Laughter because it is medicine

LAUGHTER BECAUSE IT IS MEDICINE
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Proverbs 17:22 - A merry heart doeth good [like] a
medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
New Living Translation
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken
spirit saps a person’s strength.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Varied Experiences Of Good And Evil In Life
Proverbs 17:21-28
E. Johnson
We may divide them into the sorrowful, the joyous, and the mixed
experiences.
I. SAD EXPERIENCES. The sorrow of thankless children. (Vers. 21,
25.) To name it is enough for thereto who have known it. It has its
analogue in Divine places. How pathetically does the Bible speak of the
grief of God over the rebellious children he has nourished and brought
up! and of Christ's lamentation as of a mother over Jerusalem! Let us
remember that our innocent earthly sorrows are reflected in the bosom
of our God.
II. JOYOUS EXPERIENCES. (Ver. 22.) The blessing of a cheerful

heart, who can overprize it in relation to personal health, to social
charm and helpfulness? Contrasted with the troubled spirit, like a
parching fever in the bones, it is the perpetual sap of life and source of
all its greenness and its fruit. A simple faith is the best known source of
cheerfulness. It was a fine remark of a good friend of Dr. Johnson's, that
"he had tried to be a philosopher, but somehow always found
cheerfulness creeping in."
III. MIXED EXPERIENCES OF HUMAN CHARACTER.
1. The briber. (Ver. 23.) How strongly marked is this sin in the
denunciations of the Bible! and yet how little the practice seems affected
in a land which boasts above others of its love for the Bible! The stealth
and so the shame, the evil motive, the perverse result, all are branded
here. "He that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, he shall dwell
on high" (Isaiah 33:15).
2. The quick perception of wisdom and the warning glance of folly. The
one sees before him what is to be known or done at once; the other is
lost in cloudy musings. The more a man gapes after vanity, the more
foolish the heart becomes. In religion we see this temper in the restless
roving to and fro, the constant query, "Who will show us any good?"
"He is full of business at church; a stranger at home; a sceptic abroad;
an observer in the street; everywhere a fool.
3. Harshness in judges. (Ver. 26.) Fining and flogging are mentioned.
The writer had observed some such scene with the horror of a just man.
Inequity or inhumanity in the judge seems an insult against the eternal
throne of Jehovah.
4. The wisdom of a calm temper and economy of words. (Vers. 27, 28.)
An anxiety to talk is the mark of a shallow mind. The knowledge of the
season of silence and reserve may be compared to the wisdom of the
general who knows when to keep his forces back and when to launch
them at the foe. The composed spirit comes from the knowledge that
truth will prevail in one way or another, and the time for our utterance
will arrive. Lastly, the wisdom of silence, so often preached by great

men. Even the fool may gain some credit for wisdom which he does not
possess by holding his tongue; and this is an index of the reality. Our
great example here is the silence of Jesus, continued for thirty years; out
of that silence a voice at length proceeded that will ever vibrate through
the world. - J.
Biblical Illustrator
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the
bones.
Proverbs 17:22
Mental and bodily influence
H. Melvill, B. D.
The connection between the mind and the body, though not to be
explained, is so striking as to force itself upon the notice of the least
observant. There is such a sympathy between the two that the one
cannot suffer and the other be unaffected. But the mind will often claim
such independence of the body as the body can never assert over the

mind. When the torture is of the mind alone, there will be comparatively
little bodily capacity to bear up under the pressure. Solomon says here
that a "merry heart," a cheerful mind, a spirit contented and well at
ease, will administer support and strength for endurance. But Solomon
treats also the case of a mind assailed and out of joint, and says that, in
this case, the body as well as the mind will be utterly prostrated.
I. THE POWER WHICH THE MIND CAN EXERT IN SUPPORT OF
THE BODY SO LONG AS ITSELF IS IN GOOD CONDITION. Where
there is no aid drawn from the resources of religion, there may be
firmness the most unflinching in the endurance of pain. The records of
savage life prove the existence of a sustaining principle in man. There is
a power in man's spirit to sustain his infirmity. The truth that men have
no power of renewing their nature must not be interpreted as implying
that men have no power of reforming their lives. The doctrine of human
degeneracy, preached in an unguarded and overwrought strain, makes
men imagine that they can do nothing unless they feel themselves acted
on by a supernatural machinery, and that, until they have experienced
inward revelation, it is idle to set about outward reformation. We would
always hold that a great deal lies in the unconverted man's power. We
can never believe, whilst there is the spectacle on earth of mind wielding
a thorough sovereignty over matter, a sovereignty so perfect that the
body is set before us as literally the vassal of the spirit, we at all
exaggerate his abilities when we urge him, as a candidate for the prizes
of eternity, to improve the life, and break away from habits and
associations of unrighteousness.
II. A MAN'S TOTAL INCAPACITY TO BEAR A WOUNDED SPIRIT.
We are not accustomed to admit up to the full a matter of fact — the
physical destructiveness, so to speak, of an overwrought mind. The
greatest wear and tear is from mental labour. Mental disquietude tells
on the health with corroding and devastating power. It is the gracious
appointment of God that a wound in the spirit begins to close so soon as
made; so that where there is the wish there is not the power of keeping it
long open. If it be true that the endurance of grief cannot be referred to
indwelling energy, but rather to that soothing action of time which

comes into play on the first moment of affliction, then there is no
witness from the experience of mankind against the truth of the text. It
cannot be assumed that a spirit is broken until stricken by that Word of
God which is "quick and powerful." Conviction of sin is the unbearable
thing, and an awakened conscience an irresistible tormentor. A truly
broken spirit is that which is bruised by a sense of sin. It is impossible
that man should long sustain the anguish of conviction of sin.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
A cheerful spirit
Homiletic Review.
I. THE VALUE OF A CHEERFUL SPIRIT.
1. It helps bodily health.
2. It is a clarifier and invigorator of the mind.
3. It lubricates the wearing machinery of business and daily care.
II. HOW ATTAIN THIS SPIRIT?
1. Look at your mercies with both eyes; your troubles with only one eye.
2. Learn Paul's secret: "In whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content."
3. Be useful. Light somebody's torch, and your own will burn brighter.
4. Make God your trustee. Believe in His care of your welfare.
(Homiletic Review.)
Bodily health depending on mental moods
D. Thomas, D. D.

So closely connected is the soul with the body, that physical health is
ever, to a great extent, dependent on mental states. A dark thought has
power to work disease and death into the corporeal frame. This is a fact
—
1. Recognised by medical science. A wise physician avails himself of this
fact, and is ever anxious not only to dispel all sad thought from the mind
of the patient, but to awaken the most pleasurable thoughts and
emotions. It is a fact —
2. Attested by general experience.
I. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF MAN FOR HIS PHYSICAL HEALTH.
Man is responsible for his mental disposition, whether cheerful or
gloomy, and his disposition greatly determines his health.
II. THE DUTY OF THE GUARDIANS OF CHILDHOOD AND
YOUTH.
III. THE SANITARY INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. The design of
Christianity is to fill the human heart with joy. "These things have I
spoken unto you that your joy may be full." Christianity is the best
physician to the body. He who promotes Christinity is the wise
philanthropist. Some people are always trying to keep the body well,
and neglect entirely the condition of the soul.
(D. Thomas, D. D.)
The effects of cheerfulness and of despondency
H. Belfrage, D. D.
I. THE MEANING OF THE VERBS.
1. By "a merry heart" is meant a heart which has been taught by the
Spirit of God to seek its happiness in Divine and heavenly objects, which
is disposed to look at the bright side of things under the influence of
contentment and hope. Such a heart has the best reason for

cheerfulness. Faith keeps it from suspicion and distrust, hope from
despair, and charity from that envy which is a rottenness of the bones.
The love of God shed abroad in the heart makes it form the most
favourable idea of every dispensation, and Christ dwelling there
brightens all around by His presence.
2. By the "broken spirit" is meant a heart crushed by affliction, and
which refuses to be comforted. Such is his spirit who, seeing his affairs
ruined by his own folly, or the knavery of others, or by misfortunes
which he could neither foresee nor prevent, sinks into utter
despondence, and becomes incapable of the least effort to better his
circumstances. Such is his spirit who, seeing the desire of his eyes taken
away with a stroke, imagines he has nought now to live for. Such also is
the spirit of the man wounded by remorse, or shattered by the influence
of indulged melancholy, jealousies, suspicions, and fears.
II. ILLUSTRATE THIS VIEW HERE GIVEN OF THE RESULT OF
CHEERFULNESS AND DEPRESSION.
1. Let us consider their influence on the body. The influence of a suitable
medicine on the body is wonderful. Disease is checked or alleviated by it
when first received; the continued use of it removes it entirely, and
strengthens the constitution to resist its further attacks. Such is the
power of holy joy over the health. On the other hand a broken spirit
dries up the bones, and the finest constitution sinks under its influence.
2. Consider their influence on prosperity and adversity. All the comforts
of prosperity are heightened by a cheerful spirit. So amiable does
prosperity appear when thus enjoyed, that every heart wishes its
continuance; but the broken spirit is a stranger to all the satisfactions as
well as the homage of gratitude. On such a heart all its delights are
lavished in vain. The cheerful heart can triumph in adversity. But how
different is the case with the broken spirit! Every temporal disaster is
the supposed prelude to their ruin, etc.
3. Consider the influence of cheerfulness and of depression on the soul.
Cheerfulness quickens all the powers of the soul in their exercise; the

imagination forms the most pleasing ideas of scenes and objects;
memory calls up the most joyous recollections; hope paints the future
blissful as the present; and the understanding, rejoicing in the truth,
pursues its inquiries with unwearied ardour. On the other hand, when
the spirit is broken, the imagination calls up only scenes of woe;
memory brings nought to remembrance but what tends to disquiet and
torment us; despair clothes the heavens with blackness; and the
understanding doth nought but write bitter things, and form the most
dreadful conclusions against itself.
4. Consider the influence of cheerfulness and depression on the duties
and the pursuits of life. When the heart is cheerful the duties of a man's
calling are a pleasure to him. How ingenious is the cheerful heart in
finding the means of enjoyment and in extending these! On the other
hand, when the spirit is broken the duties of a man's profession are a
burden him.
5. Consider their influence on the connections of life. The man of a
merry heart is the happiness of his family and friends. How different is
the case with the broken spirit! The indications of joy in his presence
such a man is apt to regard as an insult to his wretchedness.Conclusion:
1. How strongly does the broken spirit claim our pity and our prayers!
It is impossible to conceive on this side the grave a condition more
dreary.
2. Let us carefully guard against the first symptoms of despondence in
ourselves and in others. Let us seek out those remedies which the gospel
contains for raising the bowed down.
3. Let me address those who are blessing themselves in a false mirth. I
know not whether the despairing mourner or the jovial sinner is the
greatest object of pity. The jovial sinner's mirth is like the laughter of
the maniac, or like the singing of a patient whose brain a fever hath
disordered. The broken spirit may lead to that godly sorrow which
worketh repentance to salvation, but the audacious mirth of the sinner
is most likely to end in weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth.

(H. Belfrage, D. D.)
STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Adam Clarke Commentary
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine - Instead of gehah, a
medicine, it appears that the Chaldee and Syriac had read in their
copies gevah, the body, as they translate in this way. This makes the
apposition here more complete: "A merry heart doeth good to the body;
but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Nothing has such a direct
tendency to ruin health and waste out life as grief, anxiety, fretfulness,
bad tempers, etc. All these work death.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Bibliography
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "The Adam Clarke
Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/proverbs-17.html.
1832.
return to 'Jump List'
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
Doeth good like a medicine - Better, worketh a good healing. Omit
“like.”

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Barnes' Notes on
the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/proverbs-17.html.
1870.
The Biblical Illustrator
Proverbs 17:22
bones.
Mental and bodily influence
The connection between the mind and the body, though not to be
explained, is so striking as to force itself upon the notice of the least
observant. There is such a sympathy between the two that the one
cannot suffer and the other be unaffected. But the mind will often claim
such independence of the body as the body can never assert over the
mind. When the torture is of the mind alone, there will be comparatively
little bodily capacity to bear up under the pressure. Solomon says here
that a “merry heart,” a cheerful mind, a spirit contented and well at
ease, will administer support and strength for endurance. But Solomon
treats also the case of a mind assailed and out of joint, and says that, in
this case, the body as well as the mind will be utterly prostrated.
I. The power which the mind can exert in support of the body so long as
itself is in good condition. Where there is no aid drawn from the

resources of religion, there may be firmness the most unflinching in the
endurance of pain. The records of savage life prove the existence of a
sustaining principle in man. There is a power in man’s spirit to sustain
his infirmity. The truth that men have no power of renewing their
nature must not be interpreted as implying that men have no power of
reforming their lives. The doctrine of human degeneracy, preached in
an unguarded and overwrought strain, makes men imagine that they
can do nothing unless they feel themselves acted on by a supernatural
machinery, and that, until they have experienced inward revelation, it is
idle to set about outward reformation. We would always hold that a
great deal lies in the unconverted man’s power. We can never believe,
whilst there is the spectacle on earth of mind wielding a thorough
sovereignty over matter, a sovereignty so perfect that the body is set
before us as literally the vassal of the spirit, we at all exaggerate his
abilities when we urge him, as a candidate for the prizes of eternity, to
improve the life, and break away from habits and associations of
unrighteousness.
II. A man’s total incapacity to bear a wounded spirit. We are not
accustomed to admit up to the full a matter of fact--the physical
destructiveness, so to speak, of an overwrought mind. The greatest wear
and tear is from mental labour. Mental disquietude tells on the health
with corroding and devastating power. It is the gracious appointment of
God that a wound in the spirit begins to close so soon as made; so that
where there is the wish there is not the power of keeping it long open. If
it be true that the endurance of grief cannot be referred to indwelling
energy, but rather to that soothing action of time which comes into play
on the first moment of affliction, then there is no witness from the
experience of mankind against the truth of the text. It cannot be
assumed that a spirit is broken until stricken by that Word of God
which is “quick and powerful.” Conviction of sin is the unbearable
thing, and an awakened conscience an irresistible tormentor. A truly
broken spirit is that which is bruised by a sense of sin. It is impossible
that man should long sustain the anguish of conviction of sin. (H.

Melvill, B. D.)
A cheerful spirit
I. The value of a cheerful spirit.
1. It helps bodily health.
2. It is a clarifier and invigorator of the mind.
3. It lubricates the wearing machinery of business and daily care.
II. How attain this spirit?
1. Look at your mercies with both eyes; your troubles with only one eye.
2. Learn Paul’s secret: “In whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content.”
3. Be useful. Light somebody’s torch, and your own will burn brighter.
4. Make God your trustee. Believe in His care of your welfare.
(Homiletic Review.)
Bodily health depending on mental moods
So closely connected is the soul with the body, that physical health is
ever, to a great extent, dependent on mental states. A dark thought has
power to work disease and death into the corporeal frame. This is a
fact--
1. Recognised by medical science. A wise physician avails himself of this
fact, and is ever anxious not only to dispel all sad thought from the mind
of the patient, but to awaken the most pleasurable thoughts and
emotions. It is a fact--
2. Attested by general experience.

I. The responsibility of man for his physical health. Man is responsible
for his mental disposition, whether cheerful or gloomy, and his
disposition greatly determines his health.
II. The duty of the guardians of childhood and youth.
III. The sanitary influence of Christianity. The design of Christianity is
to fill the human heart with joy. “These things have I spoken unto you
that your joy may be full.” Christianity is the best physician to the body.
He who promotes Christinity is the wise philanthropist. Some people are
always trying to keep the body well, and neglect entirely the condition of
the soul. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
The effects of cheerfulness and of despondency
I. The meaning of the verbs.
1. By “a merry heart” is meant a heart which has been taught by the
Spirit of God to seek its happiness in Divine and heavenly objects, which
is disposed to look at the bright side of things under the influence of
contentment and hope. Such a heart has the best reason for
cheerfulness. Faith keeps it from suspicion and distrust, hope from
despair, and charity from that envy which is a rottenness of the bones.
The love of God shed abroad in the heart makes it form the most
favourable idea of every dispensation, and Christ dwelling there
brightens all around by His presence.
2. By the “broken spirit” is meant a heart crushed by affliction, and
which refuses to be comforted. Such is his spirit who, seeing his affairs
ruined by his own folly, or the knavery of others, or by misfortunes
which he could neither foresee nor prevent, sinks into utter
despondence, and becomes incapable of the least effort to better his
circumstances. Such is his spirit who, seeing the desire of his eyes taken

away with a stroke, imagines he has nought now to live for. Such also is
the spirit of the man wounded by remorse, or shattered by the influence
of indulged melancholy, jealousies, suspicions, and fears.
II. Illustrate this view here given of the result of cheerfulness and
depression.
1. Let us consider their influence on the body. The influence of a suitable
medicine on the body is wonderful. Disease is checked or alleviated by it
when first received; the continued use of it removes it entirely, and
strengthens the constitution to resist its further attacks. Such is the
power of holy joy over the health. On the other hand a broken spirit
dries up the bones, and the finest constitution sinks under its influence.
2. Consider their influence on prosperity and adversity. All the comforts
of prosperity are heightened by a cheerful spirit. So amiable does
prosperity appear when thus enjoyed, that every heart wishes its
continuance; but the broken spirit is a stranger to all the satisfactions as
well as the homage of gratitude. On such a heart all its delights are
lavished in vain. The cheerful heart can triumph in adversity. But how
different is the case with the broken spirit! Every temporal disaster is
the supposed prelude to their ruin, etc.
3. Consider the influence of cheerfulness and of depression on the soul.
Cheerfulness quickens all the powers of the soul in their exercise; the
imagination forms the most pleasing ideas of scenes and objects;
memory calls up the most joyous recollections; hope paints the future
blissful as the present; and the understanding, rejoicing in the truth,
pursues its inquiries with unwearied ardour. On the other hand, when
the spirit is broken, the imagination calls up only scenes of woe;
memory brings nought to remembrance but what tends to disquiet and
torment us; despair clothes the heavens with blackness; and the
understanding doth nought but write bitter things, and form the most
dreadful conclusions against itself.
4. Consider the influence of cheerfulness and depression on the duties

and the pursuits of life. When the heart is cheerful the duties of a man’s
calling are a pleasure to him. How ingenious is the cheerful heart in
finding the means of enjoyment and in extending these! On the other
hand, when the spirit is broken the duties of a man’s profession are a
burden him.
5. Consider their influence on the connections of life. The man of a
merry heart is the happiness of his family and friends. How different is
the case with the broken spirit! The indications of joy in his presence
such a man is apt to regard as an insult to his wretchedness.
Conclusion:
1. How strongly does the broken spirit claim our pity and our prayers!
It is impossible to conceive on this side the grave a condition more
dreary.
2. Let us carefully guard against the first symptoms of despondence in
ourselves and in others. Let us seek out those remedies which the gospel
contains for raising the bowed down.
3. Let me address those who are blessing themselves in a false mirth. I
know not whether the despairing mourner or the jovial sinner is the
greatest object of pity. The jovial sinner’s mirth is like the laughter of
the maniac, or like the singing of a patient whose brain a fever hath
disordered. The broken spirit may lead to that godly sorrow which
worketh repentance to salvation, but the audacious mirth of the sinner
is most likely to end in weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. (H.
Belfrage, D. D.)
Copyright Statement

Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography
Exell, Joseph S. "Commentary on "Proverbs 17:22". The Biblical
Illustrator.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tbi/proverbs-17.html.
1905-1909. New York.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
"A cheerful heart is a good medicine; But a broken spirit drieth up the
bones."
This says that a sunny, cheerful disposition is good for one's health; and
there are convincing examples of this truth all around us.
Copyright Statement
James Burton Coffman Commentaries reproduced by permission of
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other
rights reserved.
Bibliography
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Coffman
Commentaries on the Old and New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/proverbs-17.html.
Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
A merry heart doth good like a medicine,.... Does the body good, makes
it healthful and vigorous. Cheerfulness of spirit has a great influence
upon the body, and much contributes to the health and welfare of it; see

Ecclesiastes 9:7; and especially a heart full of spiritual joy, peace of
conscience, flowing from the blood of Christ, joy in the Holy Ghost, a
rejoicing in Christ Jesus and his righteousness, and in hope of the glory
of God, much affect even the outward man. Or, "a merry heart makes a
good medicine"F24; it is a good medicine of itself; raises the spirits,
invigorates the body, and fits it for service and business: or, "does a
medicine good"F25; makes that operate kindly, and to a good purpose:
or, as Jarchi, makes the countenance shine well, makes a serene
countenance; which Schultens approves, and, from the use of the word
in the Arabic language, confirms;
but a broken spirit drieth the bones; a spirit broken with sorrow,
whether on spiritual or temporal accounts; as it weakens the nerves, it
dries up the marrow in the bones, and emaciates the body, and reduces
it to a skeleton: the joy or grief of the mind, those passions of the soul,
have a very great influence upon the body, either for its good or hurt.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and
adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes
Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "The New John Gill
Exposition of the Entire Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/proverbs-17.html.
1999.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

(Compare Proverbs 14:30; Proverbs 15:13). The effect of the mind on
the body is well known.
medicine — or, “body,” which better corresponds with “bone.”
drieth — as if the marrow were exhausted.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scanned by Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary is
in the public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary
on Proverbs 17:22". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/proverbs-17.html.
1871-8.
Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
22 A joyful heart bringeth good recovery;
And a broken spirit drieth the bones.
The heart is the centre of the individual life, and the condition and the
tone of the heart communicates itself to this life, even to its outermost
circumference; the spirit is the power of self-consciousness which,
according as it is lifted up or broken, also lifts up or breaks down the
condition of the body ( Psychol . p. 199), vid ., the similar contrasted
phrases and , Proverbs 15:13. The απ. λεγ . (here and there in Codd.

incorrectly written ) has nothing to do with the Arab. jihat , which does
not mean sight, but direction, and is formed from wjah (whence wajah ,
sight), like , congregation, from ). The Syr., Targ. (perhaps also
Symmachus: stig [cheerful]) translate it by body; but for this ) is
used, and that is a word of an entirely different root from . To what
verb this refers is shown by Hosea 5:13 : , and healed not for you her
ulcerous wound. is the compress, i.e. , the bandage closing up the ulcer,
then also the ulcer-wound itself; and is the contrary of , e.g. , Jeremiah
8:22; it means the removing of the bandage and the healing of the
o the causative Syr. agahish . Accordingly means to be in the condition
of abatement, mitigation, healing; and (as synonym of , Nehemiah
3:19, with which Parchon combines it), levamen, levatio , in the sense of
bodily healing (lxx (cf. Proverbs 15:2) denotes, to bring good
improvement, to advance powerfully the recovery. Schultens compares
the Arab. jahy , nitescere, disserenari , as Menahem has done , but this
word is one of the few words which are explained exclusively from the
Syriac (and Aethiop.). (here and at Proverbs 25:15) is the word
interchanging with , Proverbs 15:30; Proverbs 16:24.
Copyright Statement
The Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament is a derivative
of a public domain electronic edition.
Bibliography
Keil, Carl Friedrich & Delitzsch, Franz. "Commentary on Proverbs
17:22". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/kdo/proverbs-
17.html. 1854-1889.

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible
Note, 1. It is healthful to be cheerful. The Lord is for the body, and has
provided for it, not only meat, but medicine, and has here told us that
the best medicine is a merry heart, not a heart addicted to vain, carnal,
sensual mirth; Solomon himself said of that mirth, It is not medicine,
but madness; it is not food, but poison; what doth it? But he means a
heart rejoicing in God, and serving him with gladness, and then taking
the comfort of outward enjoyments and particularly that of pleasant
conversation. It is a great mercy that God gives us leave to be cheerful
and cause to be cheerful, especially if by his grace he gives us hearts to
be cheerful. This does good to a medicine (so some read it); it will make
physic more efficient. Or it does good as a medicine to the body, making
it easy and fit for business. But, if mirth be a medicine (understand it of
diversion and recreation), it must be used sparingly, only when there is
occasion, not turned into food, and it must be used medicinally, sub
regimine - as a prescribed regimen, and by rule. 2. The sorrows of the
mind often contribute very much to the sickliness of the body: A broken
spirit, sunk by the burden of afflictions, and especially a conscience
wounded with the sense of guilt and fear of wrath, dries the bones,
wastes the radical moisture, exhausts the very marrow, and makes the
body a mere skeleton. We should therefore watch and pray against all
melancholy dispositions, for they lead us into trouble as well as into
temptation.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic
edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Website.
Bibliography
Henry, Matthew. "Complete Commentary on Proverbs 17:22".
"Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/proverbs-17.html.

1706.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Bible
It is great mercy that God gives us leave to be cheerful, and cause to be
cheerful, if by his grace he gives us hearts to be cheerful.
Copyright Statement
Website.
Bibliography
Henry, Matthew. "Concise Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Matthew
Henry Concise Commentary
on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhn/proverbs-17.html.
1706.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
bones.
Doth good — Even to the body; it contributes much to bodily health and
vigour.
Drieth — Wastes the marrow of the bones, and the moisture and
strength of the body.

Copyright Statement
Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "John Wesley's
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/proverbs-17.html.
1765.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a
broken spirit drieth the bones.
Ver. 22. A merry heart doeth good, like a medicine.] E : so the
Septuagint renders it. And, indeed, it is ~ that makes . All true mirth is
from rectitude of the mind, from a right frame of soul. When faith hath
once healed the conscience, and grace hath hushed the affections, and
composed all within, so that there is a Sabbath of spirit, and a blessed
tranquillity lodged in the soul; then the body also is vigorous and
vigetous, for the most part in very good plight and healthful
constitution, which makes man’s life very comfortable. For, si vales,
bene est. If you are well it is good. And . "Go thy ways," saith Solomon
to him that hath a good conscience, "eat thy bread with joy, and drink
thy wine with a merry heart, since God accepteth thy works. Let thy
garments be always white, and let thy head lack no ointment. Live
joyfully with the wife of thy youth," [Ecclesiastes 9:7-9] &c., be
lightsome in thy clothes, merry at thy meats, painful in thy calling, &c.,
these do notably conduce to and help on health. They that in the use of
lawful means "wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they

shall walk and not faint." [Isaiah 40:31]
But a broken spirit drieth the bones.] By drinking up the marrow and
radical moisture. See this in David, [Psalms 32:3] whose "bones waxed
old," whose "moisture," or chief sap, "was turned into the drought of
summer"; his "heart was smitten and withered like grass; his days
consumed like smoke"; [Psalms 102:3-4] his whole body was "like a
bottle in the smoke"; [Psalms 119:83] he was a very bag of bones, and
those also "burnt as a hearth." [Psalms 102:3] Aristotle, in his book of
long and short life, assigns grief for a chief cause of death. And the
apostle saith as much in 2 Corinthians 7:10. {See Trapp on "2
Corinthians 7:10"} {See Trapp on "Proverbs 12:25"} All
immoderations, saith Hippocrates, are great enemies to health.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Trapp, John. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". John Trapp Complete
Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/proverbs-17.html.
1865-1868.
The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann
v. 22. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, cheerfulness is
conducive to health and well-being; but a broken spirit, one afflicted
with grief and distress, drieth the bones, taking the very marrow and
strength out of the body.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Kretzmann, Paul E. Ph. D., D. D. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22".
"Kretzmann's Popular Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/kpc/proverbs-17.html.
1921-23.
Sermon Bible Commentary
Proverbs 17:22
I. Consider the power which the mind can exert in support of the body,
so long as itself is in good case. If it be true that the spirit of man has a
medicinal power, that there is a strength in his nature which endows
him with such control over the body that he can give it up to the worst
tortures, and yet betray no fear, then it must be quite idle to argue that
he possesses no power by which to keep passions in check, and to make
a bold stand against the cravings of unrighteousness. We want no better
argument by which to prove to man that there is a strength in his nature
for offering resistance to evil, a strength for which he shall give account
at the judgment, than that which we fetch from the fact that there is a
strength for sustaining infirmity.
II. Consider how, if the mind itself be disordered, it will break down the
body—"A broken spirit drieth the bones." We take the statement of
Solomon to be that, though there is a strength in man through which he
can bear up against physical pressure, there is comparatively none for

the sustaining of mental. We will admit that under certain limitations
men may endure mental pain as well as bodily. It is a fine argument for
the immortality of the soul, for the certainty of her soaring above the
wreck of matter, that, however she be assailed by pain, so long as the
pain is unconnected with her everlasting destinies, she never fails, so to
speak, as to pass beyond the hope of recovery. We believe that a truly
broken spirit is that which is bruised with a sense of sin, and if this be a
broken spirit, how true that "a broken spirit drieth the bones." Yet
though a man may have been forced to say with Job, "The arrows of the
Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit; the
terrors of God do set themselves in array against me," he will have
passed speedily on to the beholding Jesus dying, "the just for the
unjust," to the viewing in Him the propitiation for sin, and the
"Advocate with the Father."
H. Melvill, Penny Pulpit, No. 1896.
References: Proverbs 17:22.—S. Cox, An Expositor's Notebook, p. 161;
H. Melvill, Voices of the Year, vol. ii., p. 321. Proverbs 17:26.—J. H.
Hitchens, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xx., p. 219. Proverbs 18:1-8.—R.
Wardlaw, Lectures on Proverbs, vol. ii., p. 169. Proverbs 18:9-14.—
Ibid., p. 180.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicoll, William R. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Sermon Bible
Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/sbc/proverbs-17.html.

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
Proverbs 17:22. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine— Dr. Grey
renders this verse thus, A merry heart doeth good to the body, or flesh;
but a broken spirit drieth the bones. We often meet with this opposition,
and the sense perhaps is more complete, especially if we leave out the
word like, which is not in the Hebrew. Houbigant translates it nearly in
the same manner.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Coke, Thomas. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". Thomas Coke
Commentary on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tcc/proverbs-17.html.
1801-1803.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
A merry heart; cheerfulness of soul, especially that which is solid, and
ariseth from the witness of a good conscience.
Doeth good, even to the body; it contributes very much to the
restoration or preservation of bodily health and rigour, as physicians
observe, and experience showeth.
Broken; sad and dejected.
Drieth the bones; wasteth the marrow of the bones, and the moisture
and strength of the body.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". Matthew Poole's
English Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/proverbs-17.html.
1685.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
22. A merry heart doeth good medicine — Makes a good medicine —
“a happy cure.” — Gesenius.
Broken spirit — A heart so smitten as to be devoid of gladness drieth the
bones. The proverb recognises the well-known fact in psychology, that a
happy frame of mind and a joyous temperament contribute greatly to
health of body, and that nothing has a more powerful tendency to injure
it than grief, anxiety, fretfulness, and bad temper. Compare Proverbs
15:25; Proverbs 15:13; Proverbs 3:8; Hosea 5:13.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Whedon, Daniel. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Whedon's
Commentary on the Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/whe/proverbs-17.html.

1874-1909.
Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments
Proverbs 17:22. A merry heart — Cheerfullness of mind, especially that
which is solid, and ariseth from the testimony of a good conscience;
doeth good like a medicine — Even to the body; it contributes very
much to the restoration or preservation of bodily health and vigour, as
physicians observe and experience shows; but a broken spirit — A spirit
sad and dejected; drieth the bones — Wasteth the marrow of the bones,
and the moisture and strength of the body.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Benson, Joseph. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". Joseph Benson's
Commentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rbc/proverbs-17.html.
1857.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
spirit. Hebrew. ruach. App-9.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/proverbs-17.html.
1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged
bones.
A merry heart doeth good (like) a medicine - or else, 'make good (i:e.,
effectual) medicine;' cf. margin: so Mercer. The same root as here
[ geehah (Hebrew #1456)] occurs in Hosea 5:13, "cure." Gesenius thinks
the root-meaning to be the removal of the ligature of a wound. Quiet,
diet, and cheerfulness flowing from a good conscience, are the best
medicines (Proverbs 15:15; Proverbs 3:7-8; Proverbs 4:22).
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary
on Proverbs 17:22". "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible - Unabridged".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/proverbs-17.html.
1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(22) A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.—Or rather, Makes good
a recovery., (For the duty of religious gladness, in gratitude for the love
of God towards us, comp. Philippians 3:1; Philippians 4:4.)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "Ellicott's
Commentary for English Readers".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ebc/proverbs-17.html.
1905.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
bones.
merry
12:25; 15:13; 18:14; Ecclesiastes 9:7-9; Romans 5:2-5
like a medicine
Heb. to a medicine. a broken.
Psalms 22:15; 32:3,4; 102:3-5; 2 Corinthians 2:7; 7:10
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Torrey, R. A. "Commentary on Proverbs 17:22". "The Treasury of
Scripture Knowledge".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tsk/proverbs-17.html.
Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.—
Pro . A broken spirit. Miller renders "an upraiding spirit," i.e., spirit
which cavils at God's providential dealings.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro
THE MERRY HEART
I. The mind acts upon the body. It is a fact which no observant man
would deny, that there is an intimate connection between sorrow of soul
and sickness of body, and that cheerfulness of spirit tends to physical
health. A physician always tries to keep his patient in good spirits, and
when he discerns that he is weighed down by some mental burden, he
wisely seeks to lighten that as well as to administer remedies to the body.
And when a man is in health cheerfulness of disposition tends to keep
him so; while a depressed condition of mind makes him a more easy
prey to disease. That "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a
broken spirit drieth the bones," is a convincing proof of the mysterious
sympathy that exists between the man and his earthly dwelling-place.
II. What will conduce to cheerfulness of spirit—to what Solomon here
calls "a merry heart?"
1. A heart at peace with God. Some poisons taken into the system
produce for a time a calming and quieting influence upon the body, but

it is a quiet and a calm which comes from deadening the capabilities of
feeling. Opium may send a man to sleep, but it is a sleep which gives
neither refreshment nor strength. A quiet conscience is the first and
indispensable element of heart-cheerfulness, and there are other
methods of getting free for a time from pain of conscience beside "that
peace with God which comes from being justified by faith" (Rom ). But
all other quiet of soul comes from opiates whose power is but for a time,
while this peace comes from the consciousness of reconciliation with
God—from a sense of standing in a right relation to all that is right and
true in the universe.
2. A vivid realization of unseen realities. Though a state of reconciliation
with God will give freedom from the sense of guilt, it does not always
give that active state of cheerfulness which can be called "a merry
heart." A river sometimes glides along between its banks in a state of
undisturbed calmness; but there are times when the volume of water is
so great that it overflows its channels. Peace is like a calm river, but joy
is like one whose waters cannot contain themselves within its
boundaries, but must pour forth on the right hand and on the left. Peace
has been defined as "love resting," and joy as "love exulting." The one
is a passive state of mind, while the other is active. But it is the latter,
rather than the former, which makes that cheerful spirit which "doeth
good like a medicine," and it is the fruit only of a vivid sense of "things
not seen" (Heb ). Those who live on high lands and breathe the pure
mountain air, are conscious of an exuberance of animal life, of which
even perfectly healthy people who live in the valleys know nothing. So,
men who live in the higher regions of spiritual life know a "joy in
God"—are sensible of an uplifting of spirit—to which ordinary and
every-day Christians are strangers. They are not only believers, but they
are filled with "all joy and peace in believing;" they not only have
"peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," but they "rejoice in
hope of the glory of God" (Rom 5:1-2).
3. A life of active love. A selfish man can never be a cheerful man—he
who lives for himself alone can never know the healing power of "a
merry heart." There can be no abiding cheerfulness of heart without joy

in God, and there can be no abiding joy in God without love to man.
"There is nothing," says Dr. Maclaren, "more evanescent in its nature
than the emotion of religious joy, faith, or the like, unless it be turned
into a spring of action for God. Such emotions, like photographs, vanish
from the heart unless they be fixed. Work for God is the way to fix
them. Joy in God is the strength of work for God, but work for God is
the perpetuation of joy in God."
OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS
Mirth is short and transient, cheerfulness fixed and permanent. Those
are often raised into the greatest transports of mirth who are subject to
the greatest depressions of melancholy. On the contrary, cheerfulness,
though it does not give the mind such an exquisite gladness, prevents us
from falling into any depths of sorrow. Mirth is like a flash of lightning,
that breaks through a gloom of clouds, and glitters for a moment;
cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind.… Cheerfulness is
the best promoter of health. Repinings and secret murmurs of heart give
imperceptible strokes to those delicate fibres of which the vital parts are
composed, and wear out the machine insensibly; not to mention those
violent ferments which they stir up in the blood, and those irregular
disturbed motions which they raise in the animal spirits. I scarce
remember, in my own observation, to have met with many old men, or
with such who (to use our English phrase) wear well, that had not at
least a certain indolence in their humour, if not a more than ordinary
gaiety and cheerfulness of heart. The truth is, health and cheerfulness
mutually beget each other.—Addison.
The verb means, to cure, and, as far as we can fix it, the noun means,
not a medicine, but a final "cure." In the world at large cheerfulness is
an immense gift; but in religion the wise man wishes to say that
hopefulness is strength (Neh ); that it is better to look cheerfully upon
God, than with complaints; that if we are to be cured at all, a glad heart
will help it.—Miller.
All true mirth is from rectitude of the mind, from a right frame of soul.

When faith hath once healed the conscience, and grace hath hushed the
affections, and composed all within, so that there is a sabbath of the
spirit, and a blessed tranquillity lodged in the soul, then the body also is
vigorous and vigetous, for most part in very good plight and healthful
constitution, which makes man's life very comfortable.… They that in
the use of lawful means wait on the Lord, shall renew their strength (Isa
).—Trapp.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
Proverbs 17:17-22 Good Medicine
In a Better Homes and Gardens article titled “Laugh Your Way to Good
Health, ”Nick Gallo made an observation that echoes what Solomon
wrote thousands of years ago:“ A merry heart does good, like medicine”
(Proverbs 17:22). Gallo said,“ Humor is good medicine-and can actually
help keep you in good health.” He quoted William F. Fry, M.D., who
describes laughter as “inner jogging” and says that it’s good for a
person’s cardiovascular system.
Comparing laughter to exercise, Gallo pointed out that when a person
laughs heartily several physical benefits occur. There’s a temporary
lowering of blood pressure, a decreased rate of breathing, and a
reduction in muscle tension. He said that many people sense a “relaxed
afterglow.” He concluded, “An enduring sense of humor, especially
combined with other inner resources such as faith and optimism,
appears to be a potent force for better health.”
Christians, above all others, should benefit from laughter because we
have the greatest reason to be joyful. Our faith is firmly rooted in God,
and our optimism is based on the assurance that our lives are under His
wise control.

Don’t be afraid to enjoy a good laugh—it’s good medicine.—Richard De
Haan
Laughter is a remedy
For sorrow and for care;
It brings joy to troubled souls,
To damaged hearts, repair. —Sper
He who laughs, lasts.
Proverbs 17:22
A Reason For Optimism
The Bible isn't a psychology textbook, but it gives us the wisest counsel
for experiencing happiness here and now. Proverbs 17:22, for example,
assures us that "a merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken
spirit dries the bones."
That simple statement was recently corroborated by the extensive
research of Dr. Daniel Mark, a heart specialist at Duke University. The
New York Times article that reported his findings carried this headline:
"Optimism Can Mean Life for Heart Patients and Pessimism Death."
The article begins with these words: "A healthy outlook helps heal the
heart."
But Dr. Nancy Frasure-Smith, a heart specialist who has studied the
effect of depression, anxiety, and anger, admitted, "We don't know how
to change negative emotions."
Faith in God, however, can produce that change. People who look
beyond their present difficulty and put their trust in God's goodness
cannot help but be joyful.
It's significant that our Savior said on several occasions, "Be of good
cheer" (Matthew 9:2,22; 14:27; Acts 23:11). Knowing that life is filled

with many crises, He encourages us with this word of reassurance: "Be
of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).—Vernon C
Grounds
All your anxiety, all your care
Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there;
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus. —Joy
No matter what happens, you can find joy in the Lord
Proverbs 17:22a
CULTIVATING CHEERFULNESS
F. B. Meyer. Our Daily Walk.
A HAPPY AND cheerful heart is a matter of cultivation. We cannot
afford to abandon ourselves entirely to our moods. There are times
when we feel depressed and sad, for no special reason, except that a
mood is on us! It is at such times that we need to anoint our heads, and
wash our faces, that we may not be consumed by our fretfulness, or
impose our depression upon others, for nothing is worse than to be a wet
blanket! (Matt. 6:16-18.)
On the other hand, there is nothing more objectionable than to be
always in the presence of a comic person who thinks that every occasion
must serve for frolic. After a time one gets as tired of funny stories and
perpetual punning as of gloom, but while avoiding this extreme, we
must not fall into the other of wearing a lugubrious expression and
giving way to a moodiness of spirit, which cannot be accounted for.
We may alter our dispositions and moods by a resolute action of the will.
We can refuse to look miserable, to speak mournfully, to be pessimistic,
to pass on depression. In a spirit of unselfishness we can put on a
cheerful courage, array ourselves in the garments of joy, anoint
ourselves with the spirit of praise and thankfulness, and go forth into

the world to shed sunbeams rather than shadows on the path of life. Do
not nurse your sorrow of heart, lest your spirit and the spirits of others
be broken.
We can promote a cheerful heart by dwelling on the bright things of our
lot; by counting up the mercies which are left, rather than dwelling on
what we have lost. When the heart is full of the light and love of God,
can it be other than cheerful? How can this be obtained except by a
living union with Jesus Christ. In Him there is an infinitude of supply of
peace and joy, sunshine and light. Let us open our hearts to him, and
put on these things as we array ourselves each morning in our garments
(Isa. 61:3-10).
PRAYER
Through all the changing scenes of life,
In trouble and in joy,
The praises of my God shall still
My heart and tongue employ. AMEN.
Proverbs 17:22b
After Rufus Mosley became a Christian, he fairly bubbled with
irrepressible joy. A few dour souls even doubted his sanity. However, a
man who observed him closely for a week said to his wife, "There may
be someone `crazy' around here, but it isn't Brother Rufus!"
Mirth has become a commercial commodity. Entertainers who can
make people hilarious with their humor draw fabulous salaries. Laugh
meters register the success of a performer, and mil-lions subscribe to the
old axiom, "Laughter is the best medicine." We who know the Lord
recognize that the adage just quoted contains a good deal of truth.
However, we also realize that the world's gaiety is usually shallow,
because it does not come from within, nor arise from true contentment
of spirit. What men really need is the "deep-down laughter of the
heart." Therefore the writer of Proverbs says, "A merry heart doeth

good like a medicine." Physicians will confirm that people with true
faith in God and a real "will to live" have a much better rate of survival
than downhearted, depressed individuals. Yes, "laughter of the heart" is
a splendid "medicine"!
The words "rejoice" and "joy" appear in the Bible hundreds of times.
Think of Paul writing his epistles from a Roman prison and saying,
"Rejoice, and again I say rejoice!" Yet, when we think it through, this is
not so strange, for believers should be the most contented of all people,
knowing that their Savior has forgiven their sins, given them peace with
God, and that He constantly guides their feet. Then, to crown it all,
eternal glory also awaits them at the end of their earthly road. No
wonder the Psalmist exclaims, "Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous" (Ps.
97:12).
Yes, the Christian faith provides God's children with true happiness and
the invigorating "laughter of the heart"!
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad;
I found in Him a resting place,
And He has made me glad. — H. Bonar
Some people carry religion on their backs like a burden, while true
Christians carry it in their hearts like a song!
Joy Prescribed
Sermon by Wiley Lowry on Nov 23, 2014
Proverbs 17:22

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As you’re seated, if you would turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs
chapter 17. It’s found on page 540 in your pew Bibles. And we’re going
to look at one proverb tonight - verse 22 of chapter 17. It’s a proverb
which contrasts a joyful heart and a crushed spirit. We’re in a season of
the year that is associated with thanksgiving and joy. There’s time off of
school, time off of work. There’s gathering with family and friends.
There’s good food, there’s gifts, there’s festive decorations. And yet at
the same time these months can be marked also by the winter blues, or
season depression. The technical term is “seasonal affective disorder.”
That spells the acronym SAD if you’re keeping up. It could be caused
by shorter days, more time indoors. Those same gatherings with family
and friends may bring up some brokenness in the family, some family
tensions. It could bring up the memory of a loved one who has passed
away. That same delicious food could add some unwanted pounds. The
gift-list that you have may put a strain on your budget. So we feel at
this time of year a tension between a joyful heart and a crushed spirit.
I was talking with a friend the other day and he said that someone told
him it was nothing a couple of sessions in the tanning bed couldn’t help!
I can’t recommend that! Instead we’ll turn to the proverb, what the

proverb lays out for us - the unique blessing of spiritual joy, of Gospel
joy. So as we turn to this passage and before we read, let’s pray and ask
God’s blessing.
Father, we do yearn for joy, a joy that comes from You, a joy that lasts
forever. We ask that You would bless our reading and our hearing of
Your Word tonight to cultivate this joy in our lives. And we pray this in
Jesus’ name, amen.
Proverbs chapter 17 verse 22 says this:
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the
bones.”
I just want to look at this in two parts tonight. First is, “What does it
mean to have dry bones or a crushed spirit?” And then, “How do we
cultivate this joyful heart?”
What Does it Mean to have Dry Bones and a Crushed Spirit?
As with many of the proverbs, this passage, this verse, gives us a simple
concept and yet it’s a tough reality. It’s easy enough, it’s basic enough
to communicate this truth in a proverb, in a memorable proverb, and
yet it’s often a challenge to live this way. There are many of us, I would
say most of us, who have experienced the effects of a crushed spirit at
times. There’s something you’ve wanted, maybe it’s something that you
still desire, and you’ve prayed long and hard for it, and yet God has not
given you that request. Maybe there’s someone who’s hurt you deeply
with their words or with their actions and you feel betrayed and alone.
Maybe you’ve filled your calendar with one activity after the other, from
a party to a trip to a game to a performance to a hobby, and yet it just
doesn’t satisfy. There’s still a restlessness, a longing, that doesn’t seem
to go away. When these sorts of experiences add up and they multiply
and they persist and they start to dominate our thoughts and our
emotions, it leads to a crushed spirit. It leads to dry bones. We need to
have joy, we need to have real joy presented before us and embraced
and taken down deep. To say that in a different way, we could say it in a

more timely manner. We need to consider what we are thankful for.
We’re not always good at expressing joy; we’re not always good at
showing gratitude. Think about it. We have one day a year that we set
aside for thanksgiving to be thankful for all that we have, and yet the
very next day is the number one day of the year for doing what?
Getting more stuff. Even the day Thanksgiving is starting to fade. You
hear more generic terms like Turkey Day or Brown Thursday or some
other ridiculous term. But the point is, if we’re not very good or if we
rarely show gratitude and joy, then we let sorrow, we start to dwell on
sorrow and on unmet desires and on disappointments and those things
lead to a crushed spirit, a spirit of despondency, a spirit of despair, a
spirit of depression.
An Expression of Death
Our proverb tells us that “a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” That’s
clearly an expression of death. These are emotions that are lifeless;
they’re hopeless. It’s a feeling of having been discarded or being
useless. Actually it’s worse than that. It’s being emotionless. Being
dull, flat, numb. Charles Bridges in his commentary on Proverbs says
that “this is a sorrow that cannot weep.” This is a sorrow that cannot
weep. The image of the dry bones, it calls to our mind, doesn’t it, the
other Biblical passage of dry bones - Ezekiel. Remember his vision of
the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel chapter 37. God shows him this wide
valley, full of dead bones, and God says to him, “Can these bones live?”
Ezekiel says, “O Lord God, you know.” He’s saying, “You know they
cannot live. These bones cannot be further from life.” There’s not a
trace of life left on these bones and yet God commands Ezekiel to
prophecy and Ezekiel follows God’s commands and he prophecies and
God breathes life back into the bones. He gathers them, collects them
together, and they stand before Ezekiel as a great host of men and God
says to Ezekiel, He says, “Son of man, these bones of the whole house of
Israel, behold they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are
indeed cut off.’” Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, we are indeed
cut off. You see, that expresses the depth of their despair, that God’s
people had been ransacked, they had been split apart, and they had

been sent into exile. They say, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost,
we are cut off.”
A Situation Common to the People of God
You see, God’s people are not immune from these dry bones type
experiences. Even when it’s not a result or a consequence for their sin
as it was in the case of their exile. We can think of Job and all his
horrible, horrendous suffering and trials with the loss of his children,
the loss of his possessions, the plague of disease and pain, and then the
insult that came along with that from his wife and from his friends. And
Job cries out in despair. He despairs of the day of his birth. He cries
out in anguish and frustration. Think about the psalmist in Psalm 88
where he’s lamenting a certain trial. He talks about that his friends and
his loved one has shunned him and he says that his companions had
become darkness, that “darkness was his friend.” That was how deep
was his experience of a crushed spirit.
You see, the Bible doesn’t ignore these type of painful trials. The Bible
is not there just to give us some sort of pep talk or motivational speech
about our best life now or the power of positive thinking. The Bible
does much more than that. The Bible acknowledges the burdens of
living in a fallen world. It actually gives words, it gives expression to
our emotions, to our thoughts of despair and grief, and it proclaims a
way of deliverance and of hope. Our Savior Himself was not untouched
with these types of feelings and emotions. You remember when He was
preparing to go to His death on the cross He cried out in the garden, “I
am exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.” And it was on the cross
that He cried out, “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?”
Jesus went to that dark place and He sympathizes with us. He knows
what concerns us and what our needs are, what causes us pain and grief.
He knows those things. He sympathizes with us and He intercedes for
us at the right hand of God. And He even gives us a purpose in our
sufferings that our sufferings, as we experience them, make us like
Christ. All this is to say that God’s people go through dark times. They
tend to have their spirits crushed.

The Problem of Pain
And I think we can highlight two causes of this type of crushed spirit.
One is the problem of pain and the other is the problem of pleasure.
The first to think about - the problem of pain. There’s the pain of
disease, the pain of injury, the pain of an aging body, the pain of a loved
ones death, or the pain of being mistreated, persecuted, ignored. And
over time, those things and a combination of multiple trials, they tend to
wear one down. It seems that these things have dragged on ever since
you can remember. You know Paul says in 2 Corinthians he talks about
our light affliction which is “but for a moment.” Well sometimes our
afflictions seem anything but light and momentary. This is the kind of
experience that a crushed spirit is talking about. Before long, you start
to sink into a pattern of sluggishness, disinterest, maybe even doubt.
You know Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher from England, he was
not unfamiliar with those seasons of life. Spurgeon, in 1856, he was
preaching to a crowd of over 10,000 people, not much different from
what we have here tonight! He was in the music hall of Royal Surrey
Gardens, over 10,000 people. And while he was preaching someone
yelled out, “Fire!” as a joke, perhaps. And the rush of people to get out
of the exits caused a stampede and it killed seven people and many
others were injured. And that event really haunted Spurgeon for the
rest of his life. One of his biographers say that was possibly what led to
his early death. Spurgeon’s wife, at the age of thirty-three, became a
virtual invalid. He was left taking care of an ill wife for the rest of his
life. She rarely ever heard him preach for the next twenty-seven years.
Spurgeon himself suffered from various ailments. He had gout and
other painful conditions. And despite his overwhelming popularity he
faced criticism and ridicule from the press and from other ministers
throughout the town and country. And he struggled with depression for
much of his ministry, a depression which he says or he defied as “a
shapeless, un-definable, yet all-beclouding hopelessness.” And yet
Spurgeon persevered and his powerful preaching ministry continues to
impact and encourage and strengthen believers to this very day. You
see, Spurgeon know the problem of pain. He knew the struggle of a

crushed spirit. And I think that it’s an encouragement for us to think
about his life and the lives that are presented to us in the Bible, that
hardships don’t mean that God doesn’t love us. It may mean that He’s
chastising us, but God chastens those who He loves. And just because
we go through these times of darkness, it doesn’t mean that we should
despair of our salvation, but it may very well mean that God is using
that very time of darkness to do a great work for His kingdom. God’s
strength is made perfect in weakness.
The Problem of Pleasure
And so just as we have the problem of pain, we also have the problem of
pleasure. Our first inclination is to think that pleasure is the exact
opposite of a crushed spirit. And in fact, we may be prone to confuse
the two, to think that the pursuit of pleasure equals the pursuit of joy.
But that’s not always the case. Sometimes it may actually be the
opposite and the pursuit of pleasure leads to a crushed spirit. Because
any time we put something in God’s rightful place or we desire
something more than God and His ways or we try to find a way to live
part way in God’s ways and part way in our ways, then we’re going to
face disappointments and we’re going to face letdowns, unfulfilled
desires. You know we’ve channeled all of our energies and our efforts to
have the family that we’ve always wanted or to achieve a certain
amount of success or respectability or popularity. We’ve looked to
experiences and to the latest trends to find our self satisfied, to make our
self satisfied. And yet we find ourselves always asking, “What’s next?”
Or we find ourselves saying, “One more. I just need one more.” Or
maybe it’s a particular temptation you struggle with, an addiction, self-
righteousness or gossip. You know those things may feel good in the
moment and they may tend to distract us from the things that we’re
really lacking, the things that we’re really missing and need, but they
can’t bear the load that we’re putting on them. They can’t produce this
lasting joy that our proverb is pointing us to. It’s like the Israelites, as
David read to us last week, when they were forced to produce bricks
without straw, when we put our hopes and rest our joys on these earthly
pleasures, it’s like making bricks without straw - it won’t hold up, you

can’t do it, it won’t last.
And so just as there’s a sorrow that cannot weep, there’s also a mirth
that cannot laugh. Martin Lloyd-Jones was, many consider, the greatest
preacher of the 20th century. Many of you may know that he was also a
physician. Before he became a pastor he was a doctor, actually a very
successful doctor. And he kept up that hobby or that interest in
medicine throughout the rest of his life and he would speak many times
to gatherings of physicians and Christian physicians, leading Bible
studies and those sorts of things. And he tells a story about, in his
practice, that the chief physician there at the hospital had a project for
him to do. He had a big list, a rolodex, of his patients and their
conditions. But what he wanted to get, he wanted Lloyd-Jones to take
all of those conditions on that list and make a list of the conditions with
the names underneath them so he could go from the condition and find
the person’s name that it was associated with. And he says that as he
gathered these lists and he looked at the people’s condition and their
names, he said that in over half of the cases the diagnosis was something
like, “He eats too much. He drinks too much. He doesn’t get enough
sleep.” And what he was highlighting and indicating was that
indulgence leads to illness; it leads to heartache.
II. How do We Cultivate this Joyful Heart?
And so you see that there’s a problem of pain but there’s also a problem
of pleasure. And so what our proverb prescribes in its place is a joyful
heart, apart from the problem of pain and the problem of pleasure. A
joy that’s real. A joy that’s serious. It’s a joy that’s a joy in the soul
and it comes from knowing God and contemplating Him in all of His
glory, in all of His goodness, in all of His faithfulness. It’s a joy that
flows from a devotion to God so that all of life is lived out in worship to
Him. The parts of a joyful heart is it consists of delight and gratitude
and humility, praise and freedom and trust, confidence and hope.
That’s a joyful heart. That’s what the proverb is calling us to. That’s
what we all desire, isn’t it? We all desire a joyful heart so that our
worship is vibrant, so that our relationships are healthy, our work is

productive, our leisure is refreshing. And yet to make that joy our chief
aim sets us off the course. Instead, our chief aim, our first priority is to
be God Himself. Just as our catechism tells us, that “our chief end is to
glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” It’s that glorifying God and
making Him chief in our life that brings about this kind of joy that is
good medicine. It’s the kind of joy that brings about healing and
wholeness.
Marveling at Our Great God
I love in The Chronicles of Narnia, those stories written by C.S. Lewis,
the way he portrays joy. Joy was a central feature of Lewis’ life and he
writes about the way that joy transforms the whole land of Narnia when
Aslan comes on the scene. You know Aslan is the lion who represents
God in those stories and when Aslan comes to Narnia then the snow
melts, the trees come to life, the flowers bloom, and all the features and
characteristics of all these creatures begin to come out. They were
hidden and now they’re awakened and the creatures can live as they
were supposed to live, as they were designed to. That’s what joy is in
Narnia. It’s coming to life. And it all comes because Aslan has arrived.
The joy comes because of Aslan. The joy comes because of God. There’s
a scene in Prince Caspian, the book, Prince Caspian, and Lucy notices,
she meets Aslan for the first time and she notices that he seems bigger
than she remembered. And she asked him if he had gotten older. And
he said, “No.” He said, “But every year you grow you will find me
bigger.” Every year you grow, you will find me bigger. You see, if we
desire joy in the changing circumstances of our lives then we must find
God bigger, we must find God bigger than our circumstances, bigger
than our worries, bigger than our efforts. The writer of Proverbs would
call that the fear of the Lord. It’s the right fear of the Lord which is
awe and reverence and love and adoration for God and all of His holy
attributes and all of His mighty works. How does God appear bigger in
our eyes? It’s contemplating Him in all of His wonder and His power
and His glory in the creation around us, in the display of the colors on
the canvas of the leaves outside of us, in the mighty winds and strong
force that blows around us. It’s seeing God’s wisdom and beauty in a

small child, in a newborn baby. It’s seeing God in the power of His
creation that we begin to awe and wonder and marvel at who God is.
Considering Again the Work of Christ in Salvation
But even more so, it’s seeing God as we consider the work of His
salvation. We see God most fully revealed in Christ. And as we look to
the cross we see God’s justice and His mercy. We see that our sin, which
separates us from God, it sets us in rebellion and alienation against God,
that God pours out His love to rescue us from our sin, to draw us to
Himself, to restore us into relationship with Him, and to give us pardon
and freedom and joy and a relationship with Him. In Christ God
becomes bigger. You see, the cross shows us that we are far more sinful
than we ever realize but it also shows us that we are far more loved than
we could ever imagine. In Christ, God becomes bigger. His way is
perfect, His love inexhaustible, His grace sufficient, His promises true,
and His reward beyond comparison.
Faithful Plodding of the Ordinary Christian Life
So often we want to do things our own way and in our own time. When
sadness comes we don’t really expect it. We don’t like sadness. We
want it to be gone immediately and we look for shortcuts to avoid pain.
We try to conjure up techniques that many times leave God as a
footnote or like an appendix tacked onto the back of a book. But that
makes God small and it makes us big. If we want joy, then we must
decrease, we must deny ourselves. God must increase. He must becomes
greater in our eyes. Ravi Zacharias, in a sermon on making decisions,
he talks about when we make our choices we have to determine whether
our will is going to be surrendered to Him and do things His way or
whether we’re going to try to live half of life our way and half of life His
way. He says it should not be the case, but he says that “when you do
things God’s way it is a perpetual novelty and there’s a boundlessness to
the delight of doing it God’s way.” What is it doing it God’s way? It’s
reading the Bible, going before Him in prayer, spending fellowship with
one another, being pointed to Christ in baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

It’s sharing the Gospel with others. What is doing it God’s way? It’s
really the ordinary Christian life. A lifelong process of producing joy.
It’s not a quick-fix. It doesn’t happen overnight. But if we’re willing to
trust God and let Him do it in His way in His timing, the Holy Spirit will
produce joy in our hearts and that joy is good medicine.
Focusing on the Giver
You know there’s a sense in which this can be applied to the actual
physical healing, that when we have joyful hearts we heal, our bodies
heal better than when we are downcast and in despair. But there’s also
a way in which we could apply this in a way that would transform our
Thanksgivings because it’s a joy that’s focused on the giver and not on
the gift. We may be bogged down in our circumstances and things may
not be quite right or the food might not taste quite as good as we want it
to taste, and yet this kind of joy focusing on God, not on our
circumstances but on the One who works all things together for our
good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It
enriches our fellowship, it enriches our gratitude, it enriches our food
when we have this type of joy.
A Joy which Transforms Our Sorrow
And the last thing is, this joy also transforms our sorrow. You know just
because this joy is a presence in the believer’s life doesn’t mean that we
won’t face sorrows and disappointments. We will walk through the
valley of the shadow of death and yet with this kind of joy we can say
with Habakkuk as he writes in the last verses of that book, he says,
“Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor the fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut
off from the field and there be no herds in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in
the Lord. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God the Lord is
my strength. He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on
my high places.” You see, that’s a sorrow that rejoices. So not only is
there a sorrow that cannot weep and a mirth that cannot laugh, there is
a sorrow that rejoices and it is a compelling witness to the world around

us that when we grieve we do not grieve as those who have no hope but
our hope is in Christ. Our eyes are directed to Him; the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy before Him endured the cross,
despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. We look to
Him. Focus on Him. Do it in God’s way. Do it in God’s time. Don’t
give up. Don’t let up. Keep doing it God’s way and trust Him and the
Holy Spirit to work and to produce this joy in our lives.
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we do praise You for the blessing of joy, of salvation, of Your
creation, for this time together before Your Word. Would You lead us
out from here with great joy that it would permeate through the rest of
our week, through our families, in our sorrows, in our trials, in our
responsibilities, that we would glorify You and honor You with all we do.
We pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.
RAY PRITCHARD
Cheerfulness: The Healing Power of a Merry Heart
Proverbs 17:22
I am a little more exhausted than usual because I’m coming off a week
and a half that has been a personally draining time for me and my
family. About 10 days ago, Marlene went in to see the doctor, who found
something she didn’t like. On Friday, Marlene had three hours of
surgery and is up at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge. She is
doing fine. The surgery was successful, but there was some worry going
into it that they might find some cancer. They didn’t and she received a
clean bill of health. I am personally weary and a little worn out. I was
thinking that it is ironic that many weeks ago when I set up this sermon

series on Proverbs, I set this particular Sunday as the day to preach on
cheerfulness. I have been trying to think all week long what I would
have to say on this subject that would be remotely cheerful. What I feel
is that I need a good nap.
I have been meditating in the last few days. I’ve spent a lot of time at the
hospital, which gives you plenty of time to think, because hospital days
don’t last 24 hours, they last 72 hours. You look at the clock thinking it
has been five minutes and it has only been thirty seconds. Twenty
minutes later it has only been three more minutes. This gives you plenty
of time to think. I was pondering that age-old question: are you an
optimist or a pessimist? When you see the glass of water, is it half full or
half empty? When you personally go through one of those weeks that we
all go through eventually (and some of us go through regularly), are you
basically positive at the end, or are you basically negative?
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
Someone has said it this way: between the optimist and the pessimist,
the difference is droll; the optimist sees the doughnut, the pessimist sees
the hole. It has been well said that the optimist is the person who
invented the airplane and the pessimist the person who invented the
parachute. You need them both. You need the positive aspect of life as
well as that aspect of life that looks on the problem and says, “Well, life
isn’t just a bowl of cherries. There are pits in there, too.” You need to be
both optimistic and pessimistic. You have to come to a place of biblical
realism.

I have been thinking this week as our family has gone through what I
would say was a crisis. When you have major surgery of a loved one, it
is a crisis. Even if it is a good result, you don’t know how it will turn out
going in. As I thought about all of that, I have been thinking about my
subject of cheerfulness.
I want to share with you today a little about biblical realism, not
optimism or pessimism. In order to do that and get our thoughts clearly
focused, let’s go to the book of Proverbs. Let’s read a number of verses.
“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”
Proverbs 12:25
This is mostly observation. Kind words cheer up those who are
discouraged.
“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.”
Proverbs 14:10
The first part of that is certainly true. There are those of us who have
secret sorrows. There are those of us who though we may look good and
may be well dressed and have a smile on our face, behind that smile
there is a story of sorrow and heartache that we don’t share with anyone

else.
“Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in grief.”
Proverbs 14:13
How true it is that even when we are laughing and putting on a brave
face for the crowd, even when we’re going through the motions and
trying to be very positive, on the inside there may be turmoil, heartache,
discouragement and even despair. Just because you see somebody
laughing and smiling, it doesn’t mean that everything is completely
O.K. Underneath that laughter there may be something you know
nothing about.
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
Proverbs 14:30
This is a life verse. Envy rots the bones. In the Hebrew it literally means
envy makes the bones disintegrate. This is an important verse. This
verse is telling us that there is some kind of connection between the
spiritual and the physical. There is some kind of connection between the
heart and the body, between what goes on inside and what happens
outside. The attitude of the heart has a direct impact on the physical
well-being or lack thereof. If your heart is at peace, it gives life to the
body. Envy causes the bones of the body to disintegrate.

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the
spirit.” Proverbs 15:13
“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a
continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15
The cheerful heart eats a feast at the table of the Lord.
Now turn to the theme verse for this sermon. It is found in Proverbs
17:22, which says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed
spirit dries up the bones.” This is one of those places where I believe the
King James version is a better translation. The King James says, “A
merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” That is a better translation of
the Hebrew. You should put a star by this verse. It is suggesting
something to us. It tells us that there is a relationship between the
condition of the heart and the condition of the body. There is a
relationship between physical and spiritual health. “A crushed spirit
dries up the bones,” literally means it sucks out the marrow of life from
the bones.
There is a relationship between the condition of the heart and the
condition of the body.
Proverbs 18:1 says, “A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a

crushed spirit who can bear?” We all know people who struggle with
sickness and weakness, yet when you go to see them, they cheer you up
—people who are down and out physically, but when you go to see them,
they actually make you feel better because they are strong in spirit even
though their body is wasting away. On the other hand, we all know
people who are sick and yet their spirit is crushed. When you go to see
them, you feel worse when you leave than when you came, because they
have sucked all the life out of you as well.
These verses are telling us that there is a basic relationship between
your mental attitude and your physical well-being. Said another way,
what you are in your heart has a direct bearing on your physical health.
What is on the inside eventually manifests itself physically on the
outside. Having said that, I want to ask and answer two questions:
1. Why is it that a merry heart is so important?
A. Because of the truth of Romans 8:28.
“And we know that in all things God work for the good of those who
love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
It is a difficult world out there, a world filled with sin, sickness,
heartache and despair. Thank God, sin is not the final word in this
world. There is a word beyond sin, beyond the fall, beyond degradation,
and that word is Jesus. Because Jesus Christ has come into the world,
there is now healing, salvation, forgiveness and deliverance. What does

Romans 8:28 mean by “all things"? How inclusive is it? It is utterly
inclusive. It includes all that can happen in the life of a child of God. It
includes the good and the bad, health and sickness, wealth and poverty,
the sunlight and the shadow, high noon and midnight, life and death. It
is all that can happen in the will of God to a child of God. That means
that Romans 8:28 is still true, just as true in the hospital as in the
sanctuary. It means that when you are in the waiting room and that
clock will not move and you know your loved one is in the hands of a
surgeon, that no matter the outcome, whether life or death or cancer or
no cancer, whether you see her again or not, you know that moment is in
God’s hands. It is part of the “all things” that work together for good.
There is nothing that can happen to the child of God that is outside of
the “all things” of Romans 8:28.
This week I have been meditating a little on President Reagan and the
letter he wrote on Saturday to the American people. At the age of 83, he
wrote that letter in which he said he has just been diagnosed as having
Alzheimer’s. I commented on that in my last sermon, but at that time I
had not read the letter. I read it this week; it was printed in the Chicago
Tribune. I encourage any of you who haven’t, to read it. It is a
wonderful statement of faith. The people who know President Reagan
say that he is truly a born again Christian man. He wrote this letter
from what I would consider the standpoint of the Christian faith. He
said in that letter,
“I write because I do not want to keep a secret from the American
people. My wife had breast cancer and we told you; they tried to
assassinate me, and we told you; and now I have been diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s and I want to tell you. I want you to know this so that you
will know about us and so that I can encourage other people whose
families may be going through this disease. There is some stigma in

some places attached to Alzheimer’s. As for me, I feel very good right
now, and as long as I am able, I will continue to do all the things I have
been doing. I now begin the journey that will carry me into the sunset of
life.”
That is a beautiful phrase. It is picturesque and in the deepest sense it is
also a biblical phrase. At the end of his letter he said, “Until the Lord
calls me home, I intend to do what I have always done—to help people
in whatever way I can.” Here is a man, whether he knows it or not, who
understands that all things work together for good. Here is a man who
can look at a disease that will suck the life away from him, and say, “I
still believe in God. I still believe the Lord has a plan for me.”
A merry heart is important because God is saying to us, “My children,
some times you will face things that you can’t understand. Sometimes
you are going to face heartache and pain and difficulty that goes far
beyond anything you thought you could endure. Sometimes you will be
in the waiting room of life for weeks and months and years, but I want
you to know that even there I am with you and am working out my plan
in your life.”
How can you have a merry heart even in the darkest moments of life?
What we are to do at those moments is to stand back and over those
unexplainable things of life we are to erect a sign that says, “Shhh.
Quiet. God at work.” Romans 8:28 tells us that God is at work whether
we see it or not, whether we feel it or not, whether we understand it or
not, whether we believe it or not. So our attitude makes all the
difference at that moment. The question is not, “Do we have the
answers?” because I can assure you that at that moment you will not

have the answer. The question is, “Do you believe there is a God who is
at work in this situation?” The Christian answer is YES. That is how
you can have a merry heart even in the darkest moment of life. You can
have a cheerful spirit if you believe there is a God in heaven who loves
you, who is at work in ways that you can’t see, believe or understand.
B. Because of Proverbs 17:22. Read it again.
“A merry heart doeth good like medicine.”
The Hebrew language has a number of tenses in it. One of the tenses is
called the causative tense. You put a verb in the causative tense when
you want to say that one thing causes another to happen. That’s what
you have in the Hebrew in Proverbs 17:22. A literal translation would
be, “A cheerful heart causes good healing.” What the Bible is telling us
here is that your attitude, the way you approach the problems and trials
of life, actually brings about good healing. That is amazing.
Your attitude, the way you approach the problems and trials of life,
brings about good healing.
I have told you before the story of Dr. Norman Cousins, who for a
number of years was on the medical staff at the UCLA School of
Medicine. About 25 years ago, Dr. Cousins was diagnosed with having a
strange, rare kind of disease that destroys the connective tissue of the
body. The doctors gave him the battery of expensive tests and said,
“Sorry, there is really nothing we can do. It is degenerative and you are
going to die.” Dr. Cousins said, “Well, I didn’t want to just give up.” So
he set himself on a regimen of exercise, high doses of Vitamin C, and

then he added an unusual thing. He rented a projector and rented Marx
Brothers and Three Stooges movies and all the cartoons he could find.
For hours each day, he would take his Vitamin C and watch the Marx
Brothers and Three Stooges and would laugh his head off. What he
discovered was that ten minutes of hearty laughter gave him a whole
hour free from pain. So he would watch those movies over and over and
over again. He discovered, as he did this, that he began to get better. The
day came when he went back to the doctors and they said, “We don’t
know what happened, because this was an incurable disease; but as far
as we know, you are completely cured.” He lived about another 20 years
after that and wrote a book called Anatomy of an Illness, in which he
made the point that your mental attitude, the cheerfulness or lack
thereof, has a great deal to do with whether you get sick, how bad you
get sick, whether you get well, and how quickly you get well. All I want
to say is that what he discovered is nothing more than what Solomon
told us 3000 years ago, which is that a merry heart causes good healing.
Several years ago, when I wanted to research this out, I called a couple
of the doctors in our church. I asked them to corroborate this from their
own medical research. We have all wondered what the mental frame of
mind has to do with the healing process from a physician’s point of view.
The answer they gave me was the same. At first they would be very
cautious and say research was unsure about it. Then I would ask them
about their own experience, and that was where it got interesting. All
the doctors I talked to said the same thing. They told story after story of
people who had come to them, deathly sick, yet who got better
amazingly fast because they went in with a positive spirit and were
surrounded by positive people. The doctors also told me stories about
people who should have gotten better, but who got much worse, were
sick a long time, and in some cases died, evidently because they had
such a negative, hostile, hopeless spirit about them. Then I asked one
other question, “Do you notice any difference in your practice between

Christians and non-Christians?” The immediate answer was, “Yes, we
see every day, a big difference when we treat somebody who knows
Jesus Christ and somebody who doesn’t. We see a tremendous
difference in the healing process, in the attitude of those who know the
Lord, versus those who do not.” Why should that surprise us? Why
should it surprise us to read about Norman Cousins? All of that is
nothing more than what was written in the Bible 3000 years ago.
Solomon said it and modern medical science is just now catching up
with it.
So then, I want to finish this sermon by giving you some suggestions as
to how we can cultivate a merry heart. Would you like a merry heart?
1. Cultivate your relationship with God.
Make sure that you spend time with the Lord. Don’t just seek peace
with God, but remember we have peace with God through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1.
2. Cultivate a forgiving spirit.
Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted and gentle,
forgiving one another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” There
are people who are suffering physically because they are angry, bitter
and refuse to forgive.

There was a story in the Chicago Tribune yesterday. The headline reads,
“Pastor Forms a Bond With Son’s Killer.” This is a pastor in
Connecticut whose son was murdered. He became friends with the man
who killed his son. The Reverend Walter Everett has forgiven the man
who killed his son seven years ago. He also helped get him out of prison
early, and on Saturday he will officiate at the man’s wedding. There is a
quote from the pastor. “I had known people whose loved ones had been
murdered and years afterward they still seemed consumed by the anger
and hatred. I didn’t want that to happen to me.” Then they talk about
the man who killed his son, a man by the name of Carlucci. The article
says Carlucci feels redeemed by Walter Everett’s compassion, but like
others, he can’t fully understand how the pastor could forgive him. “I
have a thirteen year old daughter, and if anybody hurt her, I’d probably
feel like I would have to hurt him.” Then it quotes a moment in the jail
when the pastor forgave the man who killed his son. “He told me he had
forgiven me for the love of God. Tears were coming down my face. It
made me feel like I wanted to live, whereas before I didn’t care.”
The only problem with a story like that is it seems so unbelievable, and
yet it’s true. There are people who suffer deeply, physically, because
they will not forgive. Envy rots the bones. Anger rots the bones.
Unforgiveness rots the bones. Bitterness rots the bones. Maybe if you
wonder why you’re not doing well, and why you can’t sleep at night,
and why you have stomach aches and headaches and backaches, and
why you are messed up all the time and just don’t feel good, why don’t
you look in the mirror and what you’ll see is an angry person. Until you
do something about your anger and bitterness, you’re going to be sick,
because the Bible says it will happen that way—it will literally rot your
bones.
3. Dwell on unseen realities.

Think about the things that you know to be true but you can’t see.
Things like heaven, like eternity, like Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 3:1-3 says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set
your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of
God. Set your minds of things above, not on earthly things. For you
died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
4. Keep the long view of life.
That is the secret of Proverbs 15:15, which says, “The cheerful heart has
a continual feast.” Does that mean you will ha-ha-ha your way through
life? No! What it means is that if you take the long view of life, if you
stand back and understand that God is involved in every part of life, not
just the good part but the bad, if you look at the whole thing, you truly
can have a continual feast.
5. Associate with cheerful people.
I have been hitting this in some of my sermons lately. Some of us are
messed up because we are hanging around messed-up people. We’re
angry because we’re hanging around angry people. We’re bitter because
we’re hanging around bitter people. We’re mad because the people
we’re around are mad and critical and angry all the time. Find some
cheerful people to make you cheerful.
6. Be a load lifter, not a burden maker.
Galatians 6:2 says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you

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