All Articles For Proverbs

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Proverbs 10:12 Is there a great deal of strife in your life? Are there others with whom you are constantly contending and arguing? Do you find that you have a running battle with certain individuals? Perhaps it is a spouse, a family member, a coworker, or a fellow student? The proverb (wise saying) that we consider for this meditation speaks about this kind of strife. It tells us that strife is stirred up by hatred. This hatred and strife are contrasted to love. Love does not stir up strife. Love, rather,...

The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Proverbs 18:10 With this issue we are once again at the beginning of a new year. Many thousands will greet each other with a “Happy New Year.” Many of these will do so thoughtlessly, not realizing the implications of their words. Others may do it out of habit, not caring whether that happiness is realized or not. Some say it with doubt or fear, not knowing whether that happiness will be theirs or not. In all of this there is an element of...

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Proverbs 20:1 Drunkenness has been a problem of major proportion throughout history. It was a problem in Bible times both in the pagan community and in the church. The first recorded incident of drunkenness involved Noah, who walked with God. Drunkenness abounds in our own society and is a terrible scourge. It is a major contributor to failed marriages, broken homes, ruined lives, and early death. The sin of drunkenness is also a problem in today’s church. That brings us to the proverb we...

“Treasures of wickedness profit nothing; but righteousness delivereth from death.” Proverbs 10:2 We live in a materialistic society that seeks the things that are below rather than the things that are above. Material wealth has become the god of our society. As society looks to this god for safety and happiness, it praises and worships this god. It even sacrifices marriage, the home and family to enjoy the blessings of this god. Nor is the church unaffected by this idolatry. The church’s calling is to be in the world but not of the world. Sadly, however, the saints of God, being not...

There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Proverbs 19:21 As another year dawns upon us, many devices will be found within our hearts. Solomon, of course, is not talking about devices of the medical kind, but of the scheming kind. People devise many schemes. Some of them seem almost certain to materialize, while others will almost certainly not do so. Who can tell what will become of our plans? Although the plans of men are uncertain, this coming year holds no uncertainty whatsoever from God’s per­spective. That is because the New...

In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. Proverbs 14:26 Our life is a journey through the valley of the shadow of death. Many evils befall us as we make our way through this dark and treacherous valley. We must deal with loss of loved ones, health issues, financial struggles, wayward family members, and the list goes on and on. This makes the valley of the shadow of death also a valley of tears. In the proverb that we consider for this meditation we are instructed that the Lord’s children have...

In forbidding murder, the Sixth Commandment gives us a lesson in love and its duties. As with all the Commandments, the negative prohibition of the Sixth Commandment implies a positive requirement. And in the case of the Sixth Commandment, that positive requirement is the same as the basic demand of the whole second table of the Law, that we love our neighbor for God’s sake. This Sixth Commandment, however, requires the highest possible expression of that love when it demands that we preserve the life of our neighbor and seek his well-being. We must show this love for our neighbor...

No truth suffers more the attack of man’s natural hatred, enmity and opposition than the truth of election. It has its foes both in the house of its friends and in the doubting castle of those who know the least about it. It is denied both by those formally acquainted with its mysteries, and by others never having made it the object of fair investigation. It is held down in unrighteousness both by the master of Israel and by the hewer of wood or drawer of water. Where evident in the young, it is castigated as youthful dotings in imagined...

Dr. Eldersveld is a member of the Southeast Protestant Reformed Church. Train up a child in the way that he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6 Our Christian schools are a most precious heritage. Their preservation depends on God’s grace and our obedience to God’s demand that we educate our children in His fear. This is accomplished by our diligent use of the means that God provides, while we heed the sometimes subtle evidence that Satan is at work to destroy our schools. In late 1988, the Board of Hope Protestant...

The Radio Committee rendered a program Feb. 12 which was a “Progress Report of 1959.” The Committee president, Mr. George Yonker Sr. led in opening prayer, and then introduced the master of ceremonies, Mr. Charles Kregel, who introduced the various participants in the order of the program. Rev. R. Veldman, chairman of the Mission Committee told of the cooperation between his committee and that of the Radio; and. of the new station in the Virgin Islands, the latest venture of the Mission Committee.