Sunday, October 12, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Proverbs 19-20
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 118
Key Verse
Proverbs 20:1 — “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
Devotional Thought
Solomon’s proverbs in these chapters are not a random collection of wise sayings but a gallery of portraits—the poor man walking in integrity, the false witness, the sluggard who hides his hand in his bosom, the talebearer whispering secrets, the king whose favor falls like dew on grass. Notice how often the poor appear here: the poor man deserted by his brethren, the poor man who lends to the LORD by showing pity, the poor man declared better than a liar. In a world that measures worth by wealth, Proverbs keeps insisting that character outlasts cash. “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him” (20:7). That is a promise for the ordinary week ahead—that quiet faithfulness in a small life is not small at all in God’s ledger.
Then there is the psalm, and what a psalm it is. The writer stands surrounded, “compassed about like bees,” nations pressing in on every side. He does not pretend the danger is imaginary. He names it, then names something greater: “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” Twice he declares, “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man… than to put confidence in princes” (118:8-9). This is the same lesson Proverbs teaches from a different angle. Whether the pressure is a hostile army or a hostile neighbor, whether the temptation is to trust a rich friend or a ruler’s favor, the answer is the same: the stone the builders refused has become the head of the corner.
And what a stone. The psalmist writes centuries before Bethlehem, yet the words ring forward to Christ: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes” (118:22-23). Those very verses echo through the Gospels when Jesus enters Jerusalem and the crowds cry, “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD” (118:26). The rejected one becomes the foundation. The one the powerful discarded becomes the one on whom everything rests. Proverbs tells us to walk in integrity; the psalm shows us where that walk leads—to a Savior who was Himself the poor man walking in perfect integrity, despised and rejected, yet raised to the corner.
It is mid-October, and the year is turning toward its close. Trees are letting go, gardens are being put to bed, and the days shorten. It is a season that suits these readings. “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing” (20:4). Autumn is the harvest of spring’s decisions. What we planted in prayer, in honesty, in diligence, in mercy to the poor, is what we now gather. But even where the harvest looks thin, the psalm gives us a refrain to carry into the week: “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (118:24). Not because circumstances are easy, but because His mercy endureth for ever.
Reflection
- Where in your life are you tempted to trust in “princes”—people, wealth, or position—rather than in the LORD who is on your side?
- Proverbs says a man’s discretion “deferreth his anger” (19:11). Is there a transgression you need to pass over this week rather than repay?
Prayer
O LORD, we give thanks unto Thee, for Thou art good, and Thy mercy endureth for ever. We confess that we have too often trusted in man and in princes, and have fretted against Thee when our own foolishness perverted our way. Teach us to walk in integrity like the poor man who is better than a liar, and to find our confidence in the stone the builders refused, even Jesus Christ our corner stone. Defer our anger, we pray; give us discretion to pass over transgressions. Preserve us in the day of trouble, and let us declare Thy works among the living, rejoicing in the day Thou hast made. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 118:1 — “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.”