no holidays." Lord Bacon says it is the vilest passion and the most depraved. Christian humility and love can only sweeten the heart, and dilute or wash away its natural bitterness 3. The violent death and the peaceful end. (Ver. 32.) A sudden death was viewed as a visitation from God (Psalm 36:13; 62:4). It was thought that the wicked could hardly come to any other end. But the righteous has confidence in his death. Considering the great silence of the Old Testament on the future life, it can hardly be honest exegesis to force the meaning of hope of a future life into this passage. Nor is it necessary. It is the consciousness that all is well, the soul being in God's hands, that the future may be left with him who has revealed himself in the past, which sheds peace into the dying soul. 4. Silent wisdom and noisy pretence. (Ver. 33.) The still and quiet wisdom of the sensible man (Proverbs 10:14; Proverbs 12:16, 23) is contrasted with the eager and noisy utterances of what the fool supposes to be wisdom, but in reality is the exposure of his folly. "There is no decaying merchant or inward beggar hath so many tricks to uphold the credit of their wealth as those empty persons have to maintain the credit of their sufficiency." Wisdom and piety are felt and fragrant, like the violet in the hedge, from humble places and silent lives, Let us aim to be, not to seem. - J. A sound heart is the life of the flesh. A "sound heart" is a heart that gives its supreme affection to the supremely good. All other hearts are more or less rotten. Such a heart, the text informs us, is the condition of physical health; it is the very "life of the flesh." True, science can demonstrate this fact in many ways. Physical health requires attention to certain laws; these laws to be attended to must be understood; the understanding of these laws requires study; the proper study of them is only insured by a supreme sympathy of heart with the law-giver. Every man's experience, as well as science, attests this fact. The influence of the emotions of the heart upon the state of the body even the dullest recognises. The passions of grief, disappointment, anger, jealousy and revenge, in proportion to their strength derange the bodily system. On the other hand, pleasurable emotions give buoyancy and vigour to the body. I. THAT A MAN'S BODILY HEALTH, WHERE THE ORGANISATION IS NORMALLY GOOD, IS VERY MUCH IN HIS OWN HANDS. Heaven has given us the means and the motives to cultivate happy conditions of the heart. "Keep thy heart with all diligence." We infer from this fact — II. THAT CHRISTIANITY IS AN INDISPENSABLE AGENT IN REMOVING MAN'S PHYSICAL DISEASES. III. THAT MEDICAL SCIENCE WILL ALWAYS BE INEFFECTIVE UNTIL IT PRACTICALLY CONCERNS ITSELF WITH THE MORAL DISEASES AND CURES OF THE MIND. The medical practitioner should know —(1) That it is unscientific to ignore the fact that moral evil is the source of all physical evil, and —(2) That it is unscientific to ignore the fact that there is no agent to remove moral evil but Christianity. We infer — IV. THAT AS THE TRUE MORALITY OF THE WORLD ADVANCES, THE PHYSICAL HEALTH OF THE WORLD WILL IMPROVE. A drainage to carry away all the foul passions of the heart is the desideratum. The man who is most successful in his efforts, through Christianity, to promote a moral renovation of hearts is the greatest philanthropist. () But envy is the rottenness of the bones All the laws of nature, as far as they comprehend the duties we owe to one another, may be reduced to this one great principle of universal benevolence, viz., that we lay it down as the fixed and fundamental rule of all our actions, to do all manner of good, and to abstain from all manner of evil. The motives to this conduct, besides the beauty and agreeableness of it, are these — 1. That all mankind in reality consult their own interest best, when they contribute to the good of the whole. 2. That there is an intrinsic pleasure resulting from the practice of virtue. 3. That it recommends us to the love and esteem of all mankind. Anguish of heart, hatred, disesteem, and insecurity, are the natural rewards of iniquity, even in this world. This is nowhere more conspicuous than in the passion of vice and envy. A "sound heart," is literally a heart of lenity or medicine. "Envy" is a leaven that sours and corrupts, sets all the humours upon the fret, and is the bane of all that is good and beautiful and desirable in life. I. THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF ENVY; AND WHO ARE THEY THAT ARE MOST SUBJECT TO IT. Envy is a pain or uneasiness, arising from an apprehension of the prosperity and good fortune of others; not because we suffer for their welfare, but merely because their condition is bettered. There is a strong jealousy of preeminence and superiority implanted in our nature by Almighty God, for wise and noble purposes. When this principle takes root in a good mind, it is called emulation. But when this principle meets with an evil, corrupt disposition, it degenerates into envy, the most malignant and hateful passion in human nature, the worst weed of the worst soil. This passion affects us chiefly in relation to our equals. If we find we have equalled or exceeded those of like birth, the natural consequence is joy and complacency; but if we are exceeded by them, emulation or envy. The persons most subject to envy are the covetous; men of little or mean spirits; men of extraordinary endowments and abilities, who cannot bear a rival; proud men; and old men. II. THE SYMPTOMS BY WHICH ENVY MAY BE KNOWN. 1. When we find ourselves averse from doing a person good offices. 2. When we are pleased with the evil of others. 3. When we manifest a censorious disposition; silencing the good actions of others, or exposing the bad. 4. When we have a discontented, querulous, and quarrelsome disposition. III. THE ILL EFFECTS OF ENVY. 1. To the envious person it is "rottenness in his bones." It wastes the body, and keeps the mind in a ferment. It kills our quiet and our virtue also. 2. It exposes a man to the just hatred and aversion of all mankind; and spreads its malignant influence wherever it comes. IV. THE BEST REMEDIES FOR THE CURE OF THIS PERNICIOUS PASSION. 1. Settle our opinion of things, and endeavour to take a right estimate of them, according to the law of God. 2. Make a right judgment of our own worth and abilities. 3. Reflect seriously upon the vanity and insignificancy of all worldly advantages. 4. Think of God, who takes pleasure in the happiness of all His creatures. () People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Body, Bones, Disease, Envy, Flesh, Gives, Healed, Heart, Makes, Mind, Passion, Peace, Quiet, Rot, Rots, Rottenness, TranquilOutline 1. A wise woman builds her house
Dictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 14:30 5014 heart, human
5136 body
5137 bones
6705 peace, experience
8733 envy
8735 evil, origins of
8773 jealousy Library A Startling Statement
TEXT: "The wicked shall not be unpunished."--Prov. 11:21. There are very many passages of Scripture which ought to be read in connection with this text; as for example, "Fools make a mock at sin" (Proverbs 14:9), for only a fool would. Better trifle with the pestilence and expose one's self to the plague than to discount the blighting effects of sin. And, again, "The soul that sinneth it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:4). From this clear statement of the word of God there is no escape. Or, again, "Our …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas IscariotHollow Laughter, Solid Joy
'Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness.'--PROVERBS xiv. 13. 'These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be fulfilled.'--JOHN xv. 11 (R.V.). A poet, who used to be more fashionable than he is now, pronounces 'happiness' to be our being's end and aim. That is not true, except under great limitations and with many explanations. It may be regarded as God's end, but it is ruinous to make it man's aim. It is by no means …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Satisfied from Self
'... A good man shall be satisfied from himself.'--PROVERBS xiv. 14. At first sight this saying strikes one as somewhat unlike the ordinary Scripture tone, and savouring rather of a Stoical self-complacency; but we recall parallel sayings, such as Christ's words, 'The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water'; and the Apostle's, 'Then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone.' We further note that the text has an antithetic parallel in the preceding clause, where the picture is …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Sin the Mocker
'Fools make a mock at sin; but among the righteous there is favour.'--Proverbs xiv, 9. The wisdom of this Book of Proverbs is not simply intellectual, but it has its roots in reverence and obedience to God, and for its accompaniment, righteousness. The wise man is the good man, and the good man is the godly man. And as is wisdom, so its opposite, folly, is not only intellectual feebleness--the bad man is a fool, and the godless is a bad man. The greatest amount of brain-power cultivated to the highest …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture How a Man's Conduct Comes Home to Him
A sermon (No. 1235) delivered on Lord's Day Morning, May 16th, 1875, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself."--Proverbs 14:14. A common principle is here laid down and declared to be equally true in reference to two characters, who in other respects are a contrast. Men are affected by the course which they pursue; for good or bad, their own conduct comes home to them. …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs Godly Fear and Its Goodly Consequence
A sermon (No. 1290) delivered at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, by C. H. Spurgeon. "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge."--Proverbs 14:26. In the Book of Proverbs you meet with sentences of pithy wisdom, which to all appearance belong entirely to this world, and pertain to the economy of the life that now is. I do not know whether it is true, but it was said that years ago our friends in Scotland had a little book widely circulated …
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs "Boast not Thyself of to Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." As man is naturally given to boasting and gloriation in something (for the heart cannot want some object to rest upon and take complacency in, it is framed with such a capacity of employing other things), so there is a strong inclination in man towards the time to come, he hath an immortal appetite, and an appetite of immortality; and therefore his desires usually stretch farther than the present …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Work
(Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity.) Proverbs xiv. 23. In all labour there is profit. I fear there are more lessons in the Book of Proverbs than most of us care to learn. There is a lesson in every verse of it, and a shrewd one. Certain I am, that for a practical, business man, who has to do his duty and to make his way in this world, there is no guide so safe as these same Proverbs of Solomon. In this world, I say; for they say little about the world to come. Their doctrine is, that what …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons The Backslider in Heart.
Text.--The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways.--Prov. xiv. 14. I CANNOT conclude this course of lectures, without warning converts against backsliding. In discussing this subject, I will state, I. What backsliding in heart is not. II. What backsliding in heart is. III. What are evidences of backsliding in heart. IV. Show what are consequences of backsliding in heart. V. How to recover from this state. I. What backsliding in heart is not. 1. It does not consist in the subsidence …
Charles Grandison Finney—Lectures on Revivals of Religion Have Read the Letter which You in Your Wisdom have Written Me. You Inveigh against Me
I have read the letter which you in your wisdom have written me. You inveigh against me, and, though you once praised me and called me true partner and brother, you now write books to summon me to reply to the charges with which you terrify me. I see that in you are fulfilled the words of Solomon: "In the mouth of the foolish is the rod of contumely," and "A fool receives not the words of prudence, unless you say what is passing in his heart;" and the words of Isaiah: "The fool will speak folly, …
Various—Life and Works of Rufinus with Jerome's Apology Against Rufinus. Epistle Lxix. To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks.
To Brunichild, Queen of the Franks. Gregory to Brunichild, &c. Since it is written, Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin maketh peoples miserable (Prov. xiv. 34), a kingdom is then believed to be stable when a fault that is known of is quickly amended. Now it has come to our ears by the report of many, what we cannot mention without exceeding affliction of heart, that certain priests in those parts live so immodestly and wickedly that it is a shame for us to hear of it and lamentable to tell …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Epistle xxx. To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Bishop of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. Our common son, the bearer of these presents, when he brought the letters of your Holiness found me sick, and has left me sick; whence it has ensued that the scanty water of my brief epistle has been hardly able to exude to the large fountain of your Blessedness. But it was a heavenly boon that, while in a state of bodily pain, I received the letter of your Holiness to lift me up with joy for the instruction of the heretics of the city …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great The Intercession of Christ
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us! T he Redemption of the soul is precious. Fools make mock of sin (Proverbs 14:9) . But they will not think lightly of it, who duly consider the majesty, authority, and goodness of Him, against whom it is committed; and who are taught, by what God actually has done, what sin rendered necessary to be done, before a sinner could have a well-grounded …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Epistle Xlii. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. We return great thanks to Almighty God, that in the mouth of the heart a sweet savour of charity is experienced, when that which is written is fulfilled, As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). For I had previously been greatly disturbed by a letter from Boniface the Chartularius, my responsalis, who dwells in the royal city, saying that your to me most sweet and pleasant Holiness had suffered …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great How the Kindly-Disposed and the Envious are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 11.) Differently to be admonished are the kindly-disposed and the envious. For the kindly-disposed are to be admonished so to rejoice in what is good in others as to desire to have the like as their own; so to praise with affection the deeds of their neighbours as also to multiply them by imitation, lest in this stadium of the present life they assist at the contest of others as eager backers, but inert spectators, and remain without a prize after the contest, in that they toiled not …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great A Believer's Privilege at Death
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Hope is a Christian's anchor, which he casts within the veil. Rejoicing in hope.' Rom 12:12. A Christian's hope is not in this life, but he hash hope in his death.' Prov 14:42. The best of a saint's comfort begins when his life ends; but the wicked have all their heaven here. Woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.' Luke 6:64. You may make your acquittance, and write Received in full payment.' Son, remember that …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity "And These Things Write we unto You, that Your Joy May be Full. "
1 John i. 4.--"And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." All motions tend to rest and quietness. We see it daily in the motions below, and we believe it also of the circular revolutions of the heavens above, that there is a day coming in which they shall cease, as having performed all they were appointed for. And as it is in things natural, so it is in things rational in a more eminent way. Their desires, affections, and actions, which are the motions and stretches of the soul …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Spiritual Hunger Shall be Satisfied
They shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 I proceed now to the second part of the text. A promise annexed. They shall be filled'. A Christian fighting with sin is not like one that beats the air' (1 Corinthians 9:26), and his hungering after righteousness is not like one that sucks in only air, Blessed are they that hunger, for they shall be filled.' Those that hunger after righteousness shall be filled. God never bids us seek him in vain' (Isaiah 45:19). Here is an honeycomb dropping into the mouths of …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 The Royal Marriage Feast.
PART I.--THE WEDDING GUESTS. "And Jesus answered, and spake unto them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord "Now the God of Hope Fill You with all Joy and Peace in Believing," &C.
Rom. xv. 13.--"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," &c. It is usual for the Lord in his word to turn his precepts unto promises, which shows us, that the commandments of God do not so much import an ability in us, or suppose strength to fulfil them, as declare that obligation which lies upon us, and his purpose and intention to accomplish in some, what he requires of all: and therefore we should accordingly convert all his precepts unto prayers, seeing he hath made …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning How Christ is the Way in General, "I am the Way. "
We come now to speak more particularly to the words; and, first, Of his being a way. Our design being to point at the way of use-making of Christ in all our necessities, straits, and difficulties which are in our way to heaven; and particularly to point out the way how believers should make use of Christ in all their particular exigencies; and so live by faith in him, walk in him, grow up in him, advance and march forward toward glory in him. It will not be amiss to speak of this fulness of Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life Links Proverbs 14:30 NIV
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