One Verse at a Time

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:20, “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.” Words or righteousness should be treasured. Words of wickedness should be thrown away. We need help to speak according to righteousness, and we need help to discern words that don’t have any value.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:19, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” The more we speak recklessly, the greater the chance for sin. Instead, we need to have the reigns over our tongues and speak the right words at the right times. Lord, help us.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:18, “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool.” We should speak truth in love instead of covering up hatred. We need wisdom to do this without sinning ourselves. We also need grace to speak slowly without slander of others.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:17, “Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life, but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.” We want to be people who find life by listening to the Scripture’s instructions and wise mentors’ instructions. We also want to avoid the pathway of wandering about and being led astray, so we should learn to love and appreciate reproof.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:16, “The wage of the righteous leads to life, the gain of the wicked to sin.” This verse almost exactly parallels Romans 6:23, and in it we see an important truth: in this life the righteous will have more life than the wicked, but the ultimate fulfillment of this Proverbs is that sin will lead to death, but faith in Christ’s righteousness will lead to eternal life forevermore. May God help us to trust in that truth more and more each day.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:15, “A rich man’s wealth is his strong city; the poverty of the poor is their ruin.” Some moderate form of wealth brings us security in the face of life’s trials. May God give us grace to work hard for this wealth, the joy to praise God for it, and compassion on those working hard and not having it. Would we also not trust in those riches but instead trust in the one who gives them—namely, God.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:14, “The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.” The heart is a storehouse of knowledge from which wisdom overflows. Those who lack this firm foundation speech foolishly and bring ruin to themselves and others. We ask for God to give us dispositions valuing wisdom and thus speech which builds up and does not tear down.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:13, “On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found, but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.” Wisdom is found on the lips and stored in the heart. We ask for God to discipline us into a state of having a heart stored up with wisdom.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:12, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” Words of hate cause quarrels, but words of love can heal wounds in ourselves and others. May God give us grace to love and not hate, while all the while standing for truth.

This episode looks at Proverbs 10:11, “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.” We ask God to do a work in our hearts so that they overflow life-giving words and not words that lead to death. We also want to intake words that will help our hearts to overflow with well-timed words according to the need of the situation.