"Alas! We have known many such troubles and we have no great
hope that either this or any other appeal will do much good. There are men who
will agitate until they swamp the boat rather than have the sails set in any way
other than their own. There are many occasions in life when 'it is an honour for
a man to cease from strife', but this is an honour to which many men do not
aspire" (PrPr). See Lesson, Prov and strife.
Pro 20:6
MANY A MAN CLAIMS TO HAVE UNFAILING LOVE, BUT A FAITHFUL
MAN WHO CAN FIND?: "Our words are the first things people hear. They can be
the fastest way to judge a character, but it can also be one of the most
inaccurate. What we may say about ourselves will only be confirmed by the way we
act. We will be found out to either be true to our word or liars. Do we claim to
have unfailing love for our God, our husbands, wives or families? Test yourself
and look at your actions as another person would look at them, or better still,
as God sees you. Are we sometimes unfaithful even in small ways?" (RP).
Pro 20:8
HE WINNOWS OUT ALL EVIL WITH HIS EYES: Christ with the
woman taken in adultery (Joh 8).
Pro 20:12
"Who has made man's mouth?" (Exo 4:10).
Pro 20:14
"Having mentioned such a buyer [who showed little enthusiasm
when seeking to purchase the article] we may observe his methods and then follow
him home. He has not said much during the negotiations and all that he has said
has been to depreciate the value of the thing offered. It is a poor beast and he
is not at all anxious to buy. When the sale is effected, however, and he goes
home with his purchase, it is quite probable that his tone will change
completely. It was the best animal in the market and he only gave such a figure
for it! Just as Solomon observed three thousand years ago. 'It is nought, it is
nought, saith the buyer, but when he has gone his way then he boasteth' [AV]"
(PrPr).
Pro 20:15
Cp Pro 8:11; Mat 13:45.
Pro 20:16
PUTS UP SECURITY: Cp Pro 6:1; 11:15; 17:18; 22:26;
27:13.
Pro 20:27
If as in mg ['the spirit of man is the LORD's lamp'], then ref
the power of intelligent self-awareness, or conscience, enabling a man to
examine his own mental processes subjectively.
Pro 20:30
BEATINGS PURGE THE INMOST BEING: Cp "stripes" of Isa
53:3 esp. "Faithful are wounds of a friend" (Pro 27:6). "We are chastened of
LORD, not to be condemned with world (1Co 11:32). Cp Pro 19:25; 22:15; 26:3; Heb
12:5-11; 1Pe 1:7; Job 23:10.