Proverbs 25:25
Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
Sermons
Echoes from AfarJ. Jackson Wray.Proverbs 25:25
Good NewsT. B. Baker.Proverbs 25:25
Good NewsC.H. Spurgeon Proverbs 25:25
Good News from a Far CountryT. Gasquoine, B.A.Proverbs 25:25
Good News from a Far CountryG. P. Story.Proverbs 25:25
Good News from AbroadE. Johnson Proverbs 25:25
Tidings from a Far CountryThe Congregational PulpitProverbs 25:25
The Wisdom of ModerationW. Clarkson Proverbs 25:16, 27
The Inopportune and the AcceptableW. Clarkson Proverbs 25:20, 25
Moral InvectivesE. Johnson Proverbs 25:23-28














I. IT IS REFRESHING AND EVER WELCOME. This needs no illustration. Absence and distance raise a thousand fears in the fancy. Division and space from loved ones chill the heart. The arrival of good tidings bridges over great gulfs in thought.

II. IT IS A PARABLE OF THE SPIRITUAL SPHERE. God has sent us good news from what, in our sins and ignorance, seems a far country. We have friends there. There is a real link between us. We are really near. There is the prospect of a final reunion. - J.

As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
We live in a little world. It is simply that we are a part of it that it seems to us so great. By the multiplying of our interests in these days of change and travel, there is many a far country from which good news comes to us as cold waters to a thirsty soul. Think of that far country, heaven, and the soul's yearning for good news thence. Every righteous thought, every pure, simple, generous purpose, every lowly resolve, every warning, of conscience within condemning wrong, every conception that seems to be wooing to holiness and sincerity, is a message from that far country. Well is it when they come to thirsting souls. There are many difficulties about a revelation from God. If we should be compelled to let miracles go, how simple is righteousness, how plain is love, how clear is purity! Who shall say that there are no messages from the far country? There may be uncertainties about many things, but there cannot be uncertainties here. It must be right that I love right, that I do right. God cares for His child — cares that its life shall be right and true and holy; that its sins shall be blotted out. All revelation is not in the Bible. It is rather a record of a revelation. Such records, too, are elsewhere. I lift my eyes to the nightly heaven, and the record is there. I look upon the new-born spring, and the record is there. I look into the heart of a little child, and the record is there What is the sum of all revelations; what is the revelation? Just Christ, the dear Saviour — His compassions, His infinite redemption, the great message; He Himself the living Message-bearer from the far country. All other good news is gathered about this. We cannot separate redeeming love from any other gift of our Father's care. Common news from a far country will often, in this world of change, cheer you and me. We live in a world of separations and farewells. Our paths, with most of us, are together only for a little while. Countries far apart separate the members of the one family of God. But nowhere can they be where God is not. And members of the one family shall cheer each other's heart with news from a far country. The news shall tell how God is leading all by different paths, the right way for each, to the one city of habitation.

(T. Gasquoine, B.A.)

The Congregational Pulpit.
Our interest in tidings from a far country may be based on many considerations.

1. We may be interested in the novelty and the strangeness of the information which reaches us about a foreign country, and the more so if any of our friends have been engaged in the exploration — e.g., Columbus returning from America, or Captain Cook from the South Seas.

2. If we have received any great possessions from that country: as Solomon hearing about India and China, when his merchants returned with gold, etc., from that country.

3. If any great stranger or dear friend has come from it — e.g., Solomon, hearing about Sheba or Egypt; or the English about Sardinia, when the king came over.

4. If any of our friends are there now — e.g., as news from Australia, America, or any other country, where we have friends. If it be good news, how it revives and cheers us! Perhaps our friends are doing business for us successfully.

(The Congregational Pulpit.)

The traveller on a hot summer's day, parehed with thirst, can easily understand the allusion, "cold waters to a thirsty soul." They are cooling, refreshing, and invigorating, and enable him to pursue his journey with "strength renewed." Not unfrequently they have been the means of saving life — e.g., Hagar in the wilderness (Genesis 21:14-20); Samson after slaying the Philistines (Judges 15:18, 19). But the comparison is with good news. Who does not love to hear good news? How exhilarating the news brought to old Jacob respecting his son Joseph (Genesis 45:26-21); how joyful the tidings brought by messengers relating to the restoration of the Jews (Isaiah 52:7); how jubilant the feelings of the apostle, when bound at Rome, on hearing favourable reports of the Colossian and Philippian converts! He again "thanked God and took courage."

1. The first piece of good news is this, that the treaty of peace has been signed. "Unto you is born a Saviour."

2. So fascinating is that country that there will be no fear of disappointment when we visit it, no wanting to return again on earth.

3. That country has very great attractions. It is —

(1)A land of plenty. Failure and starvation, known, alas! often bitterly here.

(2)A land of perfection. Failure of ideals here.

(3)A land of victory.

(4)A land of friendships.

(G. P. Story.)

I. WHAT THIS GOOD NEWS IS. It is an assurance of the most stupendous and amazing love of the greatest of all Beings.

1. It consists in pardon and peace.

2. It is the means of conveying everlasting joy.

3. It is the revelation of God to the soul.

4. It is the knowledge of sin atoned for; of the law fulfilled; of Satan conquered; of death vanquished; and of heaven opened.

II. THIS GLORIOUS NEWS INFORMS US OF THE STUPENDOUS WAY WHEREBY THIS BLESSED INTELLIGENCE IS CONVEYED. It is conveyed through Christ as the author of salvation.

III. WE MUST FIRST BECOME ACQUAINTED WITH THE PERSON SENDING, AND COUNTRY FROM WHENCE, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNICATION SENT, BEFORE WE SHALL ESTEEM IT AS GOOD NEWS.

1. The Spirit of God must open and shine into our minds.

2. He must subdue our worldly affections.

3. He must conquer our stubborn wills.

4. And daily read this good news to our souls.

(T. B. Baker.)

1. It is a far country, possibly, as measured by distance, this heaven that we talk about. I prefer to believe that the dwelling-place of Deity is near at hand, that the sainted dead are separated from us only by the thick, dense, fleshly veil which envelops our free soul, so that we can neither feel, nor hear, nor see. Heaven lies near to the habitations of the just.

2. But heaven is a "far country," as being far away beyond our comprehension. It is so utterly far beyond our experience, so surpasses our comprehension, so outstrips our thought and conception, that even the aid of revelation does give us dim glimpses of the distant splendours.

3. Heaven is a "far country," because we are by nature so disqualified from inhabiting it. We speak of the fall of man, and this is the measure of it — a fall from paradise to perdition — a fall that only power Divine can span. From this" far country" good news has come. News from a far country is interesting to us, if it is from a strange land, unlike our own. If we have those who are near and dear to us dwelling in it. If we hope, or intend, to live in it by and by. Good news has come from this far country, the best and most glorious news that can fall on mortal ear. Angels have brought it. Jesus has brought it. The Holy Spirit has brought it. Holy men, moved by Him, have written and spoken it. Subtle, gracious, secret good news is brought from the far country still.

(J. Jackson Wray.)

People
Hezekiah, Solomon
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Cold, Distant, Faint, News, Report, Soul, Thirsty, Tired, Waters, Weary
Outline
1. observations about kings
8. and about avoiding causes of quarrels

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Proverbs 25:25

     4806   cold
     5426   news
     5792   appetite

Library
An Unwalled City
'He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.'--PROVERBS xxv. 28. The text gives us a picture of a state of society when an unwalled city is no place for men to dwell in. In the Europe of today there are still fortified places, but for the most part, battlements are turned into promenades; the gateways are gateless; the sweet flowers blooming where armed feet used to tread; and men live securely without bolts and bars. But their spirits cannot yet
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

God's Glory in Hiding Sin
A sermon (No. 2838) intended for reading on Lord's Day, July 5th 1903, delivered by C. H. Spurgeon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, on Lord's Day evening, July 15th, 1877. "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter."--Proverbs 25:2. The translation of our text, if it had been more literal, would have run thus, "It is the glory of God to cover a matter, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." For the sake of variety in language
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

Good News
A sermon (No. 2866) delivered on Thursday Evening, January 6th, 1876, by C.H. Spurgeon at The Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."--Proverbs 25:25. This is a text for summertime rather than for a winter's evening. It is only on one of our hottest summer days that we could fully appreciate the illustration here employed; we need to be parched with thirst to be able to feel the value of cold waters to quench our thirst. At the same
C.H. Spurgeon—Sermons on Proverbs

That a Man Should not be a Curious Searcher of the Sacrament, but a Humble Imitator of Christ, Submitting his Sense to Holy Faith
The Voice of the Beloved Thou must take heed of curious and useless searching into this most profound Sacrament, if thou wilt not be plunged into the abyss of doubt. He that is a searcher of Majesty shall be oppressed by the glory thereof.(1) God is able to do more than man can understand. A pious and humble search after truth is to be allowed, when it is always ready to be taught, and striving to walk after the wholesome opinions of the fathers. 2. Blessed is the simplicity which leaveth alone
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Epistle xxxix. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). But what can be good news to me, so far as concerns the behoof of holy Church, but to hear of the health and safety of your to me most sweet Holiness, who, from your perception of the light of truth, both illuminate the same Church with the word of preaching, and mould it to a better way by the example of your manners? As often, too, as I recall in
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Epistle Xlii. To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria.
To Eulogius, Patriarch of Alexandria. Gregory to Eulogius, &c. We return great thanks to Almighty God, that in the mouth of the heart a sweet savour of charity is experienced, when that which is written is fulfilled, As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country (Prov. xxv. 25). For I had previously been greatly disturbed by a letter from Boniface the Chartularius, my responsalis, who dwells in the royal city, saying that your to me most sweet and pleasant Holiness had suffered
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Wherefore Christ Undertook a Method of Setting us Free So Painful and Laborious, when a Word from Him, or an Act of his Will, Would Alone
Wherefore Christ undertook a method of setting us free so painful and laborious, when a word from Him, or an act of His will, would alone have sufficed. 19. Then he labours to teach and persuade us that the devil could not and ought not to have claimed for himself any right over man, except by the permission of God, and that, without doing any injustice to the devil, God could have called back His deserter, if He wished to show him mercy, and have rescued him by a word only, as though any one denies
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

"Boast not Thyself of To-Morrow, for Thou Knowest not what a Day May Bring Forth. "
Prov. xxvii. 1.--"Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." There are some peculiar gifts that God hath given to man in his first creation, and endued his nature with, beyond other living creatures, which being rightly ordered and improved towards the right objects, do advance the soul of man to a wonderful height of happiness, that no other sublunary creature is capable of. But by reason of man's fall into sin, these are quite disordered and turned out of
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Love in the Old Covenant.
"A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."-- John xiii. 34. In connection with the Holy Spirit's work of shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, the question arises: What is the meaning of Christ's word, "A new commandment I give unto you"? How can He designate this natural injunction, "To love one another," a new commandment? This offers no difficulty to those who entertain the erroneous view that during His ministry on earth Christ established a new and higher religion,
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible

How the Silent and the Talkative are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 15.) Differently to be admonished are the over-silent, and those who spend time in much speaking. For it ought to be insinuated to the over-silent that while they shun some vices unadvisedly, they are, without its being perceived, implicated in worse. For often from bridling the tongue overmuch they suffer from more grievous loquacity in the heart; so that thoughts seethe the more in the mind from being straitened by the violent guard of indiscreet silence. And for the most part they
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go.
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Christian Behavior
Being the fruits of true Christianity: Teaching husbands, wives, parents, children, masters, servants, etc., how to walk so as to please God. With a word of direction to all backsliders. Advertisement by the Editor This valuable practical treatise, was first published as a pocket volume about the year 1674, soon after the author's final release from his long and dangerous imprisonment. It is evident from the concluding paragraph that he considered his liberty and even his life to be still in a very
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The History Books
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Assyrian idol-god] Thus little by little the Book of God grew, and the people He had chosen to be its guardians took their place among the nations. A small place it was from one point of view! A narrow strip of land, but unique in its position as one of the highways of the world, on which a few tribes were banded together. All around great empires watched them with eager eyes; the powerful kings of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylonia, the learned Greeks, and, in later times,
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Exod 20: 16. THE tongue which at first was made to be an organ of God's praise, is now become an instrument of unrighteousness. This commandment binds the tongue to its good behaviour. God has set two natural fences to keep in the tongue, the teeth and lips; and this commandment is a third fence set about it, that it should not break forth into evil. It has a prohibitory and a mandatory part: the first is set down in plain words, the other
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

Proverbs
Many specimens of the so-called Wisdom Literature are preserved for us in the book of Proverbs, for its contents are by no means confined to what we call proverbs. The first nine chapters constitute a continuous discourse, almost in the manner of a sermon; and of the last two chapters, ch. xxx. is largely made up of enigmas, and xxxi. is in part a description of the good housewife. All, however, are rightly subsumed under the idea of wisdom, which to the Hebrew had always moral relations. The Hebrew
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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