Lord, give me courage today to be "bold like a lion," and make the wicked flee when no one pursues them.  Make our nation a nation of Law-keepers instead of a nation of Law-breakers (transgressors) who have many rulers just like them--smart, cunning, and wicked, and lacking sense and wisdom.  Otherwise, we are sure to face judgment as our nation will fall from the rot and decay of the sin that we celebrate and encourage others to participate in.

Lord, help me to have mercy on those who need mercy, because you have been merciful to me.  How can I withhold your grace and mercy from others?  Let me not celebrate the actions of the wicked, but mourn the wickedness that goes on all around me.  Day and night I am tormented by the evils of this generation--even by many who claim to be your own.

Wicked men may cry out for "justice," but they do not understand true justice that comes from the LORD.  They seek an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and possibly even their pound of flesh.  They wrap their desire to steal, kill, and destroy that comes from their father, the devil, in a cloak of "justice."  May they be know true justice like the righteous--those who have seen the Righteous One take the place of the wicked by giving His life on our behalf so that He took our sin, guilt and punishment and we could have His blessings, rewards, and eternal life.

Protect my integrity LORD and fight for me as my character and reputation are under attack by those who want to attack you, for I am your ambassador.  Help me to value integrity more than fine riches, power, position, or popularity.  There are all things that the world seeks after, but You value a heart that reflects Your character and nature to the world.  "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer."  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Solomon tells his son to tend to his own family and house, though he uses the picture of a shepherd or rancher needing to know the condition of his flocks and herds to do so.  It's clear he's talking about people because he comments on their eternal state verses the temporal state of riches, but flocks and herds are just as temporal as riches.  Solomon is telling his son, and us, that we need to focus first and foremost on the people God has entrusted to us--our wife, children, and any other dependents that live in our household.  Their souls are much more valuable than riches and there is eternal significance to you taking care of your own family.  If you don't husband your wife, the world will be happy to do that for you.  If you don't father your children, the world will be happy to do that for you too.  You are responsible to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the LORD (to disciple them).

At some point, your children and grandchildren will be taking care of you, and you want to have left a loving example of what a caretaker is supposed to do and be and what love looks like (for love is expressed in action).  In that day, without descendants, there would be no one to take care of you when you got old.  There were no nursing homes.  You worked until you could not work anymore, and hopefully a combination of your savings and the profits of your children and grandchildren were enough to take care of you.  There was no Social Security because everyone took care of their own family members.  Soon, they will be controlling all your assets and will need the wisdom and understanding of how to use them properly.

There is a biblical principle there that the servant should be blessed by the fruits of his labors.  The one who tends to the fig tree should be allowed to eat from it, and that the master should care for an honor a hard-working servant.

Solomon says that what we see on the outside is simply a reflection of what's in the heart, like when we see a reflection of our faces in still water.  James picks up on this idea in his epistle and tells us how we don't simply have an issue with our words and our actions, but with our hearts which is the source of all kinds of evil that manifests itself as evil thoughts, words, and actions.

Sheol, the temporary places of the dead for those that await final judgment that we would call Hades or Hell, and Abaddon, the permanent place of punishment that we would call The Lake of Fire (often incorrectly called Hell) are never satisfied.  They constantly lust after more souls that they can devour and the people there continue in their lusts and desires to sin and rebel against the LORD and His Christ.  The appetites of sinful men are never appeased by committing sin.  They will continue to devise ways to be more sinful, more evil, more rebellious.

Silver is tested by fire in a crucible so that the dross can be burnt off and what other impurities remain float to the top so they can be scraped off.  Similarly, gold is placed in a hot oven so that its impurities can be burnt away.  However, the heart of a man is tested when he receives praise.  Will he be proud and accept worship that he doesn't deserve, or will he be humble and direct the glory and worship to God that only He deserves?  Be careful in your humility to not have false humility like the Pharisees which does not please God.  "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

The LORD may try to use the "school of hard knocks" to teach the fool a lesson, but he will not learn it.  it will seem like he is being ground to powder by a mortar and pestle or like grain being ground to flour by a millstone.  However, he will not learn to change his behavior. That is part of what makes him a fool.  He does not understand the kindness of the LORD's discipline that calls him to repentance, and he keeps going back to the same things that got him in trouble time after time after time.

Solomon speak directly to his son here and once again tells him to make his father's heart glad by learning wisdom--specifically to realize there is no need to answer one who disrespects his father.  Sometimes a son feels it necessary to fight for his father's honor, but Solomon needed to teach his son that his honor was an issue of his position before the LORD and not of the opinion of men.

If you are wise enough to see the danger coming, then you should be wise enough to avoid the danger instead of going headlong into it.  It should be the simple-minded man who doesn't see the danger (and judgment) coming that should be caught up in it.

Typically, the LORD told the Israelites not to take a man's garment as security for a loan.  If all he has to offer in security is his cloak, which is also his bedding to keep him warm at night, then he has no business borrowing money, because he can't pay it back.  In such instances, charity is the better option--to help the brother in need without expecting repayment.  However, Solomon speaks here about if you know that the person asking for the loan intends to use it for evil and wickedness.  Do not afford them the same protections that the Law gave to fellow brothers.  Solomon says to take their cloak as pledge if they are borrowing money for someone else who is not of the house of Israel, because those protections wouldn't have applied to the alien if they had conducted business for themselves, but they are trying to use a fellow Israelite to get a no-interest loan with better terms and conditions, and to take the cloak as security as well if the man is trying to borrow money to pay an adulteress (think about a man who is a John for a prostitute asking his neighbor to pay the prostitute for him and he'll pay the neighbor back later).  Don't get involved in such schemes is really what Solomon is trying to say here.  The first person is a frontman hiding the identity of the one you are truly doing business with.  The second is doing immoral and likely illegal business.  Don't have anything to do with such "friends" who ask you for loans.

If your blessings are loud and obnoxious to your neighbors, they will be considered curses.  Yes, you want to bless people publicly, but don't make such a spectacle of it that you wake everyone up at dawn with your loud announcements of how great your neighbors are.

Now for a couple of the best-known verses from the book of Proverbs.  First, Solomon says that a nagging wife is comparable to the constant dripping of water.  However, you are not going to be able to restrain her from doing what is natural to here. Trying to do so is like trying to hold back the wind or like trying to hold olive oil in your hand (it will just come out through the smallest opening because that is its nature).  You are fighting a losing battle.  Instead, carefully consider the nature of the person you are courting before marrying them.

Last, but not least, another famous verse, men need other men of equal or better strength of character to sharpen them in what we would call discipleship.  A duller man will not sharpen you but will dull you (maybe you will sharpen him), so you need to be sharpening others, but also you need to be sharpened.  The best situation is metals of equal strength (hardness) sharpen each other.  That is why the comparison of iron sharpening iron is given.  Look for who you can sharpen and who can sharpen you and have the objective of finding those who can disciple you and those you can be discipling (if you are a very young Christian, focus on being discipled first so that you do not lead someone in error, though you may have lots of passion.  Study the Word first and know what it says so that you can teach and apply the Word of God correctly).

I'm sure you have eaten a big meal and then someone has offered you dessert and you say, "I can't eat another bite; I'm full."  There is no room left even for that which is sweet and people desire.  However, the hungry man will eat anything, even the bitter food others would reject, because he is just happy to have food to eat.  This applies not only in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense.  Some people are so full of their own worldview that they don't have any room left for the sweet truths and wisdom of God and His Word.  Others are so hungry spiritually that they will not be discerning about what they are presented with as truth and wisdom--they will simply devour it without giving it a second thought, and they try to be satisfied by the wisdom of this world.

Stay close to home like a bird stays close to its nest.  You are close to your spouse and children, there is protection there at home, and it is place God has given you to be your embassy of HIs kingdom to the world.  Don't go out seeking strange flesh or looking for strange wisdom.  Stay close to the truth that you were taught and to the LORD, and the ones He has given you to love and protect.

It is good to get cleaned up and look and smell good for others (especially in the day when Solomon wrote this when bathing was more rare--maybe done once a week if you were rich, less often if you were poor).  Taking a bath was something that day that made you feel good and usually involved getting ready to go to the Tabernacle or Temple to worship the LORD, because you wanted to be clean when you entered His presence.  Solomon says that a good friend that comes to see you with good news also feels good like this (though for different reasons).

Hang on to your friends who are your age, and also become friends with those who your parents were friends with.  You need friends who will be with you your entire life, but also those who are older than you who can mentor you, even when your parents are not there anymore.

Solomon says to be careful about going far away to a brother's house when you are in trouble.  It is better to turn to your friends and neighbors who live near you.  They may be closer and better friends to you than your blood relatives that live far away.  Your family's answer often will be for you to move back home with them and stop doing the thing that is hard or difficult, even if that is what God called you to do.  Friends and neighbors will often come to be with you and ask, "How can I help you through this hard time?" It is a different type of support network.  One wants to stop the pain, the other wants to help you through the pain.  Solomon encourages you to have many people around you who will help you make it through your trial that live in close proximity to you.

Solomon's teaching sounds exactly like Jesus' teaching in Matthew, during the Sermon on the Mount, about neither boasting nor worrying about tomorrow.  We don't know what the future will bring--only God knows that.

Don't be braggadocios.  Let others praise you.  Self-praise is revolting. It is better for praise to come from the lips of a stranger.

Taking the bait of fools that are trying to get you to play in the filth with them is a heavier load than carrying around rocks or sand.  The people of God are not to be baited by those who are evil.  Do not be attracted to their evil deeds, do not join them in their evil practices, and when possible, stay far away from them.

We already know how dangerous both anger and wrath are, and how they do not work the will of the LORD when we try to elevate ourselves to the role of judge, jury and executioner, but Solomon points out that jealousy is also a fierce emotion that no one should want to be the target of.  This is probably a warning to keep from adultery and all forms of covetousness that might tempt you to take something or someone that does not belong to you.  The LORD is also jealous of all those that belong to Him and His fierce wrath will be poured out on those who try to cause His little ones to stumble.

It is better to speak praise openly and rebuke privately, but open rebuke (though it is shameful to do this) is better than secret praise.  If something is worthy of praise, then the person should be praised in front of everyone.  Finally, along these same lines, do not desire for others to always speak flattery to you which may be falsehood.  Your true friends will tell you the truth, even if it hurts a little, but they will try to do it in a way in which it is for your good.  Your enemy will use flattery to try to get close to you so that they might have a better opportunity to attack you, but the wounds of a friend are like the careful work of a surgeon to help remove something harmful.  This is not to say that your friends should be constantly cutting you down or disparaging you in front of others, but you should listen to them when they have hard things to say to you.  They know they will hurt you and it takes courage for them to say those things and risk your friendship for your good.

In this passage, Solomon warns against giving into gossip.  He calls the gossip a "whisperer" which is a fitting name.  It seems like their juicy gossip is sweet, but it is really full of poison.  It is just a "sweet" coating that soon vanishes to reveal the evil heart.

The hateful person tries to make everyone believe they are something different by speaking words of flattery and lies.  Don't believe such a person when they give a compliment or are gracious--they are being deceptive in some way, shape or form.  Their hearts are full of the abominations that the LORD hates.

The LORD will make sure that such a person is eventually exposed for who they are--exposed to everyone.  As much as they try to hide their true nature, God Himself will make sure that everyone sees them for who they really are.  This may happen on the Day of Judgment, or it may happen here on earth, but it will happen.

The person who tries to hunt and destroy other people with traps and snares will themselves fall into the traps and snares they have set.  The LORD will defend those who belong to Him and bring evil back on the head of the one that plots it against His righteous ones.  The stone will come back against him who starts rolling it.

A person who lies hates those that they lie to.  If you loved them, you would speak the truth to them.  A flattering mouth brings ruin.