Proverbs 16:13 ESV
Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.
[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=proverbs+16%3A13&version=ESV]
This verse is yet another Proverb that at first blush seems flat contrary to common sense and history. Sure, we’d all love if our rulers appreciated being told when they’re wrong, that they appreciated righteousness all the time and not just when it flattered them, but that’s just not what happens. Federal congress, state governors, county officials, judges, we can all think of a fair few people who would not take kindly to God’s law. Once we expand our net to look at not just governmental but all authority- as is fitting- the situation gets at once a little better and a lot worse. On the one hand, hopefully we know at least a few people who legitimately do love righteousness, who crave it even when it hurts to hear. On the other, we can all remember people who are otherwise; we can all recognize the seeds or fruit of recalcitrance in our own lives.
At its heart, this verse is not a general description of any king or authority; it is in fact a command and a prescription wrapped within a description of how a king ought to be. At its heart, this verse is a description of the King, the Lord of hosts (Is. 6:5-6). As Psalm 99:4 states, “The King in His might loves justice…. You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.” It is for this reason that the kingship of Christ which He came in His incarnation to found, which is ever-growing, is a kingship upheld “with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore” (Is. 9:7). The Lord loves righteousness, and so to speak righteousness is to Him a delight, its speaker a beauty before His eyes (1 Pet. 3:3-4).
In so describing Him, the verse lays upon us a duty, describing those who fulfil that duty. To be His chosen, remember, is to seek to imitate His character (Matt. 5:48); it is to love Him and to seek that which delights Him. Because He is our God, we love to hear righteousness, and because He is our God, we love to speak it too.
This verse places a particular emphasis on an element of this: to love righteousness when in authority and in power. The king, in the ancient model, was no mere executive, like the American president, or figurehead, like modern European monarchs; he was instead the supreme legislature, executive, and (most prominently) judiciary of the nation in a single man, invested by the people (in the Divinely ordained system of Israel at least- other nations had different ideas) with such authority. This verse, in speaking of the king, therefore speaks of all the authority of the government; more, in speaking of God’s authority, it speaks of all authority of governing (and God governs all things). All the Dominion Mandate (Gen. 28), all the Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20), all the relations of mankind with mankind and the rest of creation, all part of authority are compassed in this verse. It includes even the authority of a Christian to “take every thought captive” (1 Cor. 10:5).
The application of this verse, therefore, must encompass all of our lives, every place wherein we hear righteousness. Parents, siblings, children, friends, acquaintances, bosses, subordinates, pastors, elders, deacons, neighbors, enemies, all our relationships are fair game; we should even desire to hear righteousness from ourselves, be glad in it. Three aspects of this in particular deserve recognition. First, we must seek to love the righteousness of His word. Our relationship with God is the most important, and His word speaks naught but righteousness. For our souls’ sake, therefore, we must seek to love the righteousness of Scripture, every word and every book, even the parts that are personally or societally difficult.
Second, we must learn to love hearing righteousness from others. Even when it is reproof, we must learn to receive it with eventual gladness. Discipline must become to us a grounding joy, even if at the moment it is immensely unpleasant, and wise counsel should be sweet honey to our stomachs, even when bitter on the lips (Rev. 10:9-10). The corollary to this is that we must learn to distinguish when we hear righteousness. We must learn discernment, to compare His word and His character to what we hear, in order that we may love what we should love and abhor what we should abhor.
Finally, for today, we must undertake not only to receive but to cultivate, in ourselves and in others. Cultivation means raising each other up to greater righteousness, cultivating hearts, minds, and lives which declare His righteousness, which say, “Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97). This pursuit of the perpetuation of righteousness must start within us, in relationship with God, and move outwards, seeking not only our own good but the good of others, calling all men to Him. In this endeavor, His grace is our all-sufficient ally, and in His grace, we shall rejoice in righteousness proclaimed forevermore.
God bless.
Written by Colson Potter
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
