Proverbs 19:16-20
Prov 19:16 (KJB)
He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.
 
Keepeth - Observes or guards
Despiseth - Regard with contempt
 
Those who are saved will keep the commandments of God and as a result, they not only teach us to walk properly but they guard our souls. When one continues to learn the Scriptures, their soul is constantly being fed in contrast to the lazy person whose soul is very lean because they do not study the teachings of Scripture. The one who regards with contempt, the teachings of Scripture, are those who are unsaved and this will lead them into the Judgment of eternal damnation. Those who fight against the teachings of Scripture and seek to have God expunged from every area of society are doing it not only to their own destruction, but to the destruction of all society.
 
Prov 19:17 (KJB)
He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
 
Pity - Compassion
 
Here is a great promise which the Lord gives to the person who has the vision of giving. Whenever we send forth the gospel, we are having compassion upon those who are unsaved and when they come under the hearing of the Gospel, some may become saved. This verse may also have a connotation of helping those who have hit hard times and when we help them, we are doing it in the name of the Lord and not for our own glory. As I looked at this verse, the word “lendeth” had me a little baffled but then the Holy Spirit opened my understanding. When a bank lends us money, they charge us interest, which means their return is more than what they lent. Here the Lord is giving us a great principle that when we give, God will increase the return, according to His will. (Luke 6:38 KJV) Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. God promises us that He will bless us if we give and with the right motives. God, in His timing, is promising that He will repay what was given and including the word “lend” in there means that God promises that the return will be more then the initial gift.
 
Let me give a personal testimony on this principle so it is not hearsay. Back in the 1980’s I received a letter from America’s Keswick that they were $30,000 in arrears. So I had $2000 in my savings account and the Lord laid on my heart to give $1000, which was half of my worldly stash. I sent it in and a few days later my aunt calls me and asks me to come and see her. At that time she gave me $1800 in Savings Bonds that she placed in my name when she worked. That is not all, some of the bonds were dated as far back as 1954 and when I went to the bank to cash them in, the total was $5500. So God took my $1000 and turned it into $5500. I knew nothing about those bonds until my aunt called me. So here is just one revelation in my life about the faithfulness of God. Now we must realize one thing, that we never give money and tell God that He owes us! He will repay if the money is given with the proper motive and in His will and timing. There is no such thing as name it and claim it in the Bible. That is something devised by the Prosperity Pimps on TV who preach about money and not salvation.
 
Prov 19:18 (KJB)
Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
 
Chasten - Discipline
 
Here is a clear mandate to parents. It is never to early to discipline your children. The time to start disciplining them is when they are young as this is the time that there is still hope because they will fear you much more than they will fear their friends who will lead them into troubles. When you discipline them, if they cry, don’t allow your emotions to supplant your better judgment. They will cry, but afterwards, if you tell them that you love them and hold them, they may understand a lot better for the reason they were disciplined. The time for hope is over when they place him in the electric chair or close the cell door behind him. This is why you cannot let your emotions override what you know is best for them. God chastens His children and when we cry the blues, sometimes God turns up the heat a little bit more until we realize we are being disciplined for a good reason and when we begin to start learning from that discipline, God begins to loosen it up a little bit until we completely understand where we went wrong.
 
Prov 19:19 (KJB)
A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
 
Punishment - Penalty
 
A person who has a temper will always get into trouble and the problem is that if you deliver him or help him, the reality is that he is going to get into trouble again. Anger creates a vicious cycle in a person’s life because anger is what motivates the unsaved person. An angry person is never appeased and will always find something to be angry about. One day their anger will get them into trouble and they will not be able to be delivered. The problem is that if we keep bailing a person like this out, then we are never allowing them to face their problem. They must learn to deal with the anger and if we keep coming to their rescue, we will be doing them more harm than good. It is like a parent making an excuse for their children every time they get into trouble. Excuses can lead to far greater consequences.
 
Prov 19:20 (KJB)
Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.
 
Hear - To understand or to obey
Receive - Accept
Latter end - In your future
 
Here Solomon counsels that a person, while young, should hear counsel and not only understand it but accept it and live by it. If a person lives by wisdom in their early years, they will live by those learned principles as the years go on. Many have not learned discipline when they were younger and as they became older, they found it hard to place strictures on their lives and that is why they continually seem to be in trouble or hard times. The whole idea of good counsel is to abide by it so it will become well-entrenched in our thought processes. This way any time a situation arises in our life, we will be able to filter our response through good adopted counsel. That is why there seems to be people who just cannot get their lives in order and those who just seem to never get their lives out of order. The harvest will always be what was initially planted. You can’t plant tomatoes and then expect to harvest potatoes. We reap what we sow and that is why we need to be very careful what we sow.

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