A man cannot be established through wickedness, but the righteous cannot be uprooted. Sermons
I. IN HIM IS STRENGTH. "The root of the righteous shall never be moved." The strong wind comes and blows down the tree which has not struck its roots far into the foil; it tears it up by the roots and stretches it prone upon the ground. It has no strength to stand because its root is easily moved. The righteous man is a tree of another kind; his root shall never be moved; he will stand against the storm. But he must be a man who deserves to be called and considered "righteous" because he is such in deed and in truth; for they are many who pass for such of whom no such affirmation as this can be made. The man of whom the text speaks: 1. Is well rooted. He is rooted (1) in Divine truth, and not merely in human speculation; (2) in deep conviction, and not merely in indolent acceptance of inherited belief, or in strong but evanescent emotion; (3) in the fixed habit of the soul and of the life, and not merely in occasional, spasmodic outbursts. 2. Is immovable. There may come against him the strong winds of bodily indulgence, or of pure affection, or of intellectual struggle and perplexity, or of worldly pressure; but they do not avail; he is immovable; his roots only strike deeper and spread further in the ground. He "stands fast in the Lord;" he is a conqueror through Christ who loves him. For: 3. He is upheld by Divine power. While his own spiritual condition and his moral habits have much to do with his steadfastness, he will be the first to say that God is "upholding him in his integrity, and setting him before his face." II. IN HIM IS FRUITLESSNESS. "The root of the righteous yieldeth fruit" (ver. 12). The ungodly man cannot be said to bear fruit, for the product of his soul and of his life does not deserve that fair name. 1. The forms of godly fruitfulness are these: (1) all excellency of spirit; (2) all beauty and worthiness of life, the presence of that which is pleasing in the sight of God and admirable in the sight of man; (3) all earnest endeavour to do good, the patient, persevering effort to instil the thoughts of Christ into the minds of men, to awaken their slumbering consciences, to lift up their lives, to ennoble their character, to enlarge their destiny. 2. The source and the security of such fruitfulness are: (1) Union with the living Vine. (2) Abiding in him (John 15:1-8). (3) The wise and kind discipline of the Divine Husbandman (John 15:2; Hebrews 12:10, 11). - C.
In the way of righteousness is life. There are many ways which men are found to pursue in order to the attainment of happiness. One pursues the way of worldly pleasure; another is fascinated by the splendour and magnificence and show of the world; another seeks happiness in the business of life. These ways are false ways and disappointing ways. There is a way which is neither delusive nor disappointing. It is the way of holiness, the way of conformity to God's mind and will. The righteous walk in this way. But who are the righteous? They who are interested by faith in the Redeemer's righteousness for justification and acceptance before God. They are distinguished by the integrity of their principles and a conscientious endeavour to discharge every duty they owe their fellow-men. They are careful to avoid all known sin, and desire to live in the practice of all known duty. They are not satisfied with present attainments in religin, but seek to grow in grace as well as knowledge. They are animated by the constraining love of Jesus. They live in the exercise of communion with God in prayer and praise. And the text declares that those who walk in holy obedience to the revealed will of God, and are filled with the fruits of righteousness, have received a new nature, and are animated by a new life. The existence of the life of grace in the soul will be manifested by its corresponding effects in the walk and conversation. In the way of righteousness is the life of consolation and joy. God's smile is on the righteous in all their goings. Great are the privileges of the righteous, which must be felt, but cannot be adequately described. The new life, kindled by the Spirit of God, shall never be extinguished. It shall survive every shock of opposition and trial, and shall triumph over the combined rage of earth and hell. "In the pathway thereof there is no death." The righteous must die, as well as the unrighteous; there is no peculiarity of exemption in their case from the stroke of the last enemy. But to the believer in Jesus death is unspeakable gain. Then are we in the number of the righteous?(C. Rawlings, B.A.) II. AS A SAFE, PLEASANT COMFORTABLE WAY. 1. There is not only life at the end, but there is life in the way; all true comfort and satisfaction. The favour of God, which is better than life; the Spirit, who is life. 2. There is not only life in it, but so as that in it "there is no death," none of that sorrow of the world which works death, and is an allay to our present joy and life. There is no end to that life that is in the way of righteousness. Here there is life, but there is death too. In the way of righteousness there is life and no death — life and immortality. ( Matthew Henry.). People SolomonPlaces JerusalemTopics Established, Evil-doing, Moved, Righteous, Root, Safe, Upright, Uprooted, WickednessOutline 1. Whoever loves discipline loves knowledgeDictionary of Bible Themes Proverbs 12:3 4504 roots Library The Many-Sided Contrast of Wisdom and Folly'Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. 2. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. 3. A man shall not be established by wickedness; but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. 4. A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones. 5. The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. 6. The words of the wicked are to lie … Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture April the Twenty-Second Speech as a Symptom of Health To Pastors and Teachers Of Having Confidence in God when Evil Words are Cast at Us The Ninth Commandment The Authority and Utility of the Scriptures "But Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God, and his Righteousness, and all These Things Shall be Added unto You. " Proverbs Links Proverbs 12:3 NIVProverbs 12:3 NLT Proverbs 12:3 ESV Proverbs 12:3 NASB Proverbs 12:3 KJV Proverbs 12:3 Bible Apps Proverbs 12:3 Parallel Proverbs 12:3 Biblia Paralela Proverbs 12:3 Chinese Bible Proverbs 12:3 French Bible Proverbs 12:3 German Bible Proverbs 12:3 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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