Proverbs 14:26 Study Bible: In the fear of the LORD is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.

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◄ Proverbs 14:26 ►

He who fears the LORD is secure in confidence, and his children shall have a place of refuge.

He who fears the LORD
The phrase "fears the LORD" is central to the wisdom literature of the Bible, particularly in Proverbs. The Hebrew word for "fear" is "yirah," which encompasses reverence, awe, and respect. This fear is not about being afraid but about recognizing God's majesty and authority. In a conservative Christian perspective, fearing the LORD is foundational to a life of faith and obedience. It is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and signifies a deep, abiding relationship with God, characterized by trust and submission to His will.

is secure in confidence
The Hebrew root for "secure" is "mibtach," which implies a sense of safety and assurance. This security is not based on human strength or understanding but on the steadfastness of God's character and promises. "Confidence" here is not self-confidence but a trust that is firmly placed in the LORD. Historically, this reflects the ancient Near Eastern understanding of God as a fortress and protector. For believers, this confidence is a spiritual assurance that transcends circumstances, rooted in the faithfulness of God.

and his children
The mention of "children" highlights the generational impact of a life lived in the fear of the LORD. In the Hebrew culture, family and lineage were of utmost importance. The righteous life of a parent, particularly one who fears the LORD, sets a spiritual legacy for their offspring. This reflects the biblical principle that the blessings of a godly life extend beyond the individual to their descendants, emphasizing the communal and familial nature of faith.

shall have a place of refuge
The term "refuge" in Hebrew is "machseh," which denotes a shelter or protection from danger. In the ancient world, cities of refuge were places where individuals could find safety from avengers. Spiritually, this refuge is found in God Himself, who provides protection and peace. For the children of those who fear the LORD, this promise of refuge is both physical and spiritual, offering a safe haven in the trials of life. It underscores the protective and providential care of God over His people, assuring them of His presence and security.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The covenant name of God, emphasizing His eternal, self-existent nature and His relationship with His people.

2. The Fear of the LORD
A reverential awe and respect for God, acknowledging His power, holiness, and authority.

3. The Righteous Man
The individual who fears the LORD and lives according to His commandments.

4. Children of the Righteous
The offspring of those who fear the LORD, who benefit from their parent's faith and obedience.

5. Place of Refuge
A metaphorical place of safety and protection provided by God for those who trust in Him.

Teaching Points

The Foundation of Security
The fear of the LORD is the foundation of true security. It is not merely an emotional response but a lifestyle of obedience and trust in God.

Generational Blessings
The righteous influence of a God-fearing parent extends to their children, providing them with spiritual and emotional refuge.

The Role of Reverence
Reverence for God leads to confidence. This confidence is not in oneself but in the steadfastness and faithfulness of God.

Building a Spiritual Legacy
Parents are encouraged to instill the fear of the LORD in their children, ensuring they have a spiritual refuge throughout their lives.

The Assurance of Protection
Trusting in God provides a refuge not only for the individual but also for their family, highlighting the communal aspect of faith.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the fear of the LORD provide security and confidence in your daily life?

2. In what ways can you create a "place of refuge" for your children or those you mentor?

3. How does the concept of generational blessings influence your approach to family and community?

4. What practical steps can you take to deepen your reverence for God and instill it in others?

5. How do other scriptures reinforce the idea of God as a refuge, and how can these insights be applied to current challenges you face?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Proverbs 1:7
This verse introduces the concept of the fear of the LORD as the beginning of knowledge, establishing a foundation for understanding and wisdom.

Psalm 91:1-2
These verses describe the security and refuge found in God, similar to the refuge mentioned in Proverbs 14:26.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7
This passage emphasizes the importance of teaching children about the LORD, which aligns with the idea of providing a place of refuge for them.

Psalm 112:1-2
These verses highlight the blessings and security that come to the children of those who fear the LORD.

Isaiah 33:6
This verse speaks of the stability and salvation that come from fearing the LORD, reinforcing the theme of security.

Sermons

Fear a Confidence	W. Arnot.	Proverbs 14:26
Godliness, Safety, and Life	D. Thomas, D.D.	Proverbs 14:26
Godly Fear and its Goodly Consequence		Proverbs 14:26
Godly Fear and its Goodly Consequence	C.H. Spurgeon	Proverbs 14:26
Strong Confidence	S. Martin, M.A.	Proverbs 14:26
The Advantages of Religious Principle		Proverbs 14:26
The Children's Place of Refuge	W. J. Woods, B.A.	Proverbs 14:26
The Fear of the Lord and its Advantages	James Parsons.	Proverbs 14:26
Causes and Effects	E. Johnson	Proverbs 14:20-27

People

Solomon

Places

Jerusalem

Topics

Confidence, Fear, Fortress, Heart, Hope, Refuge, Safe, Secure, Sons, Strong

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Proverbs 14:26

     5292   defence, divine
     5315   fortifications
     5316   fortress
     5890   insecurity
     6611   adoption, privileges and duties
     8215   confidence, results

Proverbs 14:26-27

8335 reverence, and blessing

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 Iscariot

Hollow 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

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