DEVOTION: The Mouth of the Righteous is a Fountain of Life

    June 21, 2020 | Books of the Bible | Proverbs by Keri Bosch

    Read all of Proverbs 10, and Matthew 12:33-37.

    Proverbs 10 marks a transition to the second collection of proverbs of Solomon that continues through 22:16. While chapter 10 addresses multiple topics, a significant focus of these verses is the contrast between the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the righteous. 

    The mouth of the wicked is associated with violence (verses 6, 11), ruin (verses 8, 10, 14), perversion (verses 31-32), and conceals hatred, spreads lies, and slander (verse 18). In contrast, “the mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life” (verse 11), is full of the fruit of wisdom and discernment (verses 13, 31), shows prudence in restraint (verse 19), is like choice silver (verse 20), is nourishing to many (verse 21), and knows what is acceptable (verse 32). In Matthew 12:34, Jesus puts it plainly as he states, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” The condition of our heart is on full display through our words. 

    God cares about our words because He cares about our hearts. By our mouths, we are able, by God’s grace, to confess our heart’s belief in the risen Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10). It is by our mouths that we give glory and honor and praise to God. It is by our mouths that we build up and encourage one another (1 Thess. 5:11). It is by our mouths that we declare His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9), and it is by our mouths that we proclaim the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15). As our hearts become more in tune with and obedient to God’s Word, may our mouths become like a fountain of life! 

    Consider

    • How do you use your mouth? Do you use it to encourage others and to bring God glory? Or to harm others and bring glory to yourself?
    • Read Colossians 3:8-10. Does your speech more resemble the old self or the new self in Christ described in these verses? 

    Pray

    • Confess to the Lord in prayer how you have used your words in disobedience to God’s Word.
    • Pray that “no corrupting talk would come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).