SIH’s Think On These Things: Proverbs 14:10-14

He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)

 

The Pursuit Of The Wise: Absolute Peace Proverbs 14:10-14

10) The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
11) The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
12) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.
13) Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth [is] heaviness.
14) The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man [shall be satisfied] from himself.

EXPOSITION:

In this text, we find that wise people will seek to absolute security that is only found in our Lord and Savior.

10) The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
1.  No man can recognize with certainty the spiritual disposition of others.  It is only one’s own mind and set of desires for his life that one can recognize when his life is unfulfilling and filled with dissatisfaction and emptiness.
2.  Likewise, others cannot share in our experiences and emotions.  They can only observe them from a distance.

This principle applies to our peace with God.  Our spiritual condition is a personal issue between us and the Lord.   Our actual condition before God can only be known by our own heart and the Spirit’s witness within us.  Although our outward fruits that are borne are an indication of our spiritual condition, no other person can know with certainty our standing before the Lord.

“Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!  For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.  For the arrows of the Almighty [are] within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.”  (Job 6:2-4)

 “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls.”   (1 Peter 1:8-9)

 11) The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.
1.  Those who remain in their sinful condition will be overtaken and brought to desolation.
2.  In comparison, those who are aligned with God’s desires, through repentance of sin and submission to His Lordship, will be blessed in his life and peace knowing he is right with the Lord.

True peace and security comes from a certainty of our right standing before the Lord.  This certainty comes into being based upon the witness of our human spirit and the Holy Spirit that is within us.

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.   And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”   (Matthew 7:24-27)

12) There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof [are] the ways of death.
When the human spirit is left without the Lord’s intervention, it can mislead us to follow the well-trodden path of the world.  In our spirit it appears to be the path that leads to happiness and contentment but, in actuality, it is the path that leads to continued spiritual death (separation from the Lord due to our sin) and coming eternal death (permanent separation from the Lord in the Lake of Fire due to our sin).

This proverb helps us to understand our desperate need of the gracious intervention of Christ to obtain peace with God.   Through the Holy Spirit’s workings, the Lord can open our spiritual eyes and show us the true way that leads to salvation.  Without His intervention, we are like a blind man unable to find what he so desperately needs.

“Enter ye in by the narrow gate, because wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many are they who enter through it.  How narrow is the gate, and restricted the way, that leads to life, and few are those who find it.”   (Matthew 7:13-14)

13) Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth [is] heaviness.
1. There are many lost men who outwardly appear happy and content, while being empty and miserable within.
2.  Without Christ, it makes no difference what hypocritical joy we may display outwardly; within, we only find emptiness which will result in a burdensome misery of our spirit.

The lack of a personal relationship with Christ guarantees an emptiness and misery of the inward man.  Despite outward displays of joy and happiness, the lost man only experiences a void and unfulfilled longing within.  This is why a wise man will seek out a relationship with the only source of genuine fulfillment, peace and joy …. The Lord Jesus Christ.

“Be ye sorrowful, and mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into a downcast look.”   (James 4:9)

14) The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man [shall be satisfied] from himself.
1.  Those who mentally receive the Word of God in their minds (without the Holy Spirit applying it to their hearts) when they willfully choose to turn back to their own ways will receive their deserved punishment for their wicked deeds.

Note:  These men did not “lose their salvation” for they never had it to begin with.  They simply mentally assented to the truth of God’s Word, and hypocritically reformed their outward actions.  However, over time, because they were never experience a Godly change within turned back to their old ways proving they were never saved to start with.  A hypocritical “acceptance” of the truth of God’s Word never releases a man from the judgment of God.

“For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known [it], to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.  But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog [is] turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”   (2 Peter 2:21-22)

Why does the dog return his vomit and the sow return to the mire?  Because they were never changed within… they are still a dog and a sow.

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”  (1 John 2:19)

What does it show us when a person willfully departs from the truth that he once claimed to believe?  It shows us that they were never really a part of God’s kingdom, family and fellow servants of Christ.

2.  A man who is genuinely saved and serving Christ will find, satisfaction, peace and contentment as he lives life on earth.  In spite of hardships and trials that he might face, he knows that his relationship with the Lord has secured for him eternal peace, security and a life with meaning and purpose.

“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.”   (Galatians 6:8)

SUMMARY:

In this text we have seen some very important principles in a search for genuine peace and security:
1.  Our spiritual condition is an issue between us and God alone.  NO man can, with certainty, see the spiritual condition of the heart
2.  Without repentance of sin and submission to His Lordship, we are destined for an empty life and separation from the Lord
3.  To gain peace and security we are in desperate need of the gracious intervention of Christ.  We cannot gain peace of our own effort or merit.
4.  The lack of a personal relationship with Christ guarantees an emptiness and misery of the inward man.
5.   Those who mentally receive the Word of God in their minds (without the Holy Spirit applying it to their hearts) when they willfully choose to turn back to their own ways will receive their deserved punishment for their wicked deeds.
6.  A man who is genuinely saved and serving Christ will find genuine, lasting satisfaction, peace and contentment as he lives life on earth.

By God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value that they deserve.

May the Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.

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