Summary
Speak
The motherly wisdom that "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" can quietly become an excuse, especially in matters of faith. If our words might offend, we tell ourselves we are off the hook—free to keep silent and go about our day. Proverbs 31, however, will not allow that escape. King Lemuel's mother charges her son in Proverbs 31:8-9: "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy."
These are not gentle suggestions. The Hebrew is blunt: open your mouth. Speak for those who literally cannot speak. Plead the cause of the destitute—those without the basic needs of life. Judge righteously. Defend the afflicted, the lowly, those subject to oppression who need a deliverance that must come from outside themselves. The mother is teaching her son to champion those who lack the power to contend for themselves.
The natural temptation is to read these verses with ourselves cast as the hero—the noble champion riding in to rescue the voiceless. But all Scripture is God-breathed, and it always tells us something true about God and something true about ourselves. Romans 3:19 silences that fantasy: whatever the law says, it speaks so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world held accountable to God. When we open our mouths to defend ourselves before God's holiness, we discover we are mute. Romans 3:20 adds that no one will be justified by works of the law. We cannot judge ourselves righteous. With Paul we cry, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Romans 7:24. We are not the champion in Proverbs 31:8-9. We are the destitute, the poor, the needy, the ones who require a champion to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
That champion is Jesus Christ. He does not stand before the Father as a beggar pleading, "Please, just one more chance." He stands as the Lamb who was slain, scars displayed, declaring that the price has already been paid. The just God required punishment for sin, and Christ entered creation to bear that wrath in our place. The tomb is empty; He has ascended; and before the Father He shows that the debt is settled. The Father will not seek payment twice. As Philippians 4:19 promises, God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus—every need of mercy, forgiveness, grace, and love.
This is what reframes the command to Speak. We are not sent out to rescue anyone by our own power, but we are sent. There are sinners around us who are poor, needy, destitute, and lost—just as we were. Called through the waters of Baptism, sustained by the Word and by Christ's body and blood, we are sent forth as ambassadors with the only word that truly delivers: that Jesus Christ has paid the sin debt and stands before the Father on our behalf.
So the maternal proverb gets corrected by a greater Mother Church: there is something nice to say, and it must be said. There is no word more freeing, more loving, or more gracious than the gospel of Jesus Christ. Go forth this week, and speak.
Video citations
- "Speak" 7-6-25 — If you would please open your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 31, Proverbs 31, if you're using a Puedition of the Bible, this can be found on page 576 in the Old Testament. We're in Proverbs 31. Last…