PROVERBS 27


1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

Go to now,‭ ‬ye that say,‭ ‬To day or to morrow we will go into such a city,‭ ‬and continue there a year,‭ ‬and buy and sell,‭ ‬and get gain:‭ ‬ Whereas ye know not what‭ ‬shall‭ ‬be on the morrow.‭ ‬For what‭ ‬is your life‭? ‬It is even a vapour,‭ ‬that appeareth for a little time,‭ ‬and then vanisheth away.‭ ‬ For that ye‭ ‬ought to say,‭ ‬If the Lord will,‭ ‬we shall live,‭ ‬and do this,‭ ‬or that.

(Jms 4: 13-16)


3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.


2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.

Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king,

And stand not in the place of great men:

For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither;

Than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince

Whom thine eyes have seen. (25: 6-7)

If we do not set a spiritual guard upon our lips, we shall find that much of our conversation is subtly flavoured with the element of self-praise, self-commendation, and self-glory.

We instinctively seek to impress others. If not by direct boasting, then by little casual hints and references, we try to make sure others get to know all the "good" or "clever" things we have done.

Bro Growcott - BYT 1.4.


3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both.



4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

The envious man is in pain on all occasions which ought to give him pleasure. The relish of his life is inverted; and the objects which administer the highest satisfaction to those who are exempt from this passion, give the quickest pangs to persons who are subject to it.

Bro Thomas



Paul the apostle identified envy as a problem among the Corinthians.

"There is among you envying and strife and contention" (1 Cor. 3:3).

Envy was at the bottom of it, as it often is. The Scriptures have much to say about envy. It is the inevitable weed that grows in ground barren of love. It feeds on self-pity. It is the

most despicable and malicious of all the corruptions of the human mind.

...Elsewhere (Prov. 14), it is called cancerous rottenness of the bones. Envy displays itself in many ways. It is the reaction of the wicked to the righteous, seizing upon small points of mean criticism. It was for envy, we are told, that the Jews hated the perfect man and delivered him to be crucified. Are we so free from these things that we need not be concerned abut them? James asks (4:5)-

"Do ye think that the Scripture saith in VAIN, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?"

This warning is meant for all. It is a warning against the natural reactions of the natural mind, which seem so good and right to the mind that conceives them. That mind, of course, does not recognize or admit these things as envy. But we are clearly warned that unless we humbly seek to be taught of God, we have no hope of even knowing what is right, much less performing it.

"Love," says Paul, "envieth not" . Either we choose this course, or we don't.

Bro Growcott - Ye are full



"Envy is an evil affection of the heart, which makes men grieve and fret at the good and prosperity of others.

Joseph was envied of his brethren, because his father loved him. The Jews envied Paul and Barnabas because they preached Christ.

Envy at the good of others, and malice, wishing them evil, is a deep pollution of spirit. This absolutely alienates men from the nature and life of God; for the Deity is good, and doth good.

It is contrary to natural conscience, and turns a man into a devil. This vice is immediately attended with its punishment. The envious man is his own tormentor. Envy slayeth the silly one. Envy is the rottenness of the bones. Besides, this stops the descent of divine blessings, and turns the petitions of the envious into imprecations against themselves."—Selected.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Mar 1861



5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.

9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.



10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off.

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly:

And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. (18:24)



11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, that I may answer him that reproacheth me.

12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman.

14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him.

15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.

16 Whosoever hideth her hideth the wind, and the ointment of his right hand, which bewrayeth itself.

17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

18 Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

19 As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.

20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

21 As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him.

23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

24 For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

25 The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

27 And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens.