TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - Jan 14, 2026 - Proverbs 19:19-21 - Anger, Rescue, Counsel 08-2026

Episode Date: January 14, 2026

Proverbs 19:19–21 exposes the danger of uncontrolled anger, the futility of repeatedly rescuing those who refuse correction, and the contrast between human planning and God’s sovereign will. A person ruled by rage brings consequences that cannot be endlessly removed, while wisdom calls for restraint and accountability. Though many plans fill the human heart, it is the counsel of the Lord that ultimately prevails. In today’s Morning Manna, Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart examine why discipline must replace enablement, how self-control preserves life, and why God’s purposes stand firm over every human intention. Lesson 08-2026 Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting MannaNation.com, calling 1-888-519-4935, or by mail at PO Box 399 Vero Beach, FL 32961. MEGA FIRE reveals the ancient recurring cycles of war and economic collapse that have shaped history for 600 years. These patterns predict America is now entering its most dangerous period since World War II. Get your copy today! www.megafire.world Get high-quality emergency preparedness food today from American Reserves! www.AmericanReserves.com It’s the Final Day! The day Jesus Christ bursts into our dimension of time, space, and matter. Now available in eBook and audio formats! Order Final Day from Amazon today! www.Amazon.com/Final-Day Apple users, you can download the audio version on Apple Books! www.books.apple.com/final-day Purchase the 4-part DVD set or start streaming Sacrificing Liberty today. www.Sacrificingliberty.com

Hello, everybody. Welcome to Morning Manna. I'm Rick Wiles. With me is Dr. Raymond Burkhardt, and we gather five days a week at 8 a.m. Eastern Time at manna Nation.com to teach the Word of God. And you are invited to participate in that live, worldwide virtual Bible study at manna nation.com, 8 a.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. We are working our way through the book of Proverbs, and we're in the 19th chapter. Today we're looking at verses 19, 20, and 21. We take her time, spend about an hour in these three verses. And if you're watching on Faith TV and we get to the bottom of the hour, half hour mark, we'll sign off on Faith TV. But the lesson will continue. And so this lesson has a number 08-2026, 08-20206. Go to manonation.com and locate that lesson number and you can continue with this lesson any time of the day that is convenient to you. So let's pray, invite the Holy Spirit, then Dr. Kirkhart's going to read the word and we'll

jump in and start extracting all the the minerals, the gems, the precious metals that are inside these wonderful verses. Almighty God, our dear Heavenly Father, Mother, thank you for life. Thank you for salvation through faith in your son, Jesus Christ. Father, we invite your Holy Spirit to take charge of this lesson and teach all of us, students and teachers. Teach us the richness of your word and how we can be, better servants of our king and Savior Jesus Christ. In his name, we pray. Amen. Amen. And as Rick said,

welcome to Morning Mano. We continue our journey today in Proverbs 19. And it's been a fascinating journey in Proverbs. And we continue to learn new things each and every day. Wisdom from the word that changes lives. We're looking at verses 19, 20, and 21 today. So if you have your Bibles, let's get right into it, Shelby. I'm reading from the King, James this morning, verse 19 of chapter 19. And it says, A man of great wealth shall suffer punishment. For if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.

Hear counsel and receive instruction that thou mayst be wise in thy latter end. In verse 21, there are many devices in a man's heart. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. God bless the reading of his word. today, Rick. Amen. So our method for teaching is to take each verse, break them into two or three segments, drill down deep in each segment, extract all of the rich nutrients that we can find in each segment of the word, and then put it all together to get the full context of that verse. That's why we'll spend an hour on three verses. We're not rushing. We're not, we don't have

to be anywhere anytime. We got all the time in the world. All right. And we're going to take our time on these three verses. So we'll start with verse 19. King James says, a man of great wrath shall suffer punishment. For if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. The Septuagint has a somewhat different translation. The Septuagin says, a malicious man. shall be severely punished, and if he damages, and if he damages life, he will also add to his destruction. Solomon is teaching here that habitual anger carries its own built-in judgment. Right. Because wrath repeatedly creates the conditions for punishment.

Solomon is revealing that anger, wrath, enslaves the soul, making future trouble inevitable. Now, we're not talking about a momentary outburst of anger and frustration. We're talking about habitual anger. People who live every day, hour by hour, they're just angry. They're just mad as somebody. That's the way they are. And the slightest offense makes them blow up. And they will go to DefCon 1 at the drop of a hat.

I mean, they're just ready to fight. That's what we're talking about. That kind of person. And we all know them. Every one of us. We know somebody that has that kind of temper that you're walking on eggshells. You don't want to upset them.

You've got to be careful what you say. You've got to be careful. about what you do, because you might upset them and get them really angry. If they get angry, oh, life is going to be miserable. That's the kind of person we're talking about. We're not talking about you just being frustrated one day, being grumpy, grouchy. That's not what this verse is about.

It's telling us that anger, when it's left unchecked, becomes predictable. It's not an acceptance. to the rule, it becomes the rule. It's predictable behavior. And wrath multiplies one act of anger, wrath upon another, multiplies in it, and it starts to own its consequences. The Bible presents uncontrolled anger as a force that is destructive to relationships, to marriages, to communities, to churches, to organizing, wrath will destroy. Somebody with a short temper and a angry mouth, they can destroy a family.

They can destroy a church congregation. They can destroy the workplace, one outburst, and they can just tear things up. Yes. So the punishment here is, arises from repeated. choices. The angry person chooses to be angry. It is a choice. They like to be angry. That's the way they think. They're angry when they're not even talking. They're angry. They're just angry. And these are, see, what happens is that they start developing pathways in their brain. And these become ruts. They can't get out of it.

They've made these ruts in their brains so deep that they can't get out of that way of thinking without a work of grace from God in their life. So a man of great wrath or a woman of great wrath describes a settled disposition. When I say a settled disposition, I mean, that's who they are. It's not a momentary outburst. They're settled. Their personality, they're angry. They're angry when they're not even talking. They're angry.

Right. God's wisdom contrast with righteous anger. You can have righteous anger, but it's restrained and it has a purpose. But this kind of wrath is impulsive, it's habitual. will end up. It's destructive. And so what Solomon is doing here

is he's dismantling the excuse that anger is just somebody's personality trait. He's saying no, habitual anger is moral failure

that will lead to repeat it disasters in that person's life. Right. And it's, anger is one of those topics that's rarely addressed in a church setting. And yet Solomon, you know, makes it a very big deal here. He's describing a specific character type here,

a man of great rat. And as you mentioned, Rick, this isn't just somebody who occasionally gets upset. I think we can all agree that there are times maybe, we let ourselves go. No, we're talking about a lifetime, a habit of anger. Who's defining feature is anger. He lives in a boiling point. But this verse makes it very clear. Shell, sucker punishment, shell, shell. It's a statement of morality there. Just as a man who touches fire gets burned, a man of great wrath will eventually face consequences.

could be legal fees, could be broken relationships, could be lost jobs, could be physical altercations as well. I mean, it could be a variety of different things. Wrath leads to destruction. And this punishment that is being described here is not just an external punishment, but think about what's happening internally as well. Anger, if you can think about this way, is a tax that the angry man pays on a tax. his own peace of mind. It ravages his health. It isolates his soul. And if we refer back to verse 11, where we had the phrase discretion, deferreth anger. This verse is in direct contrast to that.

A man of great wrath lacks the, if you will, the braking mechanism of wisdom. He's a car without breaks speeding down a steep hill. Now, I'm going to say something that may be a little bit controversial, but anger really is a form of idolatry. And what do I mean by that? Well, anger, especially wrath, okay, it's one thing to be upset. It's another thing we have wrath. it demands that the world conform to my will.

Okay? That's idolatry, plain simple. And what's the punishment for idolatry? Well, that's evident throughout the Old Testament. So the punishment of wrath is the crushing reality that I'm not God. You're not in charge. You are eventually going to get caught up by the one who is in church. And so once again, I'll just say this.

Anger is a form of idolatry. And as believers, we cannot manifest that in our lives at all. No, and I see this, Doc, is, you know, narcissistic personalities. Yes. They tend to be angry people. And they use their anger to intimidate, to threaten, to get their way, to keep people afraid of them. And it can be,

their victim may just be one person, but they'll use their anger to rule over that person. To obtain a position of domination. They're using habitual anger as a tool for domination over another person.

Yes. And it's possible that other people, friends, associates, families don't even see this. sign of that person, that that person is a covert narcissist who keeps that anger hidden and uses in private against one or two people. Again, it says there's a tool, a tool for domination using anger as a threat. You make me mad and I'm going to make your life miserable.

I'm going to tear things up. I'm going to rip up your life. See, that's a habitual way of living and God condemns it. The phrase, doc, shall suffer punishment. It means shall bear the penalty. You're going to pay the price. That's what it means. This person of wrath, a hot temper, you're going to pay the price. And the Bible says, shall.

And any time the Bible says shall, it's a done deal. That's right. There's no talking about. about it. There's no options. There's no discussing shall. The person of a hot temper who uses their temper against other people to get their way. And Doc, I agree with you on the idolatry because that's what they're doing. They're saying my way or the highway. That's right. I'm going to use my temper and I'm going to get my way. And your will doesn't matter. My will is anything that matters. Right. It's a terroristic threat. I mean, it really is. It's a terrorist

It is. You're talking about domestic terrorism? This is domestic terrorism in the home. Domestic in the home. Domestic terrorism in a home where a family member will use his or her temper to get his or her way in the home or in a family or in an organization or whatever. They're using their temper as a weapon. but they shall bear the penalty.

And so Solomon is warning. He said, I've seen this. God will make sure they pay the price for this hot-headed temper. We're going to take a look at, we always like to go back a couple hundred years and see what the Christian theologians, commentators, and great pastors

of wonderful churches from years ago. What did they say about these verses? Well, we always quote Matthew Henry, almost every day, you know, a Presbyterian leader in the 1700s. He said, a man of great wrath makes himself subject to the law. He must pay for his passion.

Yes. John Gill. He must pay for his passion. John Gill added this, a man of great wrath is often engaged in quarrels in lawsuits and is fined and punished in his purse or in his person. Adam Clark said...

Yes. One or the other. Adam Clark said, he who is of a violent temper will be frequently embroils and must suffer the consequences. Yes, Charles Bridges added this. The man of great wrath is a firebrand in society. He must bear the penalty of his own unbridled passion.

and Doc Hart, you know, one of our favorites, William are not. He was a free church of Scotland pastor in the 1800s. He said, hot blood produces hot deeds, and hot deeds bring heavy penalties. Yes. Now the second part of this verse says, for if you deliver him, you must do it again. Solomon is now shifting the focus to the friend

or the relative or the co-dependent the codependent is really what you're talking about who tries to help the angry man or woman if thou deliver him yet thou must do it again if you do it one time if you get this person out of trouble one time

you're going to have to do it again and again and again because it's habitual their anger is habitual so if you are if you are enabling this person you're in a trap as an enabler

because you've gotten into a trap of repetitive rescues and the Bible is teaching us here that as Doc said this is a form of codependency the pattern forms as one person repeatedly rescues the other person from the mess he or she made with their temper. And this person falls into trap of being an enabler, an accomplice to this person's bad behavior.

So if you pay the bill or you pay the bail, they get sent to jail. If you pay to fix whatever got broken, if you smooth over the offense, If you tell the offended people, oh, he was just upset today. He had a hard day of work. He didn't mean to call you this horrible name. You make up all these excuses, okay? You haven't solved the problem. You're just postponing the lesson this person needs to live.

Right. Because the root cause is the great wrath. And the great wrath has not been touched. the person has not made any changes, Doc. Yeah, you've become partners with them in their wrath and in their idolatry. By shielding the angry person from the consequences of his or her actions, what you're teaching them and what you're reinforcing with them is that they can rage without any sort of consequence or penalty.

You end up becoming an accessory to his murderous words and his murderous thoughts and his lack of self-rength. control. And Solomon says, you know what, you're going to end up doing this over and over and over again. I can just imagine him sitting across the table from some young men and saying, you know what, fellas, I've been around a long time. And I've learned that you can't deal with a wrathful man. So this, the Hebrew here actually implies a continuous loop. Once you start rescuing a fool, from his folly. Brother, you've signed up

for a lifetime job. The crises will never end because the character never changes. Their hearts haven't changed. And so you're going to be dealing with the same nonsense over and over and over again. And you're going to become tied to yourself.

So sometimes, Rick, the most loving thing a friend to do is not deliver. Okay? Right. Sometimes, and I know it sounds lack in compassion, but sometimes you've got to let the angry man hit rock bomb, suffer the penalty of his wrath. And that may be the only thing that wakes him up to his need for repentance. One thing you cannot do, you're not Jesus Jr. You can't save people from themselves.

There comes a point where delivering them actually, hurts them because you're preventing the painful surgery of the consequence that results. Now, while we cannot enable the unrepentant, we need to remember that Christ delivered us from wrath too, the wrath to come. That we read about 1st, Thessalonians 1st 1st, 1st, 1st, 1.10. However, what's different here, his deliverance changes our nature. so that we don't continue in sin. This human bailout, this codependency, this covering up, this wrathful man or woman leaves the nature unchanged.

The only way it can really be changed, Rick, is by a divine action of the Lord himself. That's right. It takes a work of grace. It's sad to see, you know, a family member or friend covering for another person's behavior. And they wouldn't call it lying, but they're lying. They're making up excuses why that person was angry, why that person exploded and said horrible things or did horrible things.

And the family member of the friend, a loved one, husband, and wife, they're making excuses, They're really lying. They're lying to cover this other person's sin. It's sad to see it. I've seen it myself in people's lives. And, you know, I've seen good people that try to fool themselves and try to make themselves believe the story that they're telling about somebody else's

behavior. He's like, just own it. Just say, no. That person has a really bad temper. They need to get it under control, but they're going to destroy their own. their lives. We'll go down to the Bible commentators. Matthew Henry said, if thou deliver him, thou must do it again. The end of

the end of one trouble will be but the beginning of another. He will soon involve himself in new difficulties. Adam Clark said, if thou deliver him, his violent temper will soon involve him in similar mischiefs. It's better let the law take its course. Albert Barnes, Presbyterian pastor in Philadelphia, said, The deliverance is temporary. The radical evil remains.

You are pouring water into a sea. It's useless. So you may, this Charles Spurgeon said that you may buy him off or get him out of prison, but his temper is his jailer and will lock him up again. So you are doing nothing. You're being an accomplice to their wrath. That's this. You're not being compassionate.

You're not helping. You're not showing love. In fact, you're showing your own pride. The only reason why you're covering up for them is because you're embarrassed, right? There you go. That's why you're covering up. They embarrassed you. You got it, Doc.

That's really what it is. They're embarrassed. And they don't want to confront what a person is doing. Verse 20, the King James says, hear counsel and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. Subtugent says, hear son, the instruction of thy father, that thou mayest be wise at thy latter end. Let's take the first part of this verse, verse 20.

Hear counsel, hear it with your ears, and receive instruction. What does this mean? So Solomon is teaching that wisdom begins not with mental intelligence, but with humility that's expressed through teachability. You have to have a teachable spirit. The command to hear counsel, hear advice, that instruction assumes the presence of voices wiser than yourself. Amen.

Doc, if you're being told to hear instruction, you have to accept the reality that there's somebody else talking that knows more than you. Yes, amen. Now, maybe you know more than that person on another subject, but on one subject, that another person knows more than you.

And that's when we are to hear counsel. Okay? To receive instruction requires humble submission. It just doesn't mean I'm soaking in information. I'm receiving information. I'm receiving data. Receiving input.

No. Receiving means you are submitting your spirit to the wisdom being expressed by another person. The Bible consistently presents the refusal to listen as a mark of foolishness. What's one of the easiest ways to identify a fool? A person who will not listen

to Godly advice. Amen. You might as well stamp, big old rubber stamp, mark on their forehead, fool. If they refuse to listen to godly advice, counsel implies wisdom, wisdom that's learned through community, through interaction with other people.

And instruction implies correction, which is why you have to humbly submit to the person that's giving you instruction. Yes. We all, listen, we all have to time sit with somebody when we have a problem we can't solve. We have a dilemma that we don't know what to do about. And we have to seek out godly counsel. And we have to submit to that person's insight and wisdom. Even when it's painful, even when it hurts, even when it's smart.

And it's like, I really don't want to accept it. But deep down and you're going, I know that that person's telling me the truth. Yes. That's what this means. Right. And in this, you have two imperatives that, Solomon puts out there. First is the first imperative hear counsel and the second is to receive instructions. There's two things that are happening here. The first refers to listening to wisdom.

That's the Hebrew word ETSA there, listening for that. And the second refers to accepting discipline or correction. One is first an intellectual exercise. The other is a hard exercise. It's moral reshaping. And it's interesting the Hebrew word for here in this passage, Shema, implies more than just, you know, having ears. It means you're paying attention that you're submitting, that you're obedient. And what is the true test of whether you've heard wisdom or not? Well, whether you've heated it or not, right? And so to receive instruction means to welcome it as a guest, rather than barring the door like an enemy. The fool looks at correction as an attack, right?

Don't they do that? The wise man views it as a gift. So when we talk about hear counsel, it means to actively listen to wise advice, godly guidance, and correction from others, to receive instruction, not just to hear, but to accept, to embrace it, imply it, internalize that wisdom.

And so this is a double command here. Hearing without receiving is useless. Receiving without hearing is absolutely impossible. And so this is really humility and action. The wise man knows he doesn't know everything and seeks input. I think in my own life, Rick, early 2000s, a lot of things were going on in my life, and I got to a point where I just cried out to God, God, I need wisdom. in relationships, and I need wisdom in finances.

And Lord, your word says, if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, and you would give it. And that started a journey in my life, Rick, in the early 2000s, that led me to seek wisdom and to really integrate it into my life, to really learn about money and finance in my life. I'm so glad I prayed that prayer. It wasn't fun. It wasn't easy. And I'm still learning. But I thank God that God answered that prayer back now more than 20, nearly 20 years ago.

That just reset my life and put me on a different course. So I take this verse very personally, Rick. Yes. All right, Doc, let's take these two things. To hear counsel, receive instruction. So to hear counsel with your ears and your spiritual ears, counsel is advice. Instruction is not advice, advice.

Instruction is, here's what you need to do. Counsel is helping you understand the situation, helping you see how you got there, how to move beyond the situation you're in. But instruction is, here's one, two, three things you need to do. So we are to hear the counsel, hear the advice, but we're to receive the instruction. Receive, as you pointed out, meaning to welcome it,

not to put up a barrier and say, no, sorry, I'm not going to do those things. But you welcome the instruction. You embrace the instructions. These are the marks of a wise person. Doc, this proverb presupposes that the listener already lacks something. Right. To hear counsel is to admit, I don't know the way. I don't know the answer.

I mean, it's a voluntary admission that you don't know. You don't have the solution. The instruction sometimes involves chastisement, reproof, that what we're going to be told to do may smart a little bit, may sting a little bit, but we receive it, okay? We go back to what we were talking about in one of the other verses about disciplining the child while they're young, shaping, forming the child's life when they're young. Okay? So we see this in this verse also that if a child, a young person, a teenager, a young adult has the right attitude, they will hear counsel and advice.

They will receive instruction. But, doc, the ones that don't, they're candidates to be the one with the wrathful temper. Right. Take it away from me, you watch what's going to happen. Don't let me have my way. Watch what's going to happen. Right.

That's how this ends up producing that type of adult. Well, here's the thing that Solomon wants us to take away from this verse. If a man or woman will not hear godly counsel, he must eventually hear judgment. The ear that is closed to advice is open to voices that will lead to his or her ruin. somebody always has your ear and if you won't give your ear you won't lend your ear to a godly person's voice you'll lend your ear to an ungodly person's voice

and they will lead you to destruction yes so who's speaking into your life what voices are you listening to right now this is for every believer out there Matthew Henry said hear counsel and receive instruction, be willing to be taught and to be ruled. Those that would be wise in their ladder in must hear counsel now. John Gill said, hear counsel given by parents, masters, ministers, or men of wisdom, and receive instruction or chastisement. Take it in good part and learn to be

wiser by it. Yes. So Adam Clark reiterated this. I say, here counsel, do not be self-willed. Receive instruction. Accept the correction that thy foolishness has occasioned. Accept the correction that thy foolishness has occasion. Wisdom is recognizing you made a dumb mistake, but then you're willing to be corrected. Doc, listen to what William are not said.

The ear is the avenue of a soul. If the gate is shut against the king's messenger, the king himself will soon besieged the city. What does that mean? The ear is one of the pathways to the soul. If the ears gates are shut against the messengers from the king, the Lord Jesus Christ, eventually the king will besiege the city,

is your soul. He's going to come after you to deal with the hardness of your heart and the rebellion and the temper and the refusal to walk in godly ways. And then the second part of this verse says that thou mayest be wise at thy latter end. Solomon directs our attention to the latter end of life. He's teaching us that wisdom must be evaluated over time, over years, over decades, not in a brief moment. You can't evaluate your life or somebody else's life by one incident. You have to look at the whole picture. How did they live their lives over decade, not just one incident, that thou may as be wise. The goal of hearing and receiving is wisdom. It's not just knowledge, but it's applied understanding. In thy latter end, it's speaking about the

end of your life. Old age, the final chapter. It can apply to both the day, you. The day, you die, what's your last years, whether it's the last couple of decades or whatever, so that in your latter days, in your, at the latter end of your life, that thou mayest be wise at thy latter end. Right. It's a long-term vision. It says, invest in wisdom when you are young so that you will reap. blessings in your old age, have the long-term vision of life. Modern life is focused on immediate satisfaction.

But Solomon is teaching us here, have the long game. Have in mind that you're going to end your life, your life is going to end with you being wise. not a fool fools live for the moment fools despise counsel and advice and they end up with a life that is regrettable

wisdom prepares the soul for seasons unseen none of us know what's up ahead we don't know what the future is going to bring, but wisdom prepares you for it. The wise man, the wise woman, plans for the end. They store up wisdom like treasured for the final day. And so Solomon is teaching us here that wisdom in the latter stage of life will bring peace and honor, a legacy, and

your readiness for eternity. Yes. For the day that you go home to meet the Lord. And this is a theme that we see repeated over and over again, not just in Proverbs, but throughout all of Scripture, that emphasizes endings as really the true measure of a life. Rick, you and I, we've been around a year or two. We've seen many that start well, but very few that finish well.

Many start well, but very few finish well. And so in this purpose clause here of this verse, Solomon is looking to the future. Wisdom is not just a one-off. It's the cumulative fruit of a lifetime of listening, accepting correction. It's not just receiving wisdom once, and that's it, I'm done. I can move on and do my own thing.

That phrase in the latter end points to the later seasons in life, and ultimately to, you know, you're standing before the Lord. So this proverb teaches us the necessity of seeking and acquiring wisdom before that judgment comes, before death comes. It's too late at death, Rick. And, you know, this proverb is looking at life as a whole. The one who has listened and learned will be found wise at the end of his or her life. This implies that this present teachability shapes future stability in our life.

Heart ear now means confusion and regret later on. And I just want to say to everybody today that's watching and listening, don't despair. It's never too late to begin listening. I'll say it again, it's never too late to begin listening. That cumulative obedience to counsel still bears fruit in a wiser, more God honoring latter end. You can start right now, right this moment,

listening to the Word of the Lord and applying that wisdom in your life. That's right. So what Solomon is teaching us is that wisdom, pursuing wisdom is an investment strategy for the final chapter of your life

as I said earlier, the latter end that is spoken of in this first. I believe that it's twofold. It's both the last years of your life, whether that's two or three years or it could be 20 years of your life, the last years of your life. I mean, there's a point where you get a certain age.

You know you're in the last lapse of life, okay? You're not going to be going around that racetrack much longer, okay? you're in the last lapse. And you desire to end it well. And so, but it also applies to death, the day that you die. So true wisdom prepares men and women to die well. Yes. Anyone who has listened to God's counsel,

whether through the Holy Spirit or through godly men or women whatever method God uses to impart that wisdom that person will have a lamp to light their way through the valley of the shadow of death death will not frighten you

you'll transition from this physical world to the spiritual world so easily because you've walked in God's light and the light will stay with you in fact the light will get brighter dog amen

from every testimony I've heard of people who have had near-death experiences they talk about light that you can't even comprehend so brilliant so so beautiful so anyway

pursue wisdom now whatever age you all right now, make it, make a determination like Docta 20-some years ago. You're going to seek wisdom. Yes. You'll have a happy end. You have a good ending. You'll end well.

And you'll leave a good testimony behind. Let's take a look at it and see what the commentator said about this verse. Well, we'll start off our comments from John Gill. He said that thou mayst be wise in the latter end in, decline of life in old age or in the world come, which will have no end. Adam Clark said, that thou may as be wise when all the fruits of thy folly are to be reaped. It is a fearful thing to die without wisdom. Oh, wow. Charles Bridges said, the time of harvest is that latter end. We are living for eternity.

The council of the Bible guides us to this happy consummation. and Alexander McLaren, great Baptist pastor in Manchester, England, back in the 1800s, first president of the World Baptist Alliance. He said, the future is the goal of the prison. What we are today determines what we shall be at the last,

to be wise then we must be teachable now yes okay so now we got one more verse verse 21 proverbs 19 verse 21 there are many devices in a man's heart nevertheless the counsel of the lord that shall stand the statuagin says there are many thoughts in a man's heart but the counsel of the lord abides forever. We'll start with the first part. There are many thoughts in a man's heart. King James uses the word devices. Yes.

Solomon is teaching that the human heart is constantly active. Generating plans, strategies, intentions. Look, they can be good. They can be foolish. They can be wise. They can be evil. People are always generating plans. In our heart, the heart is the seat of our will, our emotions.

And so these plans are, that's where they originate. This word, again, King James says devices, it means plans. They're not just goals. But these are, you know, these can be very serious, thoughtful, for a person's life that could take years to develop. It could be something very simple, could be a very elaborate plan. But what we know here, what the Bible teaches us,

is that human planning, although it's real and although it's complex, it's not ultimate. It doesn't have the final word. It doesn't have the last say. our heart is a workshop we're making all these ideas not all of them are wise not all of them are righteous not all of them are sound man i've had a lot of ideas along the way doc had just i mean i felt they were good and then time went by the lord show me aren't you glad i didn't let you do that thank god yes sir i'm glad you didn't allow me to do it okay

You know, sometimes things, you know, technology changes. There are things I was pursuing, and as time went by, the technology changes, well, if I'd had that, I'd have something that's obsolete. But the Lord is good. He lets us plan. He lets us scheme and dream and plan to do all these things. But he has the final say. So another thing I've noticed, Doc, is that we can have so many

especially if you're a visionary, if you have a creative mind, you've got so many ideas inside of you, and some of them are conflicting with each other. Yes. Like, do I want to do this or do I want to do that? I can't do this and do that at the same time. But you've got plans,

and they're both of them, they're great ideas, they're wonderful ideas, but your own plans. are competing with each other inside your heart. Right. Who straightens us all out? The Lord. The Lord.

The Lord has the final say. Okay. So the activity of your heart does not guarantee the endurance of its design. So wisdom recognizes the limits of human planning and human and foresight. So King Sullivan here, Rick, is really presenting a picture here that the human heart is just

a constant factory of steams. Okay. I like the word devices, the King James word there. It's because it's referring to the thoughts, the plots, the inventions, the calculations. And so

the mind of man is never still. It's constantly spinning webs, what if, and how to and everything else. And note that word many there. Man has many devices. Why? Because he's uncertain.

He's got to have a plan A, plan B, plan C. Why? Because man can't control the future. So the multiplicity of his plans actually really reveals your insecurity and your lack of trust in the Lord. Can I, can I, I want to interrupt you there at that moment. When you just said, I've never thought about this before. I mean, I've known people have plan A, B, C.

I mean, you've heard me say it. I've told our team, look, we've got to have Plan B. If this doesn't work, we've got to have Plan B. And Plan B doesn't work, we've got to have Plan C. All CEOs have multiple plans. I've never thought about it until you just said it. The reason that we have plan A, B, C, and D and so forth is we don't have any assurance ourselves, and our plan is going to work. That's right.

And so what do we do? I better have another plan and another plan. Okay. I just had to say that. Well, in this multitude of devices, these plans show human creativity and restlessness. Man is always planning. always scheming, a man's always dreaming. And there's a place for planning and there's a place for dreaming. But that quality is not necessarily equal quality. There's a lot of plans that people

have that are just foolish. Some are selfish, some are plain out sinful, some are just absolutely fuel. But this phrase is telling us that human wisdom, we need to recognize it's limited, and it's fallible. We think we know the way, but really we don't know the way. Now, for the believer, if they're in submission to God, and God is involved in that planning and dreaming process,

that's a whole different category there. That's not what we're talking about. We're talking about those things that say, I've got a better idea than God. I've got a better plan. I've got a better thought than God's thoughts. that's the kind of thing that we're talking about. That's right.

And we get to the second part of the verse, nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. Nevertheless, this is the powerful pivot that despite all human plans, God's purpose, God's plans, always triumph. The council of the, Lord, his eternal decree. Nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord that shall stand. The counsel of the Lord is, it's his eternal decree. It's his sovereign will. It's his unchanging purpose. That

shall stand. Yes. It's not going to fail. It's not going to leave. It's not going to shake. it's not going to quiver. Don't. God doesn't have anything that quivers and shakes. There's nothing that wobbles. Nothing. Weeble's wobble, but God doesn't.

Everything he has is solid. The counsel of the Lord, the advice of the Lord, that shall stand. The decree of the Lord the sovereign will of the Lord, the unchanging purpose of the Lord, that shall stand. It's going to happen. It's not going to go away.

It's not going to fail. This is the sovereignty of God. Man proposes and God disposes. Man schemes. Vow to God's purpose to His divine counsel. You can see power of God. political, corporate leaders, military leaders,

they see it throughout history, and they bow to God's plan. They're not even aware that God's using them in his great plan. They think that they're carrying out their scheme and God's saying, no, you're carrying out my plan. And when I'm done with you,

you're going to leave the stage. You're going to disappear. And I'm going to continue with my plan. This verse is teaching us that only God's plan is certain. Yes. All else is vapor. Unless your plans are aligned with God's divine plan. Seek His divine order.

This is my heart's cry for 2026. To get into the divine order of the universe and stay there. just flow at it in the divine order in the divine order of the universe there is peace and security and prosperity and good things get in the divine order

when you're out of the divine order you're contrary to the will of God and then there are bumpy things happening in your life and you're wondering why is this happening to me why are we having why are we having atmospheric turbulence, Doc? Like when you're in a plane, you're bouncing up and down.

Okay? Get in the divine order. And don't be acting contrary to God's plan. The reason your life starts to get bumpy is because you're getting out of the divine order. Yes. Just get back into it. Float with it.

God's counsel, his advice, his plans, are good, they're wise, and they're eternal. His plans bring blessing to those who submit, but they bring judgment to those who resist. Yes. So Solomon is putting the capstone on this by saying that it's the counsel of the Lord that's going to stand. Man's devices, schemes, thoughts, plans,

they're nothing. God's counsel is what remains. And there's just that one council, Lord, God doesn't have a plan B. He's not got like, you know, another plan here on the shelf. He does not need to adjust his strategy based on human reaction,

what people think, what their opinions are. His counsel is singular because his knowledge is perfect. Okay. And... He's had one plan. One plan. Before time began. Yes.

And he's never changed his plan. He's never amended it. He's never updated it. It's his plan. Yes. And Doc, what I have seen is that oftentimes our frustrations in life come from fighting against God's divine plan. Yes.

With our own plans. even when we think that our plan is good. I'm not talking about rebelling and sinning and fighting. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about what we think our plan is good plan. Hey, what we desire is, hey, God, would you bless my plan? Yes, that's basically what we're asking for. No, you are to go with his plan.

Amen. The divine order. Get into the divine order. His will is the divine. divine plan. Right. And when your life is choppy and bumpy and you've got troubles, it's, it's probably because you're getting out of the divine plan.

Right. Or he's trying to move you deeper into his plan. Right. You've got a plan, but he has a better plan. So, you know, Rick, even, even, yeah, even the wicked devices of men, here's, here's what's really. wrapped your brain around this one spiritually, that even the wicked devices of men can serve God's counsel.

Take Joseph brothers, for instance. They devised evil for Joseph, but God ended up using it for not just the good of Joseph, but for the very brothers who devised evil against him. Another example, of course, Judas. Without the betrayal of Judas, There have been no trial of Jesus and no crucifixion and no resurrection. And so God can take even the evil devices of wicked men and use it to serve his purpose.

I don't understand how that works. I can't give you all the basics of theological doctrine that reveal that. I just know it's true. His plan is not reactive. He doesn't have to change it based on human activity. His plan is eternal. His plan was formed before human plans ever began, before humans were ever made by God,

before the universe existed. He had the plan. Trust the plan. All right. The word stand, right? That his plan will stand, okay? That communicates endurance, stability, and final authority. I think a lot of people have trouble with God having the final authority.

There's just people that just can't go there. God has the final authority. situations in your family, in your business, in your career, in relationship, God has the final authority. Yes. And the sinner you submit to his authority, the sooner, you're going to be flowing in his divine plan. Human plans rise and they fall, they disappear, but God's plan remains unchanged.

and when we are with him for eternity, we're going to understand it. Oh, it was about your plan, wasn't it? Really, this verse, it should be a comfort to the faithful believer because it assures them God's will cannot be overturned. It also humbles the proud, too, Rick, because it reminds them that no strategy out there, nobody is going to outmaneuver God.

And it's interesting that Septuagin puts the emphasis on that phrase abides forever. That's emphasizing God's permanence in all of this. His counsel is forever. And so for believer, this is a pill of rest. We can stop trying to manipulate outcomes because the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand. If my plan fails, it's because his plan is succeeding. Think about that. My plan fails.

It's because his plan is succeeding. It's succeeding. As we close this lesson for today, I want to go to the book of James. Apostle James, this is what he said about plans. This is James chapter 4, verses 13 through 17. Now listen, you who say, today or tomorrow,

we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money. Why? You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your errant schemes. All such boasting is, evil. If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them. Yes. So James, he told us, look, you can have your plans, but don't boast about it. Don't even say, I'm going to this place tomorrow to go do such and such, because you don't even know if you're going to be alive tomorrow.

Right. Just live today and walk in the divine order. Praise God. Walk in the divine plan. And your life will smooth out. You'll be amazed at the calmness that comes into your life as you flow with the divine order of the universe. That's it for today.

Thank you so much. We're so glad to have you here today with Morning Manna. You can find. these lessons at manna nation.com. Also at our new YouTube channel, Rick Wiles today. And this is lesson 08-2026. Thank you. We appreciate your prayers and your financial support. We do this by faith, trusting that people who are being fed, the word of God, will also feed this ministry to keep us going. every day. God bless you. We'll see you tomorrow. God bless you.