OT Promise 285: Safe and Quiet

Proverbs 1:33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

This a conditional promise: if you listen me (wisdom = Jesus), then you will live in safety be at ease from fear of evil. The “me” who is talking is Wisdom, or the personification of wisdom. Wisdom is Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God. The Father says, “Listen to My Son.” Jesus says. “Listen to my words.” The word for listen is “hearken,” which includes both hearing and doing, as Jesus says, “He who hears my words and does them is like the man who built his house on the rock.”

The promise is for those who listen to Jesus, pay attention to His Word, and actually obey and do them. Their lives will be safe and secure and they will be “quiet from fear of evil.” Evil does not mean pain, suffering, problems, trials and tribulations; it means eternal death and separation from God. The Christian who has heard the Law and Gospel of God and obeys it (believes in Jesus) is delivered from the eternal evil of the bad, or good, things that happen to him. Bad things will happen to children of God. The question is not “Why?” The question is, “How do I respond?” The “hearkener” will trust God anyway and believe that He is always good, no matter what.

The Wise Man listens to the Law, is convicted of sin, and repents. He then listens to the Gospel, is convicted of God’s grace and forgiveness, and believes. That man dwells safely and is quiet from fear of evil. He knows how to pray “deliver us from evil,” and he trusts the Lord to hear his prayer.