Ecclesiastes 10:12

The words of a wise man's mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. GRACIOUS - literally, grace itself. So the Lord Jesus (). The disciple of Christ similarly by gracious speech, like "enchantment," averts the sting of the old serpent (; ). LIPS OF A FOOL - whereas his thought was to swallow up others with his malicious speech (; ; ; )....

11-15 There is a practice in the East, of charming serpents by music. The babbler's tongue is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison; and contradiction only makes it the more violent. We must find the way to keep him gentle. But by rash, unprincipled, or slanderous talk, he brings open or secret vengeance upon himself. Would we duly consider our own ignorance as to future events, it would cut off many idle words which we foolishly multiply. Fools toil a great deal to no purpose. They do not understand the plainest things, such as the entrance into a great city. But it is the excellency of the way to the heavenly city, that it is a high-way, in which the simplest wayfaring men shall not err, Isaiah 25:8. But sinful folly makes men miss that only way to happiness....

Verse Ecclesiastes 10:12. _THE WORDS OF A WISE MAN'S MOUTH_] Every thing that proceeds from him is decent and orderly, creditable to himself, and acceptable to those who hear him. But the _lips of the fool_, which speak every thing at random, and have no understanding to guide them, are not only not pleasant to others, but often destructive to himself....

EXPOSITION ECCLESIASTES 10:1 Section 11. _A little folly mars the effect of wisdom, _and is sure to make itself conspicuous. ECCLESIASTES 10:1 DEAD FLIES CAUSE THE OINTMENT OF THE APOTHECARY TO SEND FORTH A STINKING SAVOR. This is a metaphorical confirmation of the truth enunciated at the end of the last chapter, "One sinner destroyeth much good." It is like the apostle's warning to his converts, "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6). The Hebrew expression is literally, "flies of death," which may mean either "dead flies," as in our version and the Vulgate (muse

THE WORDS OF A WISE MAN'S MOUTH [ARE] GRACIOUS,.... Or "grace" u. He speaks kind and good things in favour of the characters of men, and not as the babbling detractor: he speaks well of civil magistrates and rulers in the state; of the ministers of the word in the church; and of all his fellow creatures, as far as can with truth be said: and a truly good and gracious man, who is Solomon's wise man, in opposition to a fool and wicked man; his discourse will run upon the grace of God, upon the doctrines of grace, and upon the experience of the truth of grace on his heart: upon the grace of God the Father, in loving and choosing men; in contriving their salvation; in making a covenant of grace with them in Christ; in sending him to die for them, and in accepting his satisfaction and righteousness for them: and on the grace of the Son, in becoming their surety; assuming their nature, dying i...

CHAPTER 10 This chapter contains a series of proverbs, expressing the wisdom and prudence of the natural man. Here are a number of observations and all show that there is a practical value in wisdom and that it has certain advantages. These maxims are of a different kind than the proverbs in the preceding book. There we are face to face with the wisdom which is from above, here it is the wisdom of man. The name of the Lord is not mentioned once, Similar philosophic utterances can be traced in the literature of other ancient nations. They need no detailed annotations....

_The words of a wise man's mouth_ The mention of the babbling eloquence of "the master of tongue" in the previous verse is naturally followed by precepts fashioned after the type of those in Proverbs 10:8; Proverbs 10:14; Proverbs 10:32; Proverbs 12:13; Proverbs 15:2; Proverbs 17:7 as to that which is of the essence of true eloquence. In "are gracious" (literally ARE GRACE ITSELF) we find a parallel to the "gracious words" (literally words of grac

E. THOSE WHO WORK CONTRARY TO WISDOM ARE REPREHENSIBLE. Ecclesiastes 10:12-20 1. Talkers and workers Ecclesiastes 10:12-15 TEXT 10:12-15 12 Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him; 13 the beginning of his talking is folly, and the end of it is wicked madness. 14 Yet the fool multiplies words. No man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after him? 15 The toil of a fool so wearies him that he does not even know how to go to the city. THOUGHT QUESTIONS 10:12-15 384. How dangerous are the lips of a fool? 385. The fool's words start out as folly and end up as what? 386. What effect does this have on the fool?

PRACTICAL ADVICE TOUCHING LIFE'S PUZZLES 1-8. Cultivate wisdom and tact, specially in the dangers that attend upon courts, but also in ordinary operations....