TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles - Morning Manna - October 21, 2025 - Proverbs 14:31-35 - The Measure of Mercy and the Majesty of Wisdom

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

Proverbs 14:31–35 reveals how God’s moral order governs both private conduct and public honor. The one who oppresses the poor insults his Maker, while mercy toward the needy exalts God Himself. The wicked die without refuge, but the righteous rest in hope. Wisdom dwells quietly in discerning hearts, righteousness exalts a nation, and folly brings disgrace. Even in the king’s court, favor follows prudence while shame draws wrath. In this Morning Manna study with Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart, the lesson unfolds that reverence for God, justice toward others, and self-governed wisdom are the true foundations of personal integrity and national strength. Teachers: Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart You can partner with us by visiting FaithandValues.com, calling 1-800-576-2116, 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

well good morning everybody welcome to morning manna for this wonderful tuesday let's give thanksgiving to god we're alive we're blessed we're breathing we're saved we have many things to give thanksgiving to god or on this day and one thing that we are thanking him for is his word he gave us his word and His word was made flesh The word is his son You can't separate the word of God from his son Jesus Christ And so God gave us His word

To guide us through this life I was In my prayer time this morning You know I was praying about our Our disposition to sin Our vulnerability to temptations and I said Lord you know we arrive on this planet pre-programmed to sin

that's the way we get here we we show up with a sin nature and we go through an entire lifetime seeking to conquer it And it's only through your son, through his victory in the cross, that we're able to conquer it, to have victory over that sin nature. God gave us his word to help us, to assist us, to guide us. And that's why we're here five days a week. Every one of us needs this word, and we need more of it and more of it and more of it. it you cannot get through life without the word you cannot get through life without the spirit of the Lord cannot get through life without wisdom there's just no way to do it victoriously

and you can live your life without the Lord but at the end what do you have and that's what we're going to be talking about here today amen we're in the final verses of the book of of the 14th chapter of the book of proverbs versus 31 through 35 and there's there are very important instructions to us and guideposts and principles to live by and when we do it our lives are better they're happier they're more productive they're more peaceful so let's pray

invite the Holy Spirit and then Doc and I will study Proverbs 14 verses 31 through 35 Almighty God Father in heaven we are grateful for this day grateful to be your sons and daughters

Father we're so happy to have you as our father father teach us your ways teach us your your your spirit your virtues your characteristics that we would mirror you and be more like you father we need wisdom we need understanding discretion discernment and that only comes to the study of your word and the guidance of your Holy Spirit. So Father, may your anointing and inspiration be upon Doc and me as we teach your word. May your grace be upon the people to receive the word. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Amen. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Morning Manna. Always a privilege to be here with you. I want to welcome new viewers and listeners to Morning Manna. And if this is your first time, tuning in, you are in for a very special treat from the Lord in that it has nothing do with Rick or myself, but everything to do with the Lord's mercy in revealing his word on a daily basis. We're here every day where we study the Word of God for an hour, and we're privileged that you're here with us. The Holy Spirit drew you here today. It was the Holy Spirit that drew you here today to expose you to the Word of God, to transform your life. Today, we're going to. Today, we are in the proverb chapter 14 and we're going to read verses 31 through 35 i'm reading from the king

james version this morning beginning at verse 31 read along with me please he that oppresseth the poor reproaches his master his maker excuse me but he that honoreth him hath mercy on the poor the wicked is driven away in his wickedness but the righteous hath hope in his death wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding but that which is in the midst of fools is made known righteousness exalteth a nation but sin as a reproach to any people the king's favor is toward a wise servant but his wrath is against him that causes shame god bless the reading of his word today today practical theology day to day living theology is what we're going to be talking about today yes the aramaic pashita says he who oppresses the poor provokes his maker to anger but he who has mercy on the poor honors him so the verse this verse moves from inner health which is what we discussed yesterday in verse 30

we're now discussing social conduct we go from heart to hand from contentment to compassion remember the verses that we studied yesterday Verse 30, a sound heart is the life of the flesh, but envy, the rottenness of the bones. Okay, so we're switching now from discussing the inner heart. We're now talking about the outer hand. How do you respond to people who are in great need, especially the poor? Okay. so oppressing the poor what does this entail oppressing them it means exploiting them

disregarding them have no care about them at all so what it's their problem if they would just pull themselves up by their bootstraps they wouldn't be in that situation see that's that's that's disregarding the poor treating them with indifference neglecting people who are vulnerable all of those things reveal a heart that disregards God's call to justice and compassion so at the core of this verse is the message that to oppress the poor and the needy is not mere social cruelty but it's

it's blasphemy why is it blasphemy because it insults the creator who made the poor in his image yes as a human being

regardless of their financial status poor or rich if poor middle class rich wealthy are different levels different strata of of financial conditions regardless all are made in the likeness and image of god and so to to just brush off the poor the needy it's just to cast aside human beings made in the likeness and the image of God. I find them pitiful,

especially the homeless. When I say pitiful, I mean, it's just extremely sad to see human beings made in the likeness and image of God living on streets and in parks and behind buildings is something wrong in their life something went wrong and they're wasting away their lives

and yet they were made by a creator in his image right so it's just he that oppresses the poor reproacheth his maker to reproach is to show contempt so if you if you oppressed the poor you have disregard for them you you have no interest in them you exploit them whatever you are

showing contempt for God right you're you're dishonoring the Lord by mistreating treating those whom he created, made in his likeness an image. That's why he takes it seriously. It's sad, but, you know, a lot of people can look upon the poor and the homeless and those in great need and just look at them as human trash. Yes. Nobody's trash. The transvestites are not trash. They were made in God's likeness and image.

They have used medical science to distort the image in which God made them. That's sad. They're not happy. with the body that God gave them. That's sad. But I'm not going to mistreat them. I'm not going to call them scum, human trash.

I'm not going to be mean to them. Actually, I'm going to show pity towards them. There's something wrong in their life. So every act of meanness. meanness, cruelty, injustice against the poor is showing contempt against God's workmanship. Right. You're actually insulting God. It's as though... Approachment means insult, to insult.

Yes. It's saying to the Lord, the creator, the maker, you made me pretty good, but him, her, didn't come out too good, did it? They're of lesser value. It's to say that they're of lesser value to God. Right. The drug addicts. What a tragedy. The drug addicts.

The alcoholics. God's not angry at them. He's a father. They're his sons and daughters, and they're addicted to substances that Satan has distributed on the earth. It has made people extremely sick and dependent. God's looking at a, you know, when God sees an adult drug addict, he sees the little boy, the little girl that he made. Yes. He sees them as they were as a child before something went wrong.

So the poor are not abandoned by God. In fact, they're defended by him. Throughout the scripture, the Bible talks about God as the defender of the poor. Of the weak, of the oppressed. I'm going to tell Mr. Netanyahu you're in trouble BB Netanyahu you're in a lot of trouble you have oppressed God's people

you have killed his children you have starved them you have cut off food and water and medical supplies you have bombed hospitals you've your plan was to kill off the entire population That was your plan, Mr. Netanyahu. You plan to kill off the entire population.

And God has seen all of it. And if you do not repent, Mr. Netanyahu, your day on judgment day is going to be horrible. Yes. It is going to be horrible. You have nobody to blame but yourself. What's even sadder is you have even. evangelical Christians here in the United States that have just turned a complete blind eye. Well, maybe the Lord, what's going on.

Maybe the Lord will have them in the courtroom on Judgment Day standing next to Beebe as his witnesses. His character witnesses. But Jesus said you will always have the poor with you. So we will always have an opportunity to minister to those who are less fortunate than us. But there are those who also oppress the poor that are cruel to the poor, that just downright mean to the poor or use the poor for their own advantage. To that, that's an insult to God. That is an insult.

It's like you're calling but God a bad name. You see it with developers. They have plans. And Gaza is a perfect example. Mr. Trump's son-in-law has been dreaming for years about building hotels and casinos on the shoreline of Gaza. Had a problem. A couple million poor Palestinians living there.

what do you do you kill them okay what do you how do you you think god doesn't see and know those thoughts and those plans so maybe uh mr christner's well i i didn't support killing them i was in favor deporting them no okay that's that's oppression light That's so nice of you. You weren't going to kill them. You were just going to force them to migrate to another country. But here in the United States, we have real estate developers that collude with government officials, city and county officials.

I want that piece of land over there, but there's a lot of poor people living on it. And what happens? The city will condemn the properties. they'll legally condemn the properties and seize them and then turn around and sell them to the developer that's oppression look we've got in New York City we have a communist that most likely is going to be elected mayor in two weeks

but he's running on a feeling among a lot of New Yorkers that they are oppressed by the rich and he's making political

hay out of that frustration and there is some truth to what he's saying and there is some truth to it it's not that he's lying about he's taking advantage he's oppressing the poor as well yes don't be fooled

but but the rich have have something to say you had stand before God for as well. That's right. So contempt for the needy reveals contempt for God's sovereignty over human conditions. At the core of a doc is pride. The sin of pride cloaked in superiority. The assumption that your success entitles you to either be cruel or to neglect people?

Um, the Lord dealt with me a long time ago. So many of my stories, Doc, you know, so many of my stories are, you know, 40 years old. like I remember when yeah but but you know what then sometimes I think people think man he must have been a character 40 years ago you know but I I was in my you know

you know late 20s early 30s and I was a advertising sales manager you know I knew everybody in my hometown city, the county I lived. I knew everybody, okay. Every I knew the you know, the movers and shakers of the county because I was a young businessman

sales sales manager selling television advertising. And so I could go in and out of just about any business in the county. Okay. Knew the owners. And you know, I was, I, hey,

I was a hot shot other radio stations and TV said I was being offered jobs come over and work for us so I had that cockiness about me hey I'm making things happen

well the most popular radio show at that time was Rush Limbaugh he had just started it. This is 1980s. And, Doc, the, you know, to be honest,

the attitude that, and I love Rush Lomba, but the attitude that he was putting out was, this is a radio show for winners, for achievers, for Americans that pull themselves

up by their bootstrapped, you know, self-made men and women. What is self-bearer? self-made man or woman isn't that really a very prideful statement i'm self-made or god didn't have anything to do with it no i'm self-made okay so that mindset was there that anybody on welfare was a loser anybody getting government assistance was a loser okay and that was a very strong mindset this is the Reagan years this is Rush Limbaugh glory days what happened was on a in a November I don't

remember which year it was we were approaching Thanksgiving and the Holy Spirit said to me on Thanksgiving Day and this is like a day or two before Thanksgiving He said, on Thanksgiving Day, I want you to go to the Thanksgiving Day a banquet that's sponsored by two men. The owner of the Sheraton Inn, he was a Greek businessman who owned a Sheraton, and the other man who was deeply involved in it was the owner of the taxi cab service. and his name was Frank Turner and Frank would you got free taxi rides on that day if you were going to dinner at the Sheraton if you went to the Sheraton you got a free Thanksgiving dinner there's a luncheon and the Lord said I want you to go there and volunteer and I felt it very strong and so I told Susan I said let's you know our Thanksgiving was, our meal was always in the evening, not at lunchtime. I said, I'm going to go away, thirsty. I'll be at this Thanksgiving banquet.

Doc, I went there in my usual cocky attitude, young businessman. And I go in there like, hey, I'm about to do my, my civic duty. Okay. I'm here to do my civic duty. And I found, I found, I found, The owner of the hotel, who I knew, he bought advertising from me. And his name was Callas, okay, Greek name, C-A-L-L-A-S, Calus. And so I went to Nick and said, he was in the kitchen.

I went and said, Nick, and he said, Nick, and he didn't know I was coming. over. He goes, Rick, what are you doing here? I said, I want to volunteer. I want to help. He goes, okay, get an apron. He was delighted. So I put on an apron. I said, what do you need me to do? He says, I need servers. Get out there in the dining room. When we open up the doors, you'd be a server. I said, okay, I can do that. Doc, when they opened the doors, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people came in. I didn't know how many, people were lined up outside i did not know hundreds okay i would say in that that that day probably several thousand people passed through there were the very poor there were the very elderly there were people

with no legs there were the blind there were street people homeless people hobos uh winos they just came and came and came and came and um doc i uh i had a very difficult time serving because i was crying so much i had a difficult time holding back tears the lord broke me he broke me he broke my spirit that day he humbled me yeah i mean it he truly humbled me he showed me how proud i was yeah and that my pride was offensive to him yes and uh you know i would wipe away the tears and i said what what he wanted me to do, Lord, and he would show me some really very, very sad person, you know, who was in really bad shape. And he'd say, you go to him or you go to her and you wait on her.

You carry her food. You serve that man. You humble yourself and take care of them. That's what I did for hours. And there were times I literally had to go away, walk out of the dining room to stop crying. Now, there's one other thing I remember about that day. Because I knew just about everybody in the county, I knew who the Christian leaders were, too. I knew all the active Christian leaders, all the pastors, the church leaders, the most focal Christian people.

in the county i knew all of them i looked around and i didn't see any of them you know who i saw you know who had aprons on serving the poor the bar owners the tavern owners the tavern waitresses all the people that i also knew hey they're on they're on this other side county we say hey they're the you know they're over there on outside of the kingdom no they're the ones who were serving the poor and i didn't see church people there doing it because they were all at their homes having their big feast it broke me that day you know changed me i never criticize anybody again for receiving welfare or government assistance or needing a hand. I never ever criticized anybody instead of like thank God I don't need it. Yeah for me my exposure to caring for the

poor was I was driving through a rough section of Manila this is shortly after I had arrived in the Philippines and I saw a bunch of children playing in the dump I thought they were playing but when I looked a little closer I realized they weren't playing they were looking for food they were digging through garbage at the dump to find food that restaurants had dumped there yes I saw that in Africa doc it's heartbreaking and I determined I was gonna feed kids and what we would do is we would get some rice and a little bit of chicken and some onion and water and cook that up when it's called kanji is a very simple dish and we

would take it down it's an area of town called floodway and we would take that and we would just feed kids you know and we did that every week every single week and you know I'd like to think that maybe maybe maybe some child had that meal that kept them going just one more day kept them alive one more you know Rick in the Philippines there's beautiful Catholic churches there massive Catholic churches beautiful ornate churches and there's a group of churches there also called Iglesia into Christo massive beautiful churches a cult but massive beautiful churches but you never see them feeding the poor you never do never and they have the resources to

do it. So it falls on us when God moves on people like you and I, Rick, to when we see the poor being oppressed, we can't just turn away anymore, can we? No. We have to get down with our hands and do something. It will devastate you. The first time you see it, I saw it at that level dock in Nairobi. I spent several days in the Haruma slum. And I don't know what the population of Haruma is. I would assume a million, two million, I don't know. It's a lot of people. It's a massive slum, second largest slum in Nairobi.

And I saw children, there was a mound, a long mound, not just like a mountain, but a long mound of garbage along the street. going for blocks and blocks and blocks people would take their garbage and just put it out on the street and build up this mound and along that mound were children doing the same thing doc looking for food because i had to ask one of the pastures said what are the children doing and he said they're looking for food I was just stunned. I couldn't even comprehend that that's happening on earth. So we have so much food here at America. We throw away food every day that could feed people all over the world. We have so much money, so much.

We can waste food. We're so blessed. We can waste food. I cringe every time I see food thrown in the garbage. I just cringe. That food could have fed somebody. The second part of this verse is, but he that honors him hath mercy on the poor.

Honors who? The Lord. He who honors the Lord has mercy on the poor. This is the contrast. this defines true reverence for God compassion the visible expression of honor towards God how did James

Apostle James define true religion to visit widows and orphans in their affliction you ask God how do you define religion take care of widows and orphans take care of the poor that's how the Lord says that's how you're going to impress me I'm not against these big events these conferences and the concerts and you know where thousands of people gather and there's

spotlights and their bands and music and there's all kinds of entertainment. I'm not against it in the Christian church. But that money could be used. Just show me that you've spent the same amount of money for the poor. Show me. Show me you spent the same amount. Many years ago,

I was when I was in Chattanooga, I was in a meeting of pastors. I don't know why I went there other than the Lord sent me there to make me mad. Let me explain why I said that. I know he sent me there, but I think he sent me there just to make me indignant at religion. What you saw in this meeting is what I don't want you to become. And there was a pastor there who was talking about his building projects. And he boasted that they had spent $800,000 on their restrooms. 800,000, this is around 2005, 6, when this meeting took place.

20 years ago, Doc, $800,000. Today, what would that be? you know, 1.6 million on a restroom, on men and women's restrooms in a church. And he's boasting, you know, how blessed his church is. And after I let him go on, there were about 50 pastors there in that meeting. I just let him blow, go on, blow it off, okay. And then when he was done, I just looked at him and I said, have you ever, spent $800,000 on an orphanage and there was silence I mean I set alone for lunch that

day I'm not kidding a dog I nobody wanted to sit with me I didn't get invited to any table at all okay did you spend eight hundred thousand on orphans. See, mercy towards the poor is not an option. It's evidence of your worship of God. It's not an option. It's evidence of your relationship with God. Because to honor God means to reflect his character.

and his character is merciful mercy and compassion becomes our liturgy charity becomes our theology so acts of mercy and compassion compassion literally our sacred imitation it's it's the disciple of God imitating the Creator and it makes him so pleased

he's so happy when we're merciful you know this has just happened a couple years ago you know I get these moments where the Lord my heart um you know i had i had a i had a crane a one-legged crane that lived at my house for a couple months i named him crandal his his leg he still had part of his leg when he was there i don't know if an alligator bit it or he got called in a fence i don't know what happened but it was just

hanging from his knee down and i nursed him back to health i named him crandal and that crane you know they're big that crane I could walk right up to that crane I couldn't touch him I could get close enough that I could easily put my hand on his back but he'd move away if I

if I did that but I'd feed him I'd feed him out of a cup I'd put a corn in a cup I'd just stand there and feed him out of a cup nursed him back to health he was there for months he would just lay in my yard at the sidewalk like a dog.

I'd be working in the yard, walking around him. There's Crandall. He's just laying in the grass. I told people I had a bird dog. He became like a pet, right? And the Lord challenged me one day and said, you've got to let him go, you know. Why? And he goes, because you're making the, you're making the bird dependent on you. Letting go. Stop feeding him. Let him go. Okay. But where I was going with this is that one night, I was driving in the parking lot of the local Walmart. And that particular Walmart is not the most safe place you want to be.

A few weeks ago, there was a man with a machete chasing people around in the parking lot. It would give you an impression of what that's like, okay? I think I've been to that, Walmart. You've been there, haven't you? So, but I was driving on the far edge of the parking lot away from the lights. And there's some trees and bushes there, you know, along. And as I was going by, and it's dark, there's very little. lighting out there at that end I saw a man with missing a leg laying in the

grass sleeping in a homeless man one one leg and I I wanted to stop but I was afraid doc I was afraid it's dark I don't know if this is a setup you know If I get out of my car, am I going to be jumped by some people behind the trees? Okay. But the Lord spoke to me, and he said, Rick, you show more compassion to a one-leg crane than you do to a one-leg human. That hurt. Okay.

That hurt. But was it true? It was the truth. And I told the Lord, I said, I'm not afraid of the crane. I don't know what's lurking behind these trees. But the Lord said, well, go back in the daylight. And I did. I did.

And, you know, I just learned, okay, show your compassion to the poor in daylight. Okay. Don't put yourself at risk at night. But just that statement, you show more compassion to a one-leg crane than you do to a one-leg human. how many times do we drive by people and we just look the other way because it hurts too much to look at them they're pitiful they're in sad condition so mercy is it includes generosity it includes patience it includes respect showing interest not just handing a dollar out the window of your car here here's a dollar yeah that's merciful but

it's you're not you're not breaking yourself by doing that so kindness to the poor is kindness to god himself we haven't gotten to proverbs 19 but we're going to get there one day verse 17 he that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord so to honor God through mercy is to invest in eternity to neglect mercy is to despise God's image in other humans I see what the commentator said Charles Bridges the poor man's cause is God's calls, injury to him strikes at heaven itself. Mercy is the truest homage to our maker. Adam Clark, whoever oppresses the poor reproaches

his creator who made him of the same clay. But to relieve the poor is to honor the creator in whose image they are formed. Albert Barnes, the practical recognition of God's likeness in the poor is the essence of true religion. Oppression denies his image. mercy confesses it. Charles Spurgeon, God is greatly honored by our mercy.

When we stoop to the poor, he stands beside us. Oppressionist, atheism acted out. All right, I'm looking at the time. I've told too many stories today. I've got to get through some verses here. Verse 32, the wicked is driven away in his wickedness, but the righteous have hope in his death now this one

makes you think the Septuagin says the ungodly shall be driven out in his wickedness but he that is faithful has hope in his death so we've got to figure out whose death are we talking about here the faithful person or the wicked person

does the faithful have hope in the death of the wicked or does the faithful have hope in his hope, in his death? Let's start with the beginning. The wicked is driven away in his wickedness. The imagery here is violent expulsion. Driven away. Banished. Get out.

That kind of expulsion. Hit the road. Go. you know a bouncer throwing somebody out the door onto the sidewalk go get away from here this isn't a nice take i appreciate if you move on now this is you're picked up and tossed out so the what this proverb is teaching us here it is in a nutshell death reveals the character of the person the sinner's last hour of life is consistent with his life unrest pursued by unrest in his wickedness it says that sin is both his companion and his curse yes he dies as he lived

unrepentant and unprepared the wicked is driven away in his wickedness this is talking about death the wicked is driven away from where the kingdom of god the lord's presence when the wicked dies they're driven away it's panic, not peace. The sinner is thrust from life, not released from it. This is important to grasp this, that this verse is talking about death for the righteous and death for the unrighteous. How they exit.

The sinner is cast out. He's not released from his body. He's cast out of his body. body the calamity that he built over a lifetime on others now returns to himself his foundation that he stood on through life now collapses he has no refuge because his trust was in himself and when his self fails all is lost the wicked is driven away in his wickedness the death of the wicked becomes a storm that drives the ungodly from every shelter yes they have no refuge there's no refuge

a life without god ends in a death without hope the downfall of the wicked is not accidental it is the consequence of refusing divine refuge but the righteous hath hope in his death this is not hope in the death of the wicked this is hope in the death of the righteous so there's a contrast the wicked is cast out at death but the righteous glows with a quiet triumph death is not dreadful it's a doorway it's a passage to the presence of god i am convinced that jesus christ escorts every soul across that gulf of death he probably says don't look down at it i defeated it don't worry about it but we're escorted when we leave our bodies he doesn't leave us alone he doesn't say okay

you left your body you're dead find your way to heaven no you're escorted this is the hope the righteous have hope in death not merely before death or after death but in death within it at the time of death we have hope so the grave becomes a passage way yes

the righteous do not face death alone the righteous have refuge in the covenant keeping god in his death speaks of the serenity the calmness at the hour of departure faith keeps its light shining when our flesh fails So the believer's last breath is not extinction. It's the entrance. I experienced the sound of a lost person dying many years ago in the hospital visiting Susan's grandmother. she was she was hospitalized and it was near the end of her life but but down the hallway doc i've never forgotten this down the hallway you could hear this man cursing

loud cursing vulgar mean spirit at cursing and first i thought he was cursing the nurses and i asked one of this she goes no he's been like that he just curses okay and he was just shout you could hear him at the other end of the hallway and you know at a point you know you kind of just block it out of your mind because you're there to visit a member of your family and and then I noticed that I didn't hear his cursing that had gotten quiet and and later a nurse came in the room to see Susan's grandmother and I said I noticed that old man that was cursing. Did he go to sleep because I haven't heard him curse for what?

She goes, no, he died. He died cursing. That hit me, Doc. That just joded me. That man left this world cursing. He was cast out. He was driven out. He had no peace in his death.

You know, that's sad. I remember, and I, again, it wasn't there, but this was a friend of Susan's mother. And in her death, she was shouting that she was on fire. I wasn't there to hear it. I heard the story. she was telling people she was on fire that ought to shake you up the wicked are driven out

Matthew Henry said the wicked when he dies is driven away from all comfort but the righteous dies in peace with hope full of immortality Adam Clark says the wicked is hurried away unprepared the righteous even in death is called for his faith Hearses through the grave.

G. Campbell Morgan, the ungodly dies as he lived without refuge. The godly dies as he trusted within refuge. William are not. The hope of the righteous does not wait till death is passed. It breathes through death itself, a living light in the valley of shadows. Charles Spurgeon, death to the believer is gained. he lays aside his armor to take his crown the ungodly lays aside his joy to take his chains

leave it to Spurgeon to sober you up I can Spurgeon probably had a chain in his hand and rattled it in his church I could see that yeah All right. I'm going to go quickly. I've got to get a drop out. I understand. You can always listen to the rest of it later in the day. Verse 33, Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding, but that which is in the midst of the fool is made known. Septuagint, wisdom shall rest in the heart of the prudent, but in the heart of fools, it shall not be known.

I like Spurgeon's take on this verse, Rick. He says, Deep wells are still, shallow brooks are noisy. That's it. That says it all, doesn't it? Deep wells are still, but shallow brooks are noisy. Are you a shallow brook or are you a deep well? Shallow brook is running over rocks.

Babbling. Babblah, blah, blah, blah. a deep well it's got the nice clean cool water but doesn't make any noise does it? No so wisdom rest in the heart of him that has

understanding the Hebrew word here for rest means calm habitation right wisdom is at home wisdom is not restless wisdom is not moving around trying to find

a home wisdom is not noisy it abides calmly silently in the heart that comprehends wisdom and truth and understanding so understanding is the soil

in which wisdom settles grows and bears fruit so the wise heart becomes a sanctuary where wisdom dwells and governs. Wisdom doesn't parade around making noise. Wisdom rests because it has nothing to prove.

That in itself is just a valuable gym to take home today. Wisdom rests because it has nothing. to prove. Fools have things to prove. But that which is in the midst of fools is made known. Fools cannot

contain knowledge. They have to display it. What little they grasp, they have to boast about it. And they distort it. They just can't stop talking. so there's a contrast here between the wise person's quiet depth and the fool's loud shallowness

and there is the spurgeon analogy of the deep pool and the shallow brook says that which is in the midst of the fool is made known made known implies restless self-exposure. Fools love an audience. What is it, Doc? Fools want everybody to know they're a fool. You can just watch people with social media, with television, with entertainment.

Who just thirst and... craves being in front of the camera, being in, just, they do it all day long. They want people to see them. The wives are like, all right, I'm going to, I'll impart what I need to say, and then I'm moving on. And you come to a well. You come to a well to drink, whereas the brook is running on its own somewhere else.

Right? Yes, you don't drink from a brook, a babbling brook, you drink from a well. But you have to go to the well. You go to the source. Brooke is running away with its babbling. See, wisdom hides in humility and folly shouts from its insecurity. Charles Bridges, real wisdom is calm and deep, folly is bustling and shallow, wisdom rests, Folly rattles.

Albert Barnes, the proverb draws the picture of quiet possession versus ostentatious ignorance. Wisdom concealed is safer than folly proclaimed. Alexander McLaren, wisdom's repose is strength, noise is not knowledge. The loudest talker is often furthers from understanding. G. Campbell Morgan, the wise carry truth as treasure within. The fool exposes it as a trinket, trinket without worth. William are not. Wisdom like precious perfume abides in the heart, folly like vapor escapes at every opening.

Verse 34, righteousness exalteth the nation, but sin is reproached to any people. Well, you sure hear this quote is a lot, don't you? It does. It does. It rarely believed. It conveys moral integrity, justice, right standing before God. Not mere legality, but spiritual virtue lived out communally in the nation. The principle is this.

righteousness lifts up morally, economically, politically, spiritually. So that wise leaders understand that the country's true greatness is not rooted in its wealth and its armies, but in its truth and its justice, its relationship to God. It exalts, elevation. It elevates. It stabilizes. righteousness raises a nation upward so a nation that fears God ascends in the world order because divine favor accompanies moral order and God gives strength to that nation we as America we've been leaking

for a long time we're sputtering on the righteousness of previous generations i don't know what we're giving to the future generations what are they going to exist on yes but sin is a reproach to any people by the way a couple weeks ago it was shortly after the um the death of Charlie Kerr. I saw a Fox News commentator and it was Jesse Water. Okay. So on the screen, on the lower third, you know, he was doing, you know, a patriotic nationalistic monologue. And on the lower thirds on the screen, it said, America first got above. And I looked at Susan. I said, do you understand? You see what they're saying? It should say God first, America below. How many Christians sat there in their living rooms looking at that message on the screen and didn't discern that it was blasphemous to God?

Nope, just gobbled it up. You're making the country an idol. America first, God above. In other words, we're first, we're running things. God can stay up there. We'll recognize him. Yeah. Just like Israel made the temple an idol.

We have Christians here. So-called Christians make our nation an idol. Yes, that's right. So sin is a reproach to any people. Sin, meaning shame, disgrace. It means there's moral decay in the country. And that brings eventually public dishonor. it's a sin is a cancer to nations it's invisible at first but eventually if it's

unrepentant it becomes fatal and the country will implode sin shames where it once glorified what was honor becomes mockery and we're in danger here in America of that that our platitudes are you know god bless america you know all this and people are looking at us from other nations saying you call yourself a christian nation see it becomes mockery now yes basically sin unravels what righteousness had woven it reverses progress into decay Alexander McLaren every people rises or sinks with its conscience

virtue is elevation vice is degradation will or not righteousness is the nation's crown sin is its rust the same fire that refines the one consumes the other. Charles Spurgeon, God's throne stands on righteousness and so must ours.

Sin is the nation's disgrace. It's mildew. It's worm. It's death. All right. Last verse. Verse 35. The king's favor is towards a wise servant, but his wrath is against him that causes shame.

So we're closing chapter 14. by bringing divine principles into human government. Wisdom defines both the ruler and the citizen, the servant. The king's favor is towards a wise servant. Favor implies grace, trust, advancement, qualities that are bestowed upon those who act with integrity. a wise servant understands his duty to authority his accountability to god the wise servant acts not in flattery but infidelity wisdom creates harmony within the ranks of authority it sustains order yes But his wrath is against him that causes shame.

The one who brings dishonor through negligence, deceit. So the fool in service not only harms himself, but tarnishes the reputation of his master, his king, his leader. Right. Don't embarrass the king. That's right. Let's see what John Gill said. The king's favor is fixed upon the faithful and prudent,

but his anger rests on those whose conduct brings reproach, even as God honors his wise servants and condemns the slothful. Yes, and that's ultimately what we're talking about here. The king, yes, in practical sense in this world, a king favors a wise servant, but the king, the king of heaven, definitely favors a wise servant. Adam Clark says kings promote the prudent and faithful, the careless and the wicked they cast off. So God rewards those who serve him with wisdom.

Albert Barnes, the wise servant wins confidence, the foolish forfeits it. Favor and wrath are but the two sides of justice responding to character. Alexander McLaren, the king's favor is the shadow of divine approval. The wise serve to honor the full. foolish to shame, so in life and eternity, character determines crowned or condemnation. William are not, the king's smile is light to the wise, but his frown, lightning to the fool. The same principle reigns in heaven's court. And Charles Spurgeon, the good servant is royal property.

The foolish one is a blot on the crown. Our king's favor is the reward of obedience, his wrath, the wage of shame. So we're just finished chapter 14. Congratulations, folks. Yes. What did we see? All right. There's, well, I'm too late to recap it.

I've got to let folks go. Let's just say true faith in God is practical religion. Yes. It's living day to day according to the Word of God. We'll leave it at that. We'll leave it. Good wrap up. Thank you, everyone.

A quick reminder about Rick's book, Megafire. America's next fourth turning crisis. Get your copy at megafire. Get your copy today. Or at least a copy for a friend, too. That's Megafire, all one word. dot world mega fire dot world get your copy bricks book today and we're going to be back tomorrow with chapter 15 thank you for staying with me so long

i appreciate it it went it went long today um i'll have to tell few fewer stories tomorrow but sometimes sometimes the stories teach the scriptures better than than the lesson i prepared that's because you've had to live out the word I've had to live it out. You got it. I had to live it out. And sometimes I come to these scriptures and I think about something. Oh, that's how God taught me about the scripture.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, take what you've learned today and put it into practice in your life and influence the world around you with the Word of God. God bless you, and we'll see you on the next edition of Morning Manana. Love you. Bye-bye. See you tomorrow.