A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness. The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit. A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble.
I should not think it necessary to make any break in the reading of those proverbs, were it not that the Reader thereby may be prompted to make a pause here and there, to ponder over the golden words, and to gather from these precious sentences, both the spiritual and moral improvements from them, as he passeth on. And, the Reader will find, if he maketh a pause after every verse, more or less, that there is scarce one, but what, without violence to the expressions, carries with it a sweet gospel signification. And, surely it is both gracious and blessed, when we can thus bring with us the New Testament into the Old. Thus for example, if we read the several verses we have gone through in this chapter, what can induce a soft answer to turn away wrath, until that our poor nature is regenerated and we have the Spirit of Christ. It is by the Spirit only, we are told, that we can mortify the deeds of the body; and by his influences that we put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of our mouth. Romans 8:9-13; Colossians 3:8 So again, the proverb saith, that the tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright. Yes! when the Lord hath done by the sinner as by the prophet, laid the live coal taken from the Holy Altar upon his mouth, and touched the lips, his iniquity is taken away and his sin purged. Isaiah 6:7. But without this, who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one. Job 14:4. Reader! if through a gospel medium we thus read the Proverbs, we shall find them words fitly spoken, like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11.