Page 888 - The MacArthur Daily Bible
P. 888

TN_08_MacArthur_Bible_Aug.qxd  8/8/03  16:21  Page 869







                                                                                      AUGUST 30
                      4  If the spirit of the ruler rises against  And your princes feast at the proper
                           you,                                   time—
                        Do not leave your post;                For strength and not for drunkenness!
                        For conciliation pacifies great offenses.  18  Because of laziness the building decays,
                                                               And through idleness of hands the
                        There is an evil I have seen under the    house leaks.
                      5
                           sun,
                                                            19  A feast is made for laughter,
                        As an error proceeding from the ruler:
                      6  Folly is set in great dignity,        And wine makes merry;
                        While the rich sit in a lowly place.   But money answers everything.
                      7  I have seen servants on horses,    20  Do not curse the king, even in your
                        While princes walk on the ground like     thought;
                           servants.                           Do not curse the rich, even in your
                                                                  bedroom;
                        He who digs a pit will fall into it,
                      8
                        And whoever breaks through a wall      For a bird of the air may carry your
                                                                  voice,
                           will be bitten by a serpent.
                      9  He who quarries stones may be hurt    And a bird in flight may tell the matter.
                           by them,                       Psalm 103:6–14
                        And he who splits wood may be
                                                          6    The LORD executes righteousness
                           endangered by it.
                     10  If the ax is dull,               7    And justice for all who are oppressed.
                        And one does not sharpen the edge,     He made known His ways to Moses,
                                                               His acts to the children of Israel.
                        Then he must use more strength;   8    The LORD is merciful and gracious,
                        But wisdom brings success.
                                                               Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
                                                               He will not always strive with us,
                                                          9
                                                               Nor will He keep His anger forever.
                                                               He has not dealt with us according to
                                                          10
                     10:10 wisdom brings success. A little wis-   our sins,
                     dom will ease the efforts of life. Even though  Nor punished us according to our
                     life’s experiences often don’t turn out the way  iniquities.
                     one would have hoped,wise living usually pro-
                     duces a good outcome.This is a very important  11  For as the heavens are high above the
                     conclusion for Solomon’s testing of wisdom.  earth,
                                                               So great is His mercy toward those
                                                                  who fear Him;
                        A serpent may bite when it is not
                     11
                                                          12   As far as the east is from the west,
                           charmed;
                        The babbler is no different.           So far has He removed our
                     12  The words of a wise man’s mouth are      transgressions from us.
                                                          13   As a father pities his children,
                           gracious,
                        But the lips of a fool shall swallow him  14  So the LORD pities those who fear Him.
                                                               For He knows our frame;
                           up;
                     13                                        He remembers that we are dust.
                        The words of his mouth begin with
                           foolishness,                   Proverbs 24:10–12
                        And the end of his talk is raving   10
                           madness.                            If you faint in the day of adversity,
                     14  A fool also multiplies words.         Your strength is small.
                        No man knows what is to be;         11  Deliver those who are drawn toward
                        Who can tell him what will be after       death,
                           him?                                And hold back those stumbling to the
                     15  The labor of fools wearies them,         slaughter.
                        For they do not even know how to go  12  If you say, “Surely we did not know
                           to the city!                           this,”
                                                               Does not He who weighs the hearts
                     16  Woe to you, O land, when your king is    consider it?
                           a child,                            He who keeps your soul, does He not
                        And your princes feast in the morning!    know it?
                     17  Blessed are you, O land, when your    And will He not render to each man
                           king is the son of nobles,             according to his deeds?
                                                       869
   883   884   885   886   887   888   889   890   891   892   893