Devotional Index

March Devotional

Proverbs 31:8-9

Proverbs 31:8-9 Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.

Our text is part of the great exhortation of a godly mother to her beloved son. Her first exhortations are recorded in verses 3-4. They were dealing with personal moral issues. The exhortation before us deals with another moral issue. King Lemuel is being exhorted by his mother to plead the cause of all that are appointed unto destruction.

I believe the thought here is three fold. First the king must speak out for those who cannot speak. Second he must speak and judge fairly. Third he must plead the cause of those poor and needy. Certainly all three exhortations can be used as exhortations to us in regards to the unborn that are being appointed to destruction by abortion.

The unborn are dumb in that they cannot speak. With the use of ultra sound they can be seen in minute detail but their voices cannot be heard. If they could be heard I cannot help but think their appointment to destruction would be cancelled. The mother in Proverbs 31 tells her son, "Open thy mouth for the dumb."

We must open our mouths and speak for the babies that cannot speak. We must speak to the mothers, to the fathers, and to the abortionists. On their behalf we must tell them WE ARE ALIVE, we hear, we feel, we dream, we want to be loved, and we want to love.

Secondly we must open our mouths and speak righteously. We must judge with righteousness. I believe this means we must say what is right and true without fear of man. We must declare when life begins. King Lemuel was in a position that when he spoke, his words would carry a great weight and influence. Neither you nor I are kings and individually our words might seem to carry little weight or influence. Collectively however our words can and do carry weight and influence. Together we must open our mouths and shout out against the unrighteous laws and ruling that permit the killing of babies. Together through letters, phone calls, and ministries like Baptist For Life of Wisconsin we can make our voices heard. Perhaps if we shout loud enough and long enough even the unrighteous judges and politicians will do what is right, even if they only do so to silence our cries?

Third we must plead the cause of those appointed unto death. The Hebrew word for appointed here is in most places translated as sons or children. We must plead for the children, the sons, and daughters who will be destroyed through abortion. We must be their advocates pleading with mothers not to destroy their children.

We have those about us who are advocates for death. They plead their cause while at the same time profiting from it. Some say they are advocates for the rights of women. They declare that a woman has a right to choose and that their right is greater than the right of the child to be born. The arguments they use to convince these mothers include arguments for personal convenience, or financial considerations, and or social expediency. They speak not for the child, therefore we must. If we don't become advocates for the unborn, who will speak for them? They are poor and needy. They need us to speak for them.

What can you do? Open your mouth and speak up for the little ones who cannot be heard. Join with others that believe in life that with them our collective voices might be heard as we shout out for justice for the unborn. Open your mouth and be an advocate for the unborn, stick up for those who are weak and needy.

All life is precious to God, whether that life is in the womb or in the world. If you have never received Christ as your personal Savior you are in a real sense aborting God's will for you. God is not willing that any would perish and all would have a abundant life.

John 10:10 ... I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

To have that abundant life you must believe in Christ and call upon the name of the Lord for salvation.

John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Do you have the Son?

— Pastor Clyde Ewers
President Agape Pregnancy Center Of La Crosse WI
Pastor of Ambassador Baptist Church, Sparta, WI