He
layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous (Prov 2:7)
Earthly Blessings From The Lord: Human Praise:
Proverbs 27:1-2
1) Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth.
2) Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger,
and not thine own lips.
In
this chapter, Solomon directs our attention to several different earthly blessings
that given to us by our gracious Lord…
EXPOSITION:
In
this devotion, we will be looking at the blessing of praise given to us by
other men….
1) Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may
bring forth.
1. Do not celebrate or exalt ourselves
concerning the day that is coming
2. We cannot observe what the next day may
produce.
We
cannot draw attention to ourselves by “bragging” about what we are going to
accomplish tomorrow. This is because we
can never be certain what will take place tomorrow. Our entire life, and our plans involving our
life are in the hands of Almighty God… they can, literally, change in an
instant.
Stop
and think about it, for us to assume that we know what we will do tomorrow is,
in and of itself an act of pride. We are
saying that we believe that our future lies in our own hands. It is so easy for us to forget that our Lord
is truly the One who is in absolute control of our future. If we accomplish anything on the morrow, it
is only because He has graciously allowed us to do so. Therefore, we are to
possess an attitude that says “For that ye [ought] to
say, If the Lord will, we shall
live, and do this, or that.” This is showing a
humble attitude which recognizes that, ultimately, He is in control of all
things and we are to rely upon Him for all aspects of our future….
“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. But now ye rejoice in your
boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
(James 4:13-16)
“A man's heart deviseth his
way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9)
“[There are] many devices
in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)
“Man's goings [are] of the
LORD; how can a man then understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24)
“O LORD, I know that the
way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct his
steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23)
2) Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger,
and not thine own lips.
1. Let other individuals bring attention to us, this
type of praise should not come from our own mouth
2. It is best when those with no relationship
with us bring attention to us and that it does not come from our own mouth
Many
times we think that all earthly praise is a wicked thing, but this is not
so. If we are praised due to acts of
service to Christ it can be a good thing.
How is it good? By others
pointing out our good works, if we handle the praise properly, it can end up
glorifying the Lord and not ourselves….
“Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
“The night is far spent,
the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us
put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as
in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness,
not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].” (Romans 13:12-14)
(Please
note in the above text: “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” is describing us
living a Godly life for His glory. Paul is
equating that to putting on a suit of clothing that clearly tells others we are
a servant of Jesus Christ. This is like putting
on a military uniform that tells others what nation we are serving. This is our good works being used to bring
glory to the Lord and not ourselves.)
The
key to turning the praise of man meant for us to the Lord is all in our
hands. When we are praised for our
faithful living, it then becomes our responsibility to explain to others why we
are living faithful lives for Christ. It
is only because of His love, grace and enabling. It is giving Him the credit for any good that
others may see in us. It is by telling others of how He has worked so greatly
in our lives. This is the key to turning
human praise from us to the Lord’s glory…
“To the chief Musician, A
Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and
heard my cry. He brought me up also out
of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, [and]
established my goings. And he hath put a new song
in my mouth, [even] praise unto our God: many shall see [it], and fear, and
shall trust in the LORD. Blessed [is] that man that
maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside
to lies. Many, O LORD my God, [are]
thy wonderful works [which] thou hast done, and thy thoughts [which are] to
us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: [if] I would declare
and speak [of them], they are more than can be numbered.” (Psalms 40:1-5)
(The above text is one of my favorite Bible texts
and the theme verse for Settled In Heaven Ministries.)
SUMMARY:
Earthly blessings from
the Lord include the blessing of human praise.
This is can be a very valuable tool in our service for Him when we are
faithful in directing that praise from off of us onto the Lord and all He has
done for us. What a privilege it is to receive
the praise of man and then to give honor to the Lord for the enabling grace He
has given to us which allows to live Godly lives before others.
May
we all possess Godly wisdom and live our lives for Him.
By
God’s grace, let us all study these proverbs diligently, giving them the value
that they deserve.
May the
Lord bless us as we receive this sound wisdom and then “Think On These Things”.
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