LOCKET VERSES          WEEK 40

When a young man wants to demonstrate his interest in a young lady, he will often buy her gifts.  Next to flowers and candy, perfume is certainly one of those tokens of affection.  When a little child wants to get Mommy a special gift, his Dad might think of perfume.  When a lady gets ready to go to a special dinner, a necessary item of getting dressed up is perfume.  Something about perfume evokes a feeling that says, "you are special."  It is a rejoicer of the heart.  Have you ever been given that special gift of perfume meant to say, "I love you?"  Or have you paused quietly to place the few drops of perfume behind your ears, in anticipation of your husband arriving for a romantic evening together?  Then you will know that there is a certain message in that scent that says more than its identification as lilacs or roses or lily of the valley.  The scent goes past the nostrils to the brain and then straight to the heart.  So doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.  There are many references to ointments and perfumes in the Bible, but several have "sweet" significance here.  One is found in Psalm 45:8, where there is a description of the Lord Jesus in the midst of Heaven, in His Royal glory. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.  As Jesus walks from the Highest royal courts of Heaven, the smell of what was within those walls of ivory come with Him.  Our "Lily of the Valley" gives forth the sweetest smell of all.  Oh, how we are to be like Him!  Our lives should bring gladness to all around us.  Our garments of righteousness should have the pure smell of Heaven for all that come near!  It’s a funny thing about smells.  While the things of purity, like a clean room, a just mopped floor, a baby fresh from his bath, the lovely rose in full bloom, the tall and healthy pine tree, please us; the things that are not pure, like stagnant water, a dirty house, rotten potatoes, repel us.  If our garments are tainted by sin, how can a fresh sweet smell issue forth?  Will others be attracted or repelled by our lives?  I have smelled perfume on another lady that was so pleasing that I have asked her its name, so I could try it.  When was the last time someone asked you the source of your sweet life and wanted to know where they too could find the fragrance of Jesus?  Smells are also a warning sign.  I had a neighbor who had been born without the sense of smell.  She was always asking me over to taste a new recipe, because smell and taste are uniquely linked together.  Sometimes she would just want me to smell her home, did it smell clean?  Were there any lurking odors?  I was glad to help her, she was my friend.  If I had found something rotten or smelly, she would have been glad to know, because she could not smell it for herself.  So too is the counsel of a true friend.  If they reassure us that all is well, or the "recipe" we are following in a life situation is just right, we can rejoice together.  But if they are led to point out that which is not right, or the smelly rag in the cupboard, we should equally rejoice.  My friend wanted a clean house for company, and meals that were well pleasing.  She wanted nothing to mar the fellowship within her house.  If there was something wrong, or an ingredient that could be added, she wanted to know.  Her heart’s desire was pure.  I could freely share with her, because I knew she valued my counsel regarding tastes and smells!  Friendships and counsel should be like that.  We should so value our friends, that our heart’s desire will be for their good.  If the counsel is encouragement and affirmation, we can rejoice together.  If the counsel is to help them see a fault that needs to be removed, a better direction to be taken, the love and joy should be the same.  The phrase by hearty counsel can mean "from the counsel of the soul."  It is not "a piece of someone’s mind," but a counsel of the soul, the innermost being.  The dictionary gives the meaning of "counsel" as "to advise or give a deliberate opinion; to exhort, warn, admonish, or instruct; to recommend."  All these definitions can be most positive when brought out from the innermost soul of a friend.  His very sweetness of love will be seen by that deep heartfelt expression of counsel.  The bride of the Song of Solomon is noted as having the sweet smell of perfume as a demonstration of how fair was her love. (Song 4:10)  When Mary broke the vial of ointment upon Jesus, the smell filled the room.  It was a demonstration of her love and devotion.  Even after Jesus left that room, the smell of Mary’s ointment was upon Him.  Have you graced your friends with the sweet fragrance of love that lingers and goes with them wherever they go?  Dear Lord, please let my counsel to a friend not carry with it bitterness or a smell that is not pure and sweet.  Let it be from the depths of my soul and produce in both our lives that which is pleasant and full of gladness.  Let it be like the garments of Jesus and so fill our lives that it will bring pleasure to You.

Can you see the picture?  It is a clear, sunny day and a young lady goes to the spring to fill her water pot.  But first, before she disturbs the calm of the water, she leans over the edge of the bank and beholds the reflection of her face.  The clear image shows the color of her hair, the lines of her profile, the clarity of her eyes and the inner joy of life that shines from them.  Suddenly, with teasing laughter, two of her friends break the calm of the water as they splash their hands in the pool.  Ripples of water break the reflection into a thousand pieces.  Later in the day, an older woman bends over the same pool.  The sadness of grief is etched on her face which stares back at her from the depth of the water.  Face answereth to face.  The character of the person, as well as their physical looks, was reflected, but the true reflection was only seen when there was calmness in the water.  Have you ever walked into a room where one of your dearest friends was standing, your eyes met for just a brief moment and in that glance you saw the depth of feeling of your friend’s needs, even if no word was spoken.  My husband and I do not always have to exchange words to know the other’s feelings.  We can look "deep" into each other’s eyes and just know the exact emotions and needs of the moment.  I can remember taking my young child’s face in my hands, looking deeply into their eyes and sharing a communication of love that no words could adequately express.  The word for "face" in this verse carries with it the meaning of open-faced, the countenance of another sharing their inner presence and true person.  In the same manner of communication, we are to share our hearts with others.  Our inner man: our mind, will, heart and understanding, is to be shared and communicated with our friend.  As we stand "heart to heart" with another, our true heart is to be reflected to the heart of our companion.  Our deepest concerns will shine forth for our "soul-mate" to understand.  As the image in the pool, so the reflection in the heart of our friend will show forth our own inner need.  That is the bond of a true friend, the "open-faced" sharing of our hearts.  The reflection shows forth what is truly within.  Did you note that the only true clear reflection in the water could be seen when there was a calmness and the full light of day was shining?  The moment the water was troubled, or the winds of storms blew, or the dark of night came on, the image was shattered.  When our friends have the need to communicate heart to heart, it must be done in the full light of the love of Christ, with His peace and calmness holding that reflection secure.  Even if the winds of turmoil blow all around, friendship should be like that sheltered spring, deep within the walls of granite, where the winds can not disturb our reflective confidence.  In James 1:23-24, we are told that the Word of God is a true reflector of our inner man that we must not be neglectful to heed, as a man that beholds his natural face in a glass [mirror] and goes away forgetting what manner of man he was.  If we went to the mirror in the morning and saw smudges of last night’s make-up and our hair tousled from our night’s sleep, but did not correct the problem, we would walk around all day with the evidence of our neglect.  Let it not be with our friends and their needs.  As our hearts are fixed on that of our friends, let us take heed to react in love and concern, taking care of the need.  Let our own hearts be a reflection of the love of Christ shining forth to others in heart to heart confidence of truth.

The dual application of our verse for today is quite sobering for thought.  Evil men cannot understand judgment in the things of this life or of eternity.  That fact explains why so many people who do not know the Lord in salvation, oppose true righteousness and follow after that which is in God’s sight "lawless."  Often in their opposition, they will actually expound that they are the true defenders of equality and the "American" way.  In the confusion of their minds, they are often defending others’ rights, even when those "rights" are violations of God’s laws.  They understand not judgment.  The same men scoff at the idea of eternal judgment and the notion of sin.  They refuse to acknowledge the Judge of all the earth because they understand not judgment.  The contrast with the person who seeks the Lord is clear cut and dramatic.  The saved understand all things.  God’s people are in direct opposition to those who are labeled "evil men."  We should not be bewildered when such opposition happens to us.  In the context of chapter 28, the verse just before this one states: They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them.  Does that verse surprise you?  Those that are followers of the Lord and His law will always "contend" with the wicked!  That should be a matter of praise and challenge because it indicates that our actions, decisions and motives should be in direct contrast to those of the wicked.  Ecclesiastes 2:26 states: For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge and joy: but to the sinner he giveth travail.  The Lord gives to the Christian who follows after God, true understanding and joy in contrast to the travail of the wicked.  To receive this understanding, wisdom, knowledge and joy, we must be true seekers after God.  "To seek" means to beg, desire, request with diligence so that we can understand and be able to discern with insight which can only come from God.  One of the most famous Old Testament verses dealing with the challenge to seek the Lord is found in Hosea 10:12: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.  True seekers are those who sow in righteousness, and reap in mercy.  They have not sewn in unrighteousness to reap travail.  They will not only find the Lord, but have the Lord rain righteousness on them.  Elsewhere in the Bible, the Lord is shown raining judgment on evil men.  What a contrast!  The unrighteous understand not judgment but will receive it in the end.  They do not understand sin because there is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:18)  Because the righteous know the consequences of sin, they flee from it and receive righteous blessings.  The last word of our verse is italicized, which means that it was added to make the translation into English from the Greek more understandable.  If we remove the word "things" and read the verse again, it says that they that seek the LORD understand all.  Let us never forget that as we give ourselves wholeheartedly to seeking the Lord and His righteousness, He will open the eyes of our understanding in ALL.  The person who follows closely after the Lord will be one who has "life opened up before their eyes."  The clarity of their spiritual vision will enable them to be wise workers in their daily field of labor here on earth.  They will have peace within because God will allow them the privilege of understanding ALL.  This verse contains a promise that is conditional.  Our gift of understanding all is dependent upon our seeking the Lord and turning from sin.  Lord, give us godly courage to contend for the faith and stand for the right!

The first word of our verse is in the command voice.  God is giving to parents a directive to correct their children, and then He gives two blessings as a result of parental obedience to the command.  God instructs parents to correct their children, set them right, point out their errors to them, rebuke them in love for the purpose of amendment of their ways, to discipline them.  The command is simple and direct, just three words, but the result of heeding the command can mean a life time of rest and delight to the parents and to the child.  How very distressing it is to see totally undisciplined children.  A teacher will know that such a child will be harder to teach.  The Children’s Church director will sense the enormous challenge of reaching past the distractions and naughtiness to the spiritual heart.  Even the child's peers will withdraw from such a one.  Before a child can exercise internal discipline of their own behavior, God has planned that the external discipline be applied by parents and other adults in authority.  The entire course of a child’s life can be determined by the diligence with which a parent lovingly applies the correction that can turn them to the right.  To do less is to demonstrate selfishness, weakness and lack of true love.  It reminds us of the passage in Hebrews 12:5-11, which parallels the chastening of a parent with that of the correction from our Heavenly Father.  The verses impel us to remember that the Lord chastens those He loves and those He has received as sons in salvation.  He deals with us as a father would a son so that we might be partakers of his holiness.  The correction of children looks past the moment, to the formation of the whole person the child will become.  It is an acknowledgment that, as the parent instructs through correction, the child will begin to see the qualities and decisions he must utilize in order to be a partaker of God’s ideal for his life, that of true holiness.  Proverbs 19:18 warns the parent that this correction must take place while there is still hope.  The responsibility of molding little lives into potential adults commences from their youngest days, while they are still pliable to the touch of loving correction.  I can remember dealing with each of my children’s first "fits."  Each child tried throwing two fits within one day.  The first was an experiment, the second a test.  Both attempts failed.  My reasons for correction of these small ones was not just to provide a more restful atmosphere in our home, but to equip them to be teens and adults who could meet frustration with calmness and clarity of mind.  The same principle applies to every area of correction with our children.  The obedient child and the responsible adult son or daughter will give rest to the parent.  There will be quietness, satisfaction and contentment in the hearts of the parents and a restful purpose and direction in the life of the child.  They will become a delight to the soul.  Looking at the dictionary definition of delight, we find it means to be provided with great pleasure, satisfaction of mind and joy.  The word satisfaction appeared in the definition of both words: rest and delight.  Correction will bring results that will satisfy!  It is the same as we submit to the correcting hand of our Heavenly Father.  Lord, we know that you are always consistent in discipline.  Help us to respond in a spiritual way to Your rebuke and corrections, that we might be a satisfaction to You.

This is a verse that deserves to be a brazen plague in the home of every Christian!  Read it with the triumph of a soldier marching in formation of the army of the King!  Every single word of our God is pure.  The sterling character of the word of God, and of the Son of God who is the living Word, is beyond all comparison.  We can think of the purity of white linen, yet surely there will be a spot of imperfection.  We can envision the clear purity of a mountain stream and yet realize that there are unseen microbes hidden in its transparency.  Even the oft used poetic analogy of newly driven snow loses its splendor of purity as we think of the effects of contaminates from the atmosphere contained in each snow flake.  Only God and His Word have a purity that is translucent as well as crystal clear.  The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in the furnace of earth, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6  Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it. Psalm 119:140  The purity and trustworthiness of God’s Word is beyond description.  The number seven in the Bible often denotes completion or perfection.  The comparison of Psalm 12 is saying that the Word of God is like what silver would be if it could be continually refined until it reached a state where there were no impurities, no trace of any other ore.  Think of how that silver would shine.  Think of its reflective qualities and beauty.  So it is with the Word of God.  It is VERY pure and we should cherish it.  Did you notice how this Proverb contains a hint of the Messiah, Jesus, to come.  Read it again and notice just the sentence structure: Every WORD of God is pure: HE is a shield unto them that put their trust in HIM.  In teaching Junior High English, I taught the youngsters to take sentences down to the "bare bones" by removing all prepositional and other phrases, then they would understand the clear meaning.  Let’s do it with our proverbial sentence: "Every word is pure: He is a shield."  John chapter one tells us that the Word was God and that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us... The Word is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The "word" of Proverbs 30:5 can also be understood as the HE that is a shield!  How very exciting!  The New Testament name of Jesus contained in the middle of the Old Testament.  Yes, Jesus is absolutely pure, without fault, trustworthy in character and essence.  He is the One who is our Shield and Defender!  A previous Locket Verse, Psalm 18:30, said that the Word of God is tried: He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.  Such a similar verse to emphasize the important truth that God is our all encompassing protection.  Surely we can put our total trust in such an One as He!  He will not only show us with crystal clarity all we need to know, reflect back to us our sins, sparkle as pure silver in His leading and guidance, but He will also be a shield to us in trouble.  My Jesus, how I love You!  You are very pure indeed.

How interesting to view this verse in its context of following verse ten, where the virtuous, godly wife is cited as being of value far above rubies.  She is the one that her husband can safely trust.  She is the one who is worth more than all the spoil that could be gained by all the armies of the world.  The word "spoil" is used in the Bible to denote that which an army captured of great value when they won a battle.  Often it would include all the gold and treasures of a great city, the crown jewels and the ornaments of the conquered.  It included all the armament and chariots of the army, fine robes and costly apparel.  It would also many times include the necessities for an army of food and basic needs found within a city.  Spoil carries with it the idea of booty taken in war or the advantages viewed as won by a victor in a political contest.  Some men would quest their entire lives for such spoil.  One of the most vivid illustration of history is the Spanish conquest of the New World.  Men left the security of the known world for the danger of an unexplored land, fraught with legend and imagined danger.  They left behind family, country and home for the thought of the gain of costly spoil.  Most of them died without ever realizing their dreams of grandeur.  In our verse, however, contained in the home of the man with a virtuous wife, is a booty and treasure of far greater value.  Her worth is enough to stay home for!  The security of her company is one without taint of suspicion or danger.  The heart of her husband can safely trust in her.  He knows her character is above reproach.  He knows her actions will always be those that will bring honor to him and to the Lord.  He can entrust to her responsibilities in the greatest arena of endeavor of his life, the one for the training and care of their children.  The cross reference in my Bible’s margin for this verse compares it to a category called "conjugal love."  Conjugal is a word that means "only those things pertaining to the nature of marriage."  It is an exclusive word.  It pictures those things of intimacy that are unique to the complete joining of a man and woman in the bonds of marriage.  It includes all areas of their life together as man and wife, including those areas that are reserved for them alone as a couple.  Only in conjugal love can a husband give a woman his whole heart or a woman her heart to a man.  What a tremendous and priceless treasure we have in a marriage relationship, one we must always guard, one we can find nowhere else.  We should be convicted of the depth of serious commitment that every Christian wife should have to so live her life that her husband’s heart can safely trust her!  Each wife should desire to meet her husband’s every need in marriage so that he will never desire to have a conquest away from home.  While with his words and his intellect a man may say that he trusts his wife, the question is whether deep down within the privacy of his heart his emotions and love fully agree.  Our marriage relationships should be ones where the deepest sharing of our hearts and life will be in total trust and confidence.  The safety and security of such a relationship is beyond earthly value.  Again, we can not help but think of our Heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus.  Can He safely trust in each of us?  Have we lived our lives in such a way as to have trust that is earned by faithful actions and intent?  Do we make His home, our church, a place of comfort and joy?  Is our relationship and joining with Him of such intimate and unique quality that we have reserved it only for Him and not shared it with the world and its inducements?  Our heart desire should be to always exemplify that wife of the Bridegroom that can be completely trusted, one with whom He will share His deepest thoughts and love.  Our Bridegroom is always faithful.  Let us be the same!

The wife of Proverbs 31, who is virtuous, a treasure of great price and completely trustworthy, is also described in our verse for today.  The description is that concerning her actions.  She will do good unto her husband and not evil all the days of her life.  The statement is one of confidence and prophecy.  Lemuel’s mother is reassuring her son, "If you will search for a woman of sterling and virtuous quality, one you can honor and safely trust; never fear, son, she will prove true to your trust."  When a bride and groom stand together at the altar of marriage, part of the unspoken vows of the ceremony are pleas from the heart of each to the other: please be the man, please be the woman, that I can trust for the rest of my life.  Confidence and trust is what the marriage relationship is really about.  The proof of that trust, is that the partner will do good and not evil to their mate all the days of their life.  After virtue and trust, the next important quality of a wife found in this Scriptural record is that she be of consistency of action and character.  The phrase all the days of her life has much meaning in modern day society which tries to convince women that they have the "right" to have off days, or even seasons of life.  But the Scripture holds no lapse times or excuse days, the godly woman is to be entirely consistent in her behavior.  We can not justify sin or evil because it was our time of month or we were in a mood.  There is no room for retaliation or game playing with God’s woman.  Every moment of every day must be committed to the Lord.  He who sees all, sees all our days and all our ways.  The strong implication of the verse is also that this woman is not in the least bit selfish.  Rather than seeking her own way, she seeks the good of her husband.  Remembering once again the evil wives of some past kings, such as Jezebel, we wonder at their beginnings.  The young king must have been most interested in a woman who would not do that which was evil, but be trustworthy and pleasing.  Surely, he would not have purposefully chosen someone who would do him harm or displeasure.  How many sad marriages exist, where behind closed doors the man or woman berates and tears down their mate, we can not imagine.  Situation comedies seem to teach that this is humorous, but the heart of a man or woman will tell otherwise.  How easily we often do evil, in selfish thoughtlessness, to the very one we are to love, honor, cherish and obey.  Each wife and husband should take the deep meaning of this verse to heart and strive to do good consistently and with great thought to their mate.  The whispered temptations for evil hateful words and actions should fall on "God deafened ears" that hear only God’s call to prefer one another in love.  Think again of our Heavenly Bridegroom and our responsibility to Him as part of His Bride, the church.  Can God say of each one of us, "I am so proud of you, my daughter, I can trust you implicitly.  You have behaved yourself in such a way that I can say you have done good, not evil to the cause of Christ and His working in your life and the life of others ALL the days of your walk with Me."  What a shame to be a Christian who would carelessly do that which is sin, that which is evil in God’s sight.  Evil is a very strong word to our ears, but that is exactly what every area of sin is called.  No sin is too small or insignificant or justifiable not to be called evil.  We need to view our responsibility in this area with great seriousness.  In our marriage, in our friendships and in our relationship to Christ, let us think this day of every action, thought and word, and be careful to do that which is good and not evil.